Did you know that Saint Catherine's dress in Caravaggio's famous painting "Saint Catherine of Alexandria" (1598-1599) was originally red and not blue as previously thought? You can learn this and many other interesting and hidden facts about the works in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza collection by visiting the museum's new free website on restoration data. This site aims to encourage visitors to awaken their curiosity about details in artworks that have so far been somewhat inaccessible.
For example, in Fra Angelico's "The Virgin of Humility," it was discovered that the painting had hidden damage: a 6-millimeter hole in the Virgin's face, with the most accepted hypothesis among researchers being that it is a bullet impact. It was also revealed that El Greco used grids in his early career. Incredible, isn't it?
This new platform allows you to observe details in the artworks that would be almost impossible to see with the naked eye in their natural state. You can also learn about details like sketches on the canvas that were later removed for the final painting. An example of this is the changes discovered in some of Picasso's harlequins.
The site is divided into six categories: restaurabits, technical studies, history, materials and scientific images, technical viewer, and visitor management.
Take a moment and give yourself the opportunity to explore it. I assure you there are interesting things to discover.
