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 Infrared scans revealed the image of a well-dressed gentleman
under "The Blue Room," painted during the artist's early days in
Paris. Art experts are eager to learn who the man was, how he
was connected to Picasso, and why his portrait was painted over.
"We will try to identify, if at all possible, who the sitter
might be," said Susan Behrends Frank, associate curator for
research at The Phillips Collection in Washington D.C.
"We're trying to gather information about individuals Picasso
had any opportunity to have contact with, or whose paths he may
have crossed during his crucial early weeks in Paris," she said.
Researchers are hoping that material from the Museu Picasso in
Barcelona, and another museum in Paris, will offer clues to
solving the puzzle.
Knowing more about the man shown seated with his right hand
touching his cheek could help researchers understand the process
and changing style of the celebrated artist who died in France
in 1973 at age 91.
A conservator at The Phillips Collection, a private institution,
suspected something was underneath the "The Blue Room" as early
as the 1950s when he noticed inconsistencies in the brush
strokes. In 1997, X-ray images revealing a murky image confirmed
his suspicions.
But it wasn't until infra-red scans were performed in 2008 that
a clearer portrait of the bearded man in a bow-tie was revealed.
Earlier this year, art experts from The Phillips Collection, The
National Gallery of Art in Washington, Cornell University and
the Winterthur Museum in Delaware, all of whom collaborated on
the research, discussed their findings. They determined, judging
by the brush strokes and pigment, that both paintings had been
done in haste by Picasso in 1901.
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"We can see where it fits in with his works in an important
transition time for him," said Frank, adding that the style of the
painting suggests the summer of 1901 in Paris.
"One of the things we will try to do is understand more about the
timeline between these two paintings," she added.
The portrait of the mystery man is not the first found under a
Picasso painting. It was not uncommon for struggling artists to
re-use a canvas.
Frank said that discovering other aspects of Picasso's early career
adds to the larger understanding of the moment he was becoming the
artist he is known as today.
"It's like being a detective trying to decipher these enticing
morsels of information to try to knit them together into a more
comprehensive picture," Frank added.
"The Blue Room," which has been part of The Phillips Collection
since 1927, will be displayed in South Korea from next month until
early next year. It will also be the focus of an exhibition at The
Phillips Collection planned for 2017.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Gunna
Dickson)
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