In Marlowe portrait, how is the Discovery discussed?
The painting was discovered in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1952 or 1953. Contradictory accounts of its discovery exist.
One account dates the discovery of the portrait to late 1952, during major renovations to the college's Old Court which destroyed many ancient interiors. The wood panels had been used to support a gas heater installed in a student's room, above the room that had been assigned to Marlowe 370 years earlier. When a new heater was installed, the panels were discarded and put in a skip. The room's occupant recovered them for reuse, but noticed the dirty and badly-damaged portrait and took the pieces to the college librarian.A conflicting account states that the portrait was discovered in 1953, during renovations of the college Master's lodge. A passer-by noticed two pieces of wood amongst a pile of builder's rubble that had laid in the rain for several days, which proved to be the two parts of the portrait.The portrait's history from its 1585 creation to its 20th century rediscovery is unknown. It is not listed in an 1884 inventory of paintings held by Corpus Christi College, nor in a 1790 catalogue of Cambridge University's paintings by Robert Masters. The wood is badly split and has nail holes, suggesting that the panels had been put to various mundane uses over the years.
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Robert Masters Old Court Corpus Christi College recovered them skip Master