June 3, 2011. (Romereports.com) Is this painting a copy or is it an original? For centuries, that was the question surrounding one of Correggio's best known pieces titled “Christ and Glory.”

Fabio Morresi
Vatican Museum's Scientific Laboratory
“Because of the precious material and because of the beauty of the piece itself, it's truly an exciting  project just like the research.”

The Vatican got the painting in 1832. For years, experts assumed it was a copy from the original masterpiece done between 1526 and 1530 by Correggio, the great Italian Renaissance artist. But recently that all changed, when the Vatican decided to give the painting a touch up.

Fabio Morresi
Vatican Museum's Scientific Laboratory
“Above all we respected all the organic colors in the surface of the piece. They become even more delicate in the restoration process. Naturally, first we looked into the technical and scientific aspect to look into the material.”

During that process, experts decided it is in fact an original. They found several errors and corrections on the fabric and also a preliminary sketch. If it were a copy, they argued, there would have been no need to prepare any sketches.

It took about two months to study the fabric, colors and the painting's technique. One of those  months was used for the restoration process.

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