Giovanna

Discover the historical, artistic and technical secrets hidden within the portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni with this app developed by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The painting’s fascinating history and technique come together in this app that focuses exclusively on the emblematic portrait by Domenico Ghirlandaio. It has been part of the museum’s collection since 1935.

The section “Discover” is aimed at the really inquisitive user. Here, with a simple swipe across the screen, you can x-ray the image or apply a layer infra-red or UV onto the painting to discover what is hidden under the dress of Giovanna or what the first version of the necklace looked like that Ghirlandaio painted.

For those who are interested in delving deeper into the technical aspects of the painting, this app has more than 15 fun clips that will demonstrate that every single detail in the picture, even the very composition of the elements within it, has a reason for being there.

Videos, images, and documents make up the rest of this fantastic study carried out by the Department of Old Masters together with the Restoration Department of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid – one of the most impressive gems of the history of art.