Oil on canvas - Vera Imago Salvatoris - 18th century

This peculiar oil on canvas depicting Jesus Christ was discovered by removing an overlying portrait, dating back to the early 1900s. The previous painting depicted a woman in 1900s clothes with a hat, and showed the technique and the colours typical of Impressionism. After a thorough investigation and several radiographies of the painting, the restoration team concluded that the underlaying image deserved to be discovered. As shown step by step in the video on the left, the image of Christ has re-emerged, dating back to the 18th century, which denotes an influence of Leonardo Da Vinci's art. There are also two inscriptions: one in Latin on the back, which is difficult to read, and one on the bottom of the painting that says Vera Imago Salvatoris DNXIT, meaning "True Image of the Saviour, Jesus Christ Son of God".