How Art Restoration Revealed a Hidden Masterpiece

In 1935, restorers in Rome began working on an old painting that had for centuries been believed to depict St Catherine of Alexandria. At the time, it seemed to be a fairly ordinary Renaissance work, a religious image like hundreds of others displayed in European galleries. For centuries, no one was even certain who had painted it. It was widely believed to be the work of Pietro Perugino. When the upper layers of paint were carefully removed, something happened that no one expected. St Catherine began to disappear. Along with her vanished the martyr's wheel, the palm branch and the heavy mantle. In their place emerged a young Renaissance noblewoman holding a small unicorn in her arms. Even more astonishingly, the true author was finally revealed. The painting had been created by Raphael, not Pietro Perugino. But why? Who had repainted her image? And for what reason? The most surprising discovery came later. In 1959, the painting was examined using a new technology, x-rays. No one knew what secrets might still be hidden beneath the already uncovered image. The results were astonishing. It turned out that even the unicorn was not original. Beneath it was a dog. This meant the painting had been altered multiple times over the centuries. Someone had not merely changed a few details, they had completely rewritten its meaning. Even seemingly secondary elements, the columns, the parapet, the landscape, turned out to be part of the mystery. They strongly resemble the works of Leonardo da Vinci. Yet researchers believe Raphael himself did not paint them. So why was the painting changed? Who was the woman in the original portrait? Are we looking at a genuine masterpiece by Raphael, or merely its distorted reflection, shaped by the hands of others? Today we'll try to unravel how what seemed like a routine restoration of an old painting, unexpectedly turned into one of the most remarkable investigations in art history. This is what the painting looked like before its first restoration. The work was first mentioned in 1760 in the inventory of the Borghese Gallery as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, attributed to Perugino. Over the years, the painting was also attributed to Rodolfo Gerlandio, Francesco Granacci and Andrea del Sarto. In 1916, art historian Giulio Cantalamessa was the first to notice differences in the quality of execution across various parts of the painting. Then, in 1928, art historian Roberto Longhi proposed that the true author was Raphael. These suspicions were finally confirmed in 1935, during the first restoration, when experts established that the painting had indeed been created by Raphael between 1505 and 1506, during his Florentine period. Once the later overpaintings were removed, restorers uncovered a stunning image. The martyr's wheel, palm branch, mantle covering the saint's shoulders and even her hands had all been painted over the original. Saint Catherine was transformed into a graceful young woman with a unicorn resting on her lap. In the Middle Ages, this mythical creature, with the body of a horse, the tail of a lion and a single horn, symbolised virginity. According to legend, when a unicorn encountered a pure and virtuous maiden, it would approach her, rest its head against her chest and peacefully fall asleep. The next restoration took place in 1959. Lady with a Unicorn became the first painting in history to be studied using x-ray technology. The examination revealed that the unicorn itself had also been added later. Originally, the portrait depicted a young woman holding a small dog. During Raphael's time, a dog in portraiture symbolised marital fidelity and such portraits were often commissioned for weddings. Because the painting's condition was fragile and there was a risk of irreparable damage, restorers decided not to remove the unicorn and left it untouched. Let's look more closely at the painting's details. The portrait is typical of the period. The young woman sits before a natural landscape. She is dressed as a noblewoman, wearing a low-cut gown with broad sleeves, remarkably similar to the dress seen in Raphael's portrait, The Pregnant Woman. The identity of that sitter also remains unknown. The unicorn in her arms appears calm. During the Renaissance, virginity was considered a powerful force that granted women special, almost magical qualities. Legends claimed that only a virgin could tame a wild unicorn. The young woman seems entirely at ease, almost enjoying her ability to command the creature. Her golden necklace, adorned with ruby and sapphire pendants and a large teardrop pearl, was a typical aristocratic wedding gift. The pearl symbolised purity. The ruby and sapphire represented fertility within marriage. The knot in the golden chain symbolised the unbreakable bond of matrimony. This strongly suggests the portrait may have been commissioned to celebrate the marriage of a high-ranking noblewoman. Art historians generally agree that the young Raphael painted this work under the influence of the Mona Lisa. The parallels are striking. The smoky landscape, distant mountains, pale blue sky and faint trees behind the sitter are all unmistakably Leonardesque. Both women are seated in nearly identical poses and viewed from similar angles. Their facial expressions are subtly comparable. Raphael clearly borrowed many of Leonardo's compositional techniques, but this was not simple imitation. He was inspired by Leonardo and sought to express something uniquely his own. One of Raphael's surviving sketches, preserved in the Louvre Museum, indirectly supports this theory. The resemblance is especially notable when compared to the so-called Isleworth Mona Lisa, believed by some to be an earlier version of the Mona Lisa. Having trained in Perugino's workshop, Raphael absorbed every new artistic innovation of his era. Both Leonardo and Michelangelo profoundly influenced him, particularly in anatomical accuracy. Yet, when it comes to the similarities between Lady with a Unicorn and the Mona Lisa, especially the columns, parapet and background landscape, restorers reached a fascinating conclusion. Raphael did not paint the columns or parapet. He painted only the figure, the sky and the landscape. The additional architectural elements, and likely the dog, were added later by another artist, possibly Giovanni Antonio Sogliani. The painting therefore passed through four distinct artistic stages. First, Raphael created the portrait of a young woman against an open window overlooking a distant landscape. At this stage, there was no colour on the sleeves or hands, suggesting the work was unfinished. The woman also appeared noticeably more mature. Next, another artist added the columns, parapet, sleeves, dog and hands, possibly Sogliani. A further layer of paint was then applied over these additions, increasing the volume of the sitter's hair and further modifying the sleeves and dog. Several decades later, the dog was transformed into a unicorn. At the same time, both hands were repainted. Much later, likely in the late 17th century, the unknown noblewoman was transformed into St Catherine through the addition of a cloak and religious attributes. That is how the painting appeared until the 1935 restoration. And yet the greatest mystery remains unanswered. Who was the woman Raphael originally portrayed? We know only that she was a young woman of high status, as evidenced by her luxurious clothing and jewellery. Art historians have proposed three main theories. The first suggests she was Julia Farnese, famously known as the mistress of Pope Alexander VI. Supporters of this theory point out that the unicorn was the heraldic emblem of the Farnese family, although the painting originally featured a dog. Her facial features also resemble other presumed portraits of Julia. A fresco in the Palazzo Farnese by Dominichino, painted a century later, is believed to depict her. Could Dominichino have used Raphael's portrait as inspiration? The second theory identifies her as Maddalena Strozzi, whose portrait by Raphael hangs in the Uffizi gallery. But there is a problem. Maddalena's eyes are dark, while the lady with the unicorn has light-coloured eyes. Would Raphael paint the same woman with different eye colours during the same period? Highly unlikely. The third theory points to Caterina Gonzaga. Contemporaries praised her beauty – fair hair, blue eyes, pale skin and perfectly balanced features. She even reportedly surpassed Julia Farnese in beauty contests of the era. The dog, later transformed into a unicorn, may have symbolised her purity and fidelity to her husband, Ottaviano Gabrielli, Count of Montevecchio. The couple had no children. After her husband's death in 1510, Caterina entered a convent. According to this theory, the portrait was later transformed into St Catherine as an intentional reference to her name. In this way, Raphael, one of history's greatest painters, created a masterpiece filled with mysteries. Will we ever uncover the sitter's true identity, her social status or the reasons behind the painting's many transformations? No one knows. But one thing is certain. Lady with a Unicorn remains one of the most fascinating and important portraits of the Renaissance. Who do you think is depicted in this painting? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for watching until the end and see you next time.