Originally posted by Rhain

With reasonably good digital pictures of the front and back we could
determine when it was painted, perhaps where, and if it seems to have
artistic merit.

Well, although the photo isn't "reasonably good," I think the question of whether "it seems to have artistic merit" has already been answered:

Originally posted by antar
Sorry but that picture is awful! Cover it back up!

Yeah, it's a stinker. I'd be surprised if it were worth more than the frame it's in.

I know a thing or two about paintings, to me it does not fit the description of a masterpiece or nice painting in general, nor painted by someone famous. There are thousands upon thousands of painting with similar religious themes sitting in art gallery's across the world in the basement. That being said, if it were and important the "art experts" would have said something or asked you to send it in by now(no pun intended if you really are reading the forums).

Enough babbling, I think your aunt was dealing with a scam. It is common for people to paint better paintings over old canvas to make it look old & similar to famous artists(try make more money. They then cross their fingers and hope someone buys it without the buyers checking if its authentic(im sure your aunt knows this if she is a art dealer, she must see you have a lot of interest and dosen't want to disappont you). She probably turned and walked away because she thought she was caught with forgery. You got a better chance of winning the lottery then that painting being an important piece, and if it is there is no way to prove it is as there is no record of a painting being important like this missing if you looked at the records.

I would just keep the painting for pleasure, the mystery for a story to tell your kids, grandkids or put in auction and hope someone who will appreciate it buys it. Who knows maybe in the future they will be able to tell you its a Ruban based on the brush strokes(they can already do this its just a long wait and lots of money and this painting would not be considered a candidate at this current time).

Good luck

One other thing, if I had to guess what century this painting is from. I would say the late 1700, early 1800 popular style for the time. Hope that helps.

Originally posted by rhain
Carefully my Aunt removed the top layer of paint, which she found to be acrylic and not oil.

Is the bottom layer acrylic or oil?

Looking forward to hearing what the appraisers/experts had to say!

Your aunt's story seems quite consistant, and it's likely that this was part of some church rectory's possessions. The art is professional (even if you don't like it), so the artist made their living with their art. The bit of news that it came from Czechoslovokia also makes sense, given the style and color choices.

That also explains the shape of the face.

And yes, it might go back to the 1700's. It's likely there are other religious paintings around by this artist.

It could be a templar relic. They worshiped a severed head called a baphomet or caput mortem. I looked for a link to a pic for comparison but couldn't find one. I saw a similar looking example of this type of picture on a documentary of the templars the history channel. That one was on the wall of an old church and had to be uncovered somehow. Interesting find please keep us posted!

Sorry if this has already been addressed, but what kind of uniform was on the soldier??......That might help you determine when the original painting was 'hidden', and narrow down the area it might have originated from. Are there any photos of the painting before the 'restoration'??