Show me the Giotto

Florence, Italy - Modern technology has revealed rich details of paintings by the artist, Giotto, that have been hidden from view for centuries. Giotto is considered one of the most important painters of the 2nd millennium and first in a line of great painters who contributed to the Italian Renaissance, a period which included da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael, among others.

Using ultra-violet light and other non-invasive diagnostics, restorers were able to see details of the Giotto paintings in the Peruzzi Chapel in Florence's Santa Croce Church that have been obscured over time.

In the early 1700's, the paintings were whitewashed over to make way for a new design, then other restorers removed the white paint in 1840 using steel wool pads and harsh solvents which also removed much of the original image. The bleached appearance people see today is very different from the indications of the original work now being carefully mapped by the current preservation team.