Focus on Madonna of the Pomegranate and explore the Copies.
During the Renaissance period, it was not uncommon for artists to imitate other artists artwork. The practice of copying an established artist artwork was important to artistic training. With that being said, there are many replicas of the painting, Madonna of the Pomegranate. After years of removing yellow garnish and after being considered an inferior copy of Sandro Botticelli's work, Rachel Turnbull, a senior collections conservator from the English Heritage, discovered the piece laying in her workshop was in fact an original copy from Sandro Botticelli's Florence studio. After years of working tirelessly with her team, Rachel Turnbull removed paint which had been painted over the original copy to make it look more up to date and was able to discover the original brushstrokes and paint. After expert examination, they were able to run tests of the paint, which led back to the Renaissance time period. The experts from English Heritage in London were also able determine from the style of painting and brush strokes used, that the painting in their workshop was indeed an original of Sandro Botticelli's Florence studio.
Madonna Florence Pomegranate Sandro Botticelli English Heritage London