DALLAS
Some modern detective work has brought new insight into a collection of 15th-century panels that once adorned a church altar in Spain.
Scientific analysis of the medieval panels painted between 1480 and 1500 for the cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo has not only revealed underdrawings hidden for around 500 years, but has also elevated the status of an artist who worked on the panels.
Researchers found that a virtually unknown artist named Maestro Bartolome who had worked alongside the better-known Fernando Gallego was responsible for about half of the panels — and was an outstanding artist in his own right.
“We knew Bartolome worked with Gallego, we didn’t know his technique and style and hand was such a quality,” said Mark Roglan, director of Southern Methodist University’s Meadows Museum in Dallas, where the panels are the centerpiece of an exhibit on display through July 27.
“He is a master on his own,” Roglan said.
The exhibit features the cathedral’s 26 remaining panels, which depict biblical events including Genesis, the life of Christ and the Last Judgment.
