Woman At A Window (1510-30) by an unknown Italian artist (right) and acquired by the National Gallery in the mid-19th century as a portrait of a brunette woman, is pictured at the National Gallery in London.
Following an investigation, it was revealed the painting had been altered with a heavily discoloured varnish to satisfy more restrained Victorian tastes. A photograph (left) shows the painting during the restoration process.
Both works form part of the Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries exhibition, which runs until September 12. (AFP)
Not forever young for Miss Cornwall
A beauty queen was stripped of her title after lying about her age and where she lived, organisers said.
Laura Anness, a teacher, took the Miss Cornwall crown in front of hundreds of people in Newquay and was gearing up to represent the county in the Miss England final at the NEC Birmingham Hilton.
But organisers of the pageant removed her title after discovering the teacher had deceived them. Her entry forms for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 all declared she was 22. And she lived in Plymouth, Devon. (PA)
Wrestler tackles burglar
A 20-stone wrestler has described how he tackled a burglar after catching him red-handed at his home.
Adam Kalinowski, 37, returned to his home in Coventry to find six-foot thief Lee Christie stealing a laptop.
He said: "I know how to wrestle and I like fighting sports, so I got him in a Nelson headlock." (PA)
Multimillion-dollar chihuahuas
Three chihuahuas are at the centre of a bitter, multimillion-dollar battle over the estate of Gail Posner, daughter of late corporate raider Victor Posner.
Conchita, Lucia and April Marie are used to a luxurious life in an island mansion near Miami, with a $3,000,000 trust fund left by Ms Posner.
But her only surviving child, 46-year-old Bret Carr, claims his mother was coerced into changing her will by employees while suffering from cancer and drug addiction.
Mr Carr got only $1,000,000 in his mother's will, while employees received $27,000,000. Some live in the seven-bedroom Sunset Island mansion with the dogs. The will provides for the dogs to live in the mansion until they die. (PA)
Marilyn Monroe's chest X-rays
The apparently endless market for images of Marilyn Monroe now extends to inside the blonde bombshell's body.
A set of three chest X-rays from a 1954 hospital visit sold for $45,000 at the Hollywood Legends auction at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Other Monroe-abilia that sold included a chair from her last photo shoot which went for $35,000. (PA)
Electrifying racoon
A racoon knocked out power to a section of central Memphis that included two hospitals and the city newspaper for more than five hours.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division president Jerry Collins said the racoon climbed more than 30 feet over barriers intended to keep animals out, and short-circuited a switch on a substation.
Overall, about 8,000 customers were left without power. Emergency generators restored power to the two hospitals, but the outage delayed production of the Commercial Appeal newspaper and disrupted other businesses. (PA)
Fleamarket buy holds up Eurostar
Two tourists who tried to take an old shell bought from a French fleamarket onto the Eurostar last Sunday caused an hour's delay to the train when officials discovered the weapon in their luggage, police said.
The pair had bought the decorative shell, which dated from 1885 and was still active, at the popular Saint-Ouen fleamarket in the north of Paris, they said.
After Customs officials found the device in their luggage, security authorities evacuated the Eurostar terminal at the Gare du Nord station. Bomb disposal services were also called in.
Traffic resumed on the cross-Channel rail link after an hour. (AFP)