Scientific study of an 18^th century portuguese painting on canvas and their old restoration: PROBLEMS of date and authenticity of the current image

A Portuguese painting of the 18th century, from the collection of the National Library of Portugal, restored in 1864, was studied with the aim of better understanding the practice of restoration in Portugal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Initial observations suggested that it had been subjected to significant changes, due to the existence of an extensive decorative bar at the bottom of the painting and an inscription with calligraphy that seemed to suggest being of the 19th century. However, the scientific study carried out with the use of a set of analytical techniques leads to the conclusion that, essentially, the current image is consistent with the original image, although a thick layer of varnish and several localized repaints were observed. However, the inscription does not seem to be original.