FenchurchNov 23, 2022
Richard Littler

When they did an x-ray of Henry Gillard Glindoni's painting of Elizabethan occultist/alchemist John Dee, they discovered that Dee was standing in a circle of human skulls...
#art #history #occult #alchemy

EDIT: More info here: https://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=%2F9200579%2Fzaj9njhp&repid=1

OMNIA - X-ray imaging of John Dee painting by Henry Gillard Glindoni.

X-ray imaging of John Dee painting by Henry Gillard Glindoni. - Lettering: H. Gillard Glindoni.X-ray of Henry Gillard Glindoni's painting 'John Dee Performing an Experiment before Elizabeth I'. http://data.europeana.eu/organization/1482250000044932001

Nov 22, 2022 at 12:39pmWeb
Show threadFudgesicles Spinner™Nov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Wait, how did they hide the details in there!? I want an in-depth explanation.
Show threadMax HardwoodNov 22, 2022
@fudgesiclesxd @Richard_Littler They're painted over in layers. It wasn't uncommon to just paint over an existing painting to reuse the canvas. Many famous paintings are on reused canvases with completely different paintings underneath.
Show threadFudgesicles Spinner™Nov 22, 2022
@maxhardwood interesting 
Show threadJJNov 22, 2022
@maxhardwood @fudgesiclesxd @Richard_Littler Did this have something to do with the cost of material? I know paper, paint and utensils were quite expensive at one time.
Show threadMax HardwoodNov 22, 2022

@JJ_Mannsur @fudgesiclesxd @Richard_Littler Not necessarily. It's common practice even today. A painter will start working on canvas, get half way through and change their mind, painting over everything or parts of it. Some will just take a painting they're not completely fond of and reuse the canvas instead of using a new one.

Regarding the x-ray bit, the more refined the x-ray tech gets the more sensitive it can find these hidden/painted over layers

Show threadshared public horse .not biteyNov 22, 2022
@fudgesiclesxd just overpainting, probably to meet the client's tastes. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-painting-of-john-dee-astrologer-to-queen-elizabeth-i-contains-a-hidden-ring-of-skulls-180957860/ It's always weird when x-rays reveal a different image underneath - intuitively, paint is just all the same - but then you realise they must be using different pigments often with assorted metal compounds in them, so different x-ray transparencies. @Richard_Littler
A Painting of John Dee, Astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, Contains a Hidden Ring of Skulls

The life and work of John Dee contained a strange mix of science and magic

Smithsonian Magazine
Show threadFudgesicles Spinner™Nov 22, 2022

@g1comics the good old asset reuse. I'm kidding,

Another hypothesis I would raise here is emptying the canvas by repainting may not get absorbed by what will be underneath it... I suppose.

Show threadCOMPU73E ❄️Nov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler whoa that's metal af
Show threadPatrick HadfieldNov 22, 2022

@Richard_Littler oh wow. I mean, I had to Google it to see if it were true, but really, wow!

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/17/john-dee-painting-circle-of-human-skulls-exhibition

John Dee painting originally had circle of human skulls, x-ray imaging reveals

Enigmatic Tudor polymath known in his day as ‘the Queen’s conjuror’ is subject of exhibition at Royal College of Physicians

The Guardian
Show threadWillfulMisfitsNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Fascinating
Show threadedzobNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler this almost feels fake since you also see the bones of the people present. or did the painter start with the bones and later tried to sell it and masked the original into a more SFW version?
Show threadJ.H.NoyesNov 22, 2022
@edzob @Richard_Littler I think the original may have been Dee holding a seance with a court of spirits, the implication being that the courtiers be the owners of skulls encircling his position.
Show threadThe Conservation Studio, SGNov 22, 2022

@edzob @Richard_Littler

the lower (b/w) image is an x-ray image of the painting showing hidden details (the skulls were painted and then overpainted and covered over in the final rendering of the floor tiles) … because painters used lead white back then and given the right tweaks when imaging with x-ray, the painted over skulls can be “seen” - the rest of the painting seems to be pretty much as they were first composed

Show threadRobert SzaszNov 22, 2022
@edzob @Richard_Littler you see anything painted white. Remember titanium white wasn't a thing. And white lead shows up well on x-rays.
Show threadRodger KibbleNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Is this the one that hangs in the lobby at the Wellcome HQ?
Show threadFour Fins MusicNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Very interesting.
Show threadAdam DallianceNov 22, 2022

@Richard_Littler I question of why the artist would do that is the one that I'd like to know.

Were they intended to be shown and then mind changes? Always intended to be there but covered, known only to God and the artist? Intended to gradually reveal themselves over a few hundred years?

Suppose all we can get is speculation if he never said.

Show threadFree Range QuakerNov 22, 2022

@Richard_Littler

❗ 😮 ❗

Show threadAncientPLayNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler meanwhile the crocodile on the ceiling is a vampire
Show threadAlisilversmithNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler and he seems to be speaking to them. Love this discovery!
Show threadsteph newhamNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler https://youtu.be/Xv4slIp1O_g I've just listened to this by Dr. Kirsten D. Dzwiza https://writing.exchange/@antikemagie@archaeo.social is her mastadon link. Think ud find it interesting.
#magic #circles
Archaeology of Ancient Magic and Ritual Practice [Dr. Kirsten Dzwiza Interview]

YouTube
Show threadsteph newhamNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Facinating, so he was his own editor!
Show threadLynnBrennerNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Thank you for posting! Absolutely fascinating 🙂
Show thread莫世杰moniesokeNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler could them just be some onsite practice. I know a lot of people draw bones first then add meat and cloth to people. It could be a creation process.
Show threadAmy MaxwellNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler oh damn that’s cool
Show threadLunariaNov 22, 2022

@Richard_Littler That's pretty cool! I had to look it up to confirm. For anyone wondering the same, here's an article from The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/17/john-dee-painting-circle-of-human-skulls-exhibition

John Dee painting originally had circle of human skulls, x-ray imaging reveals

Enigmatic Tudor polymath known in his day as ‘the Queen’s conjuror’ is subject of exhibition at Royal College of Physicians

The Guardian
Show threadLisaHardingNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler The original Easter egg. I wonder what other secrets can be revealed by X-rays. This is fascinating.
Show threadBob | Ogdimora (Metal & Cats)Nov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler wow! That's incredibly interesting. And thank you to the folks who posted a link to that Guardian article!
Show threadRAVEN 🇪🇺Nov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler that is so cool.
Show threadHappyToastNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler the flying crocodile however was left in
Show threadSimonNov 22, 2022
@IamHappyToast @Richard_Littler I wonder if that's the same one that's in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. They took the circle of skulls out of that too.
Show threadShropshireMattNov 23, 2022
@IamHappyToast @Richard_Littler we have this upside down crocodile / dragon in Shrewsbury.
Show threadCrunchNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler I'm not sure what to do with this information, but I'm glad you provided me with it.
Show threadAfterpantsNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler awesome 😊
Show threadNickyPattinsonNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler as the artist painted in the Victorian era, a time when the interest in spiritualism etc was at its peak, this is an interesting, but not shocking find.
Show threadKayt SukelNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler That is fascinating. Is there anything in the history to explain why? Or why it was covered over?
Show threadFlorisNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler lol nobody has questions?
Show threadSarah Lloyd-WinderNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler that is brilliant
Show threadSaint Baal-MAŠNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler very cool. It'd be neat to see that version in the final form.
Show threadI keep it around for luck.Nov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler That's awesome!😈
Show threadJennifer TohbiNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler and the lady in gold is totally unimpressed! Fascinating X-ray!
Show threadValerian ForrestNov 22, 2022

@Richard_Littler I love the idea of there being this hidden world, just below the surface, just out of sight and out of comprehension of the people in the painting.

Is it likely they were covered up because the painter got cold feet about portraying the Queen in such a macabre setting?

Show threadMartin NichollsNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler that’s extraordinary.
Show threadMacarius AldusNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler
I'm just rereading Gustav Meyrink "The Angel of the West Window" 😃
Show threadGorgorNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler why paint over the skulls? I think they're pretty.
Show threadFunkyPythonsNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler interesting
Show threadmathsjudeNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Thank you for sharing. Absolutely amazing.
#art #history #occult
Show threadJust IceNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler There was an amazing exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians some years ago that had this painting on show... and the details of the X-Ray. Incredibly that also own the extant portions of Dee's famous library... many of his books annotated in his own hand...
Show threadJust IceNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler
Show threadJust IceNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler
https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/lost-library-john-dee
The lost library of John Dee

The Royal College of Physicians library holds more than 100 volumes stolen from John Dee during his lifetime, the largest single collection of Dee’s books in the world.

RCP London
Show threadDonsploitationNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Wow that is absolutely fascinating! Appreciate the link of expanded info too.
Show threadNLAWScametovisitNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler NOPE
Show threadStephen J KimberNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler
X rays - not just good for fractures.🤔
Show threadJan HildegardNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler That is very, very cool, especially given Dee's reputation. Thanks for sharing.
Show threadJen Newmeyer, CFRENov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler Wow - that is incredible!
Show threadspg_vientNov 22, 2022
@Richard_Littler 興味深い発見ですね。
Show threadCozimoNov 23, 2022
@Richard_Littler Surely this isn't the only instance of "hidden" elements in old paintings?
Show threadIrina IdeasNov 23, 2022
@Richard_Littler this is incredible and he actually looks at the skulls as if communicating to the past and the living are incidental. Great crossing between the world, thanks for sharing
Show threadDr Maria BarrettNov 24, 2022
More on that Dr John Dee skull painting, and his extensive and esoteric library. How it mentions artists inspired by him and doesn’t mention Peter Ackroyd though I don’t know. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/17/john-dee-painting-circle-of-human-skulls-exhibition
John Dee painting originally had circle of human skulls, x-ray imaging reveals

Enigmatic Tudor polymath known in his day as ‘the Queen’s conjuror’ is subject of exhibition at Royal College of Physicians

The Guardian