Hidden portrait found under Titian masterpiece

The new discovery shows a portrait of an unknown man with a thin mustache, holding a pen in his hand and a stack of papers or books next to him. This restrained image stands in stark contrast to the dramatic scene that later appeared on the canvas: Christ, wreathed in thorns, bound before the court of Pontius Pilate.

“This painting hides a secret that no one had guessed before,” explains Professor Nicholas Bakyrtsis, head of the Cyprus Institute research group.

The painting "Ecce Homo" depicts the final stage of Jesus' trial before his crucifixion, as he stands next to the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate.

Technologies that revealed a hidden masterpiece

While preparing the canvas for restoration, researchers noticed pigments that were visible through thin cracks (craquelure) in the upper layers of paint.

“It was like putting together a puzzle,” says Bakyrtsis.

Using X-ray images and non-invasive analytical methods, experts from the APAC Laboratory at the Cyprus Institute were able to fully reconstruct the hidden image.

Researchers recreated the portrait in oil and suggested that it depicts a banker, lawyer, or representative of another intellectual profession in their work environment.

Titian's original painting "Ecce Homo" along with a reconstruction of the hidden portrait are featured in an exhibition that opened in Limassol in late January and will run until March 10.

A visitor looks at Titian's painting "Ecce Homo" at the Limassol Municipal Arts Center. Photo: Yiannis Kourtoglou / Reuters

Titian is known to have reused canvases on many occasions. In this case, he turned the completed portrait upside down with a chisel and wrote "Ecce Homo" over it.

“I don’t know of any other case where it was possible to trace so precisely how one painting directly overlaps another,” Bakyrtsis notes.

He also suggests that Titian integrated details from the previous portrait into the final composition – for example, the man's jawline became the outline of the ropes binding Christ's hands.

“It demonstrates the hand of a confident artist, a master who headed his own studio. That is why this version of “Ecce Homo” is unique and preserves Titian’s unsurpassed craftsmanship,” Bakyrtsis concludes.