TSR were pleased to contribute to the understanding of how Tosini made his monumental Mannerist masterpiece, Cleopatra, for the London Old Masters Evening Sale, 4th July 2018. The reflectogram revealed a highly complex underdrawing with dense, liquid hatching – probably done in an ink – used to ‘sculpt’ the forms.

See Chloe Stead’s blog for a discussion of how Sotheby’s use technical imaging techniques to inform their cataloguing.

TSR infrared detail of the hand from ‘Cleopatra’ by Michele Tosini, Image Courtesy of Sotheby’s