Public to watch rare X-ray scanning of Thomas More portrait at Nostell

Starting Thursday, visitors at Nostell, a stunning Palladian estate near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, can witness an exciting heritage science project—this is actually the UK’s first of its kind. Over the next eight days, experts from the Fitzwilliam Museum's Hamilton Kerr Institute will perform macro X-ray fluorescence scans on a portrait of Thomas More and his family. The goal is to uncover hidden sketches and track any changes made later on. This piece is the only genuine lifesize replica of a Holbein painting that was lost in a fire back in 1752, and it’s a significant part of the National Trust collection. Simon McCormack, Nostell's curator, hopes this initiative will generate buzz similar to the Rijksmuseum's restoration of Rembrandt's The Night Watch. The painting, which is 2.5 by 3.4 meters, has been too large to exhibit for much of the 18th century and depicts More, who opposed Henry VIII’s annulment, with his family in their Chelsea home, full of rich symbolism like a monkey on a leash and three-petalled irises. The Center for Thomas More Studies at Dallas University is funding the project. McCormack also noted that while this artwork has been at Nostell for 300 years, no one knows who actually painted it.