Nativity scene found under painting using X-ray

Art conservator Nicky Grimaldi described the find as "a lovely surprise"

What is thought to be a 16th Century painting of a nativity scene has been found underneath another artwork.

Northumbria University conservators were working on a centuries-old panel by an unknown artist of the beheading of John the Baptist from the Bowes Museum collection at the time.

As it was in a deteriorated condition, they took X-rays to assess the damage.

These revealed figures including a baby in a manger, angels and what appears to be one of the three wise men or Magi.

The X-ray revealed a number of figures depicted in the nativity scene

The St John the Baptist painting is believed to be about 400 years old and probably formed part of a larger altar piece.

As Nicky Grimaldi, Senior Lecturer in Conservation of Fine Art at Northumbria, said: "The first stage of most investigations of this kind is to carry out an X-ray to understand what is going on underneath the layer of paint we see on the surface.

"That was when we realised there was more to the painting than we originally thought.

"It really is quite unusual to find paintings hidden in this way and to discover a nativity scene in this detail and just before Christmas was really incredible."

More detailed investigation work will now be carried out in a bid to establish the age, background and history of both the paintings.

More investigation work is to be carried out on both paintings