Art historians have long debated whether a particular altarpiece attributed to a workshop assistant was actually designed by the master painter. Macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) scanning at SuperSincrotrone has settled the question.

Discovery

The 2.4 × 1.8 m panel was scanned over 72 hours at BL-03, mapping the distribution of zinc, lead, copper, and mercury across the entire surface at 100μm resolution. Beneath the visible paint layers, the scan revealed a complete underdrawing in lead white showing significant compositional differences from the final work.

The underdrawing style, brush technique, and compositional sophistication are consistent with autograph works by the master, confirming his direct involvement in the design phase.