A related painting of Cimon and Pero is held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and attributed to the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens.

Technical research dates its original composition to around 1635, while also identifying elements that were added later.

This episode examines the Amsterdam version, its changing appearance and its relationship to the wider group of surviving compositions. Can it help reconstruct how the subject developed within the Rubens tradition?

Beneath the visible surface, technical imaging revealed changes made during the painting process.

The positions of figures and details were reconsidered as the composition developed. These pentimenti provide evidence of an active creative process and invite comparison with other works, including Rubens’ Phaëton.

This episode examines the hidden changes, what they reveal about the painting’s creation and why pentimenti alone cannot identify the artist.

Pigments, ground layers and binding media can help establish when and how a painting was made.

Technical examinations found a material profile consistent with early seventeenth-century painting practice. But compatibility with a historical period is not the same as proof of authorship.

This episode examines the materials identified in the painting, what they reveal about its physical construction and where the limits of material evidence must be respected.