A Potential Cézanne Self-Portrait Was Found by a Cincinnati Art Museum Conservator Underneath a Meh Still Life of Bread and Eggs
A curator at the museum got a “hunch” something was hiding after seeing underlying paint through cracks on the canvas.
Museums are always looking to expand their collections, but occasionally a new masterpiece is hiding in plain sight.
After examining Cezanne’s Still Life with Bread and Eggs (1865) more closely, Serena Urry, chief conservator of the Cincinnati Museum of Art (CMA), noticed a strange concentration of cracks in two areas of the canvas. Underneath, she thought she could make out some underlying white paint.
It turns out that what she has described as a “hunch” was correct. Further x-ray analysis revealed a hidden painting that they believe might be a self-portrait of the French Post-Impressionist, painted while he was in his mid-20s.
“We went from having two Cezannes to three with this discovery,” Urry said.