The exhibition offers a fascinating journey into the past. Immersing visitors in the works of the great masters between the 15th and 18th centuries it provides a new perspective on art, that of science.

Complex and specialized diagnostic analyses were translated into emotional and accessible narratives, engaging the public in the discovery of hidden pigments, artist’s corrections, preparatory drawings, restorations, and even erased sketches.

The exhibition layout was designed to generate an engaging and immersive experience.

Visitors are welcomed into a scenographic space, where a structure displays a 1:1 scale reproduction of the painting that is the focus of the room, along with curatorial texts and captions.
A projection reproduces, magnifying, the form of the work and reveals details invisible to the human eye through a dedicated video.

Defining storyboards, narrative rhythm, and levels of interpretation allowed the transformation of technical data into engaging and inclusive stories, alternating scientific insights with historical and artistic contexts, satisfying the curiosity of a broad and diverse audience.

Graphics clarify complex passages, while the length of the videos is calibrated to accompany the visit without interrupting its flow.

Each room opens with a different starting point, chosen from the most significant findings of the scientific analyses conducted on the works. The itinerary invites the visitor to enter the very heart of the pictorial material, demonstrating how tools such as reflectography, radiography, or tomography can reveal hidden levels of complexity and narrative.

The exhibition project benefited from the scientific consultancy of a team coordinated by Isabella Castiglioni, Full Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Milan-Bicocca and Scientific Director of the Italian Diagnostic Center (CDI), and art historian Stefano Zuffi.

The diagnostic investigations, promoted by the Bracco Foundation, were conducted by a team of outstanding researchers from the Universities of Milan, the IUSS-Pavia university spin-off DeepTrace Technologies, and the La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Center on works by Beato Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Piero del Pollaiolo, Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, Giovanna Garzoni, and Caravaggio.

The Bracco Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Bracco Group—a global leader in diagnostic imaging and contrast agents—has been promoting the application of non-invasive imaging techniques to the study and conservation of works of art for years. Diagnostic imaging, originally developed in the medical field to analyze the health of the human body, is now recognized as a valuable tool for knowledge in the artistic field as well. Scientific investigations offer an extraordinary opportunity to understand artists' working methods, the techniques they employ, the materials they use, and the stages of creating their works. This exhibition was conceived precisely with the aim of informing the general public of the progress achieved through years of diagnostic studies supported by the Bracco Foundation.