Hidden Portrait of Mystery Woman Found Beneath Picasso’s Blue Period Painting

Advanced imaging technology reveals a previously unknown painting beneath Picasso’s 1901 portrait of sculptor Mateu Fernández de Soto, sparking new questions about his creative process.

Conservators at the Courtauld Institute of Art uncovered a hidden portrait of a woman beneath Picasso’s 1901 painting, 'Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto,' using X-ray and infrared imaging.
The discovery was made during preparations for the painting's display at an exhibition opening February 14 in Winterthur, Switzerland.
The woman’s identity remains unknown, but experts suggest she may have been a model, friend, or lover, and her depiction resembles other women Picasso painted during the same year.
Picasso, known for reusing canvases due to financial constraints, often painted over earlier works, integrating elements of previous styles into new creations.
This finding sheds light on Picasso’s artistic evolution during his Blue Period, a time marked by a shift from colorful Impressionism to somber, melancholic themes influenced by personal loss.