Researchers have uncovered the secret portrait of a mystery woman hidden behind one of Picasso’s most famous blue-period works.
Researchers at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London made the breakthrough using imaging technology such as infrared and x-ray scanning. The painting, “Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto,” is one of Picasso’s most famous from his blue period beginnings from 1901 to 1904, when he stuck to a palette of mostly blues and greens, and his paintings took on a more somber tone. The portrait is of his friend Mateu Fernández de Soto, but when looked at with infrared and x-ray imaging, a mysterious woman is revealed to be next to Picasso’s buddy.
The researchers determined that the mystery woman was likely drawn several months before Fernández de Soto’s painting was put onto the canvas. The lady has her hair twisted into a chignon and appears to be staring, almost hovering over the man in the portrait.
While this may be news for art aficionados and common people alike, the minds behind this discovery had long suspected that someone was lurking beneath the surface of this Picasso painting.
“We have long suspected another painting lay behind the portrait of de Soto because the surface of the work has tell-tale marks and textures of something below,” said Barnaby Wright, deputy head of the Courtauld Gallery. “Now we know that this is the figure of a woman. You can even start to make out her shape just by looking at the painting with the naked eye.”
Confirming their suspicions raises many questions about the mystery lady’s identity. The researchers suspect she could be the same woman in Picasso’s “Woman with Crossed Arms” and “The Absinthe Drinker,” but she could also have been a friend or lover from the Spanish artist’s time in Paris.
Courtauld said in a statement that more research is needed to determine the identity of the portrait’s hidden woman. However, her revelation gives art experts and scientists alike a glimpse into Picasso’s mind and stylistic preferences through the revisions in the scans.
“The way Picasso transformed one image into another, evolving his style, would become a hallmark of his work,” said Wright. “That ability is what made him one of the most influential figures in art history.”
The piece will be displayed at the Courtauld Gallery starting February 14 during the “Goya to Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection” event they are hosting.