(CLO) Art historians studying a painting by Pablo Picasso discovered a mysterious portrait of a woman, hidden deep under the paint.
The original portrait appears to have been replaced by Picasso's Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto, a work depicting his sculptor friend seated at a table, using shades of blue and green.
Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto by Pablo Picasso. (Photo: The Courtauld Institute of Art)
But, nearly 125 years later, this hidden image was revealed thanks to infrared and X-ray imaging technology at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. Barnaby Wright, deputy director of the Courtauld Gallery, described the discovery process: "The portrait gradually emerged before our eyes... piece by piece, as the infrared scanner captured the image hidden beneath the surface."
Experts had previously suspected there was a hidden painting underneath, noticing some brushstrokes that didn't fit into the overall composition. However, they didn't know exactly what was underneath the paint until the scanning process began.
The woman's identity remains a mystery. However, she has the signature 1901 Parisian bun hairstyle, similar to several other female figures Picasso painted during that period.
"She could have remained an anonymous figure forever – a model, a lover or a friend of Picasso's," Wright commented.
Infrared imaging shows a portrait of a woman beneath this painting. (Photo: The Courtauld Institute of Art)
In 1901, when Picasso arrived in Paris, he was only 19 years old but was already experimenting with different approaches to his subject. Wright argues that the decision to paint over the previous portrait was not simply a change of subject, but also marked a shift in his style as he entered the Blue Period.
During his Blue Period, Picasso used cooler and darker tones, partly reflecting his feelings of grief after the death of his close friend Carlos Casagemas.
X-rays also show that Picasso may have revised the painting three or four times. Part of the reason was that he could not afford new canvas, but it may also have been because he enjoyed transforming one image into another.
“He didn’t wipe off the old portrait before repainting it. Instead, he painted his friend directly onto the woman’s portrait – creating an interesting transformation process,” Wright explains.
Even though the new paint has largely covered up the original portrait, some details are still visible to the naked eye. “When we know what image is underneath, we can see the obvious markings on the surface—from her eyes, her ears, her hair,” Wright added.
Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto will be on display at the Courtauld Gallery, London from February 14 to May 26.
Ha Trang (according to CNN, The Courtauld Institute of Art)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chan-dung-phu-nu-bi-an-duoc-phat-hien-duoi-buc-tranh-cua-picasso-post334057.html
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