Pentimento is a term in painting that refers to a situation in which an artist changes the original sketch or composition of a work and then covers it with new layers, but over time, the underlying image becomes visible again. The term is of Italian origin, derived from the verb pentirsi, meaning “repentance,” and it denotes the visual traces resulting from the artist’s modification of a previously made drawing^【1】. Pentimento typically appears in oil paintings and provides important clues about the technical, aesthetic, and conceptual aspects of the artistic process.

^{Example of Pentimento (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)}

Technical Explanation

Pentimento is most commonly observed in paintings executed on canvas surfaces. At any stage of the composition, the artist may change the position, posture, proportion of figures, or background elements, covering the previous elements with new layers. Over time, due to the transparency of pigments or chemical changes in the paint, the underlying figures may begin to reappear. This phenomenon can be more clearly revealed through technical analysis methods such as X-ray, infrared reflectography, and ultraviolet light.

Pentimento and Debates on Originality

The presence of pentimento in a painting is considered one of the key indicators that the work is an original creation. This is because traces of pentimento are typically absent in copies or imitations, where the process is geared directly toward the final result. Pentimento points to the artist’s direct intervention and the authentic changes in decision-making during the creative process. Therefore, it is one of the elements taken into account—alongside scientific analysis—when determining the authenticity of an artwork.

Pentimento in Art History

The phenomenon of pentimento is highly valuable to art historians and restoration experts. It reveals the creation process of a work, the artist’s conceptual transformations, and aesthetic decisions. Traces of pentimento have been found in the works of many artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and El Greco.

For example, in Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine, scans have revealed that the artist redrew the figure’s hands and the animal in different positions several times. This is significant as it demonstrates the artist’s evolving compositional understanding throughout the process.

Use of Pentimento in the Modern Era

Since the 20th century, particularly within abstract and conceptual art movements, pentimento has become a consciously employed form of expression. Artists have intentionally allowed lower layers to remain visible, thus exposing the process of art-making to the viewer. This approach reflects the idea that the process of creation is more valuable than the final product in artistic practice.

^{Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso (Flickr)}

Conceptual Use in Literature and Cinema

The concept of pentimento has not remained confined to the visual arts; it has also been used metaphorically in fields such as literature, theater, and cinema. Particularly in personal narratives, the term pentimento has been applied to describe the act of reevaluating one’s past, where a previous thought or behavior is overlaid with a new layer of meaning. Lillian Hellman’s autobiographical work Pentimento: A Book of Portraits is a notable example of this usage in literature.