Free Republic

Ancient Roman portrait busts, the paintings of Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Sandro Botticelli, Gentile Bellini, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael, and the portrait busts of Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. The music combines parts of Pavana Alla Venetiana and O Mia Cieca E Dura Sorte from the Early Venetian Lute Music album, available from Amazon.

The details of a mummified Egyptian woman's 1,800-year-old portrait have been mapped by scientists in incredible detail. A new non-invasive technique allowed experts to take intricate scans of the second century portrait, revealing the materials and methods the artist used. The images show that the ancient painter used beeswax as a base and plant dyes for colour during his work. A number of different tools helped him to craft the noblewoman's likeness, including a fine painter's brush, a metal spoon and an engraver, the scans reveal.