Il non finito: fra poetica e tecnica esecutiva

Beside Palma il Vecchio's Christ and the Adulteress, a screen slowly dissolves from the painting into an infrared image, then a radiograph. Underneath, Palma changed the adulteress's gaze, her hair and the position of Christ's hand.

About fifteen paintings from the Pinacoteca's own collection hang by artist: Garofalo's two Circumcisions, Palma, then the largest group, Guido Reni's. Imaging of Reni's Anima beata (1640-1642) showed changes to its body, legs, arms, wings and drapery, and a match with a drawing for a Crucifix. Reni revised this angel over and over and still never finished it, so your unsent draft to the condominio WhatsApp group is in good company. Installations at the entrance explain the methods: infrared reflectography, radiography, UV fluorescence and MA-XRF.

It's a short display, included in the Capitoline ticket (€15, free for Rome residents with ID). The museum is open daily 9:30 to 19:30, and the show now runs to 4 January 2027.