Infrared Photography Reveals Hidden Woman Behind Early Picasso Painting

Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) may be one of the most famous and influential artists of the 20th century but during his early years, he struggled through poverty. This led to him frequently reusing canvases and painting new work over old.

Conservators at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London have discovered a new recycled Picasso canvas, unveiling through infrared and X-ray imaging technology that the painter’s Blue Period work, “Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto,” was painted over a separate painting of an unknown woman.

‘Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto’ by Pablo Picasso, 1901

This unknown hidden portrait was revealed when The Courtauld, in collaboration with the Oskar Reinhart Collection, captured an X-ray of the work. This discovery led to further investigation, including infrared images to look beneath the top-most layer of pigment.

Experts at The Courtauld believe the painting of the woman was likely created just a few months before “Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto,” a powerful early example of Picasso’s Blue Period. Created in the fall of 1901, when Picasso was just 19 years old, the portrait’s somber, melancholic style reflects an important turning point for the artist.

An X-ray image of ‘Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto | Credit: Department of Conservation, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London

Although a defining era for Picasso, the Blue Period arrived after he suffered tremendous loss, as his friend and fellow painter Carlos Casagemas committed suicide at just 20 years old in February 1901 in Paris. Picasso took over Casagemas’ rooms and set up his studio there. Picasso’s memorial painting of the burial of his friend is visible on the wall in the background of “Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto.”

Art historians are working to determine who the woman locked behind the layers of oil paint is. Her head, shoulders, and hands are visible in infrared photographs. The woman “bears a resemblance” to some paintings of seated women Picasso made earlier in 1901, The Courtauld says, including “Absinthe Drinker” and “Woman with Crossed Arms.” There is evidence of an additional head lower in the painting, which experts believe could have been made in Picasso’s earlier Impressionistic style.

“Further research into the painting and detailed analysis could reveal more about the mystery woman, but it is not certain her identity will be established. She may have been a model, a friend or even a lover posing for one of Picasso’s colorful Impressionistic images of Parisian nightlife, or a melancholic woman seated in a bar,” the museum explains.

“It is as if the portrait of de Soto grew out of the figure of the woman below as one style gave way to another,” it adds.

An infrared image of ‘Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto | Credit: Department of Conservation, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London

The portrait was acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1935 as part of a private collection. It was believed to be a portrait of an unknown woodcarver at that time. It was not until much later that people realized who the artist Picasso painted was, the significance of the person, and the place he was seated.

“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. 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,” explains Barnaby Wright, Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery. “Picasso’s way of working to transform one image into another and to be a stylistic shapeshifter would become a defining feature of his art, which helped to make him one of the giant figures of art history. All that begins with a painting like this.”

Aviva Burnstock, Professor of Conservation at The Courtauld, adds that the special imaging technology they use at The Courtauld enables experts to see “the hand of an artist” in incredible new ways, providing key insights into their creative process and the intimate histories of notable and meaningful artworks.

“In revealing this previously hidden figure we can shed light on a pivotal moment in Picasso’s career,” Burnstock says.

The painting will be on display at The Courtauld as part of “The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Goya to Impressionism. Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection,” from February 14 through May 26.

This is not the only painting of Picasso’s with a unique story to tell that infrared photography and close examination have since revealed. Perhaps his most famous Blue Period painting “The Old Guitarist” not only was made on a cutting board due to a lack of resources but also was painted over an older painting.

Image credits: The Courtauld Institute of Art