Conservators at The Courtauld Institute in London have discovered a hidden image beneath Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto. Using x-ray and infrared imaging, they revealed a mystery woman, suggesting the canvas was reused multiple times, a common practice for Picasso during financially tough periods. This discovery, according to conservation expert Aviva Burnstock, enhances understanding of Picasso's creative process during a pivotal phase in his career, especially as he coped with personal tragedies reflected in his Blue Period work.
Specialist imaging technology such as that used by conservators at The Courtauld may allow us to see the hand of an artist to understand their creative process. In revealing this previously hidden figure we can shed light on a pivotal moment in Picasso's career.
The analysed painting shows Picasso's sculptor friend Mateu Fernádez de Soto sitting at a table. De Soto arrived in Paris late 1901 and was staying in the studio with the artist where the portrait was made.
The Blue Period was an uncertain and depressing time for Picasso, as he flitted between Paris and Barcelona, haunted by the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas, who he travelled to France with in the autumn of 1900.
Researchers have discovered hidden underpaintings in several works dating from Picasso's Blue Period such as The Soup (1903) and Crouch.
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