Conservation of Tintoretto painting in UK reveals ‘layer of history hiding under the surface’

A two-year conservation project by the National Trust has uncovered significant compositional changes in Jacopo Tintoretto's painting *The Wise and Foolish Virgins* (around 1546), which returns to public display at Upton House in Warwickshire, UK on 28 April. X-ray imaging revealed a hidden stone balcony beneath the final architectural setting, matching a balcony in a related version at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Infrared scanning and paint analysis also showed that Tintoretto removed criss-cross elements and a balcony section, replacing them with a servant laying a table, while previous restorers had misinterpreted these pentimenti as part of the intended composition.