The most faithful, life-size copy of Hans Holbein’s Thomas More family portrait—whose original was destroyed by fire in the eighteenth century—is being studied with macro X-ray fluorescence scanning. Bringing together three generations, books, musical instruments and symbolic details, the composition is regarded as an early landmark of the domestic family portrait.
Researchers aim to map underdrawing, pigment distribution and later additions without removing paint. The project offers an internationally significant example of how technical imaging can reconstruct the making of a lost masterpiece.
