Scientists discover a hidden ‘guest’ in Picasso’s The Blue Room

Using state-of-the-art infrared technology, researchers have solved one of art’s mysteries.

For years, art experts suspected the existence of a hidden painting underneath Pablo Picasso’s The Blue Room. The painting is one of the earliest examples of the Spanish master’sBlue Period, when he was experimenting with indigo hues to convey sadness and melancholia.

In the 1990s an X-ray revealed a fuzzy figure of something beneath the painting, reports theSydney Morning Herald. But it wasn't until 2008 that researchers managed to use infrared lightning to scan the image. That was a crucial step towards solving the puzzle. When researchers used infrared scanning and multi-spectral imaging technology, the image of a bearded man resting his face on his ringed fingers appeared. 

Technical analyses were then used to date the hidden painting. The result: 1901, the same yearThe Blue Room was painted. At the time Picasso was 19 years old and still struggling to find his revolutionary style. The ringed man can shed some light on the stylistic experimentation that led to the Blue Period.

Researchers continue to work hard to identify the colours of the original painting. The aim is to recreate a digital image that can help art experts better understand Picasso’s transition between the Blue (1901-1904) and Rose Periods (1904-1906). Figuring out who the bearded man is, is part of the project as well.

This isn’t the first time science has revealed a secret painting in Picasso’s artwork. There’s a moustached man hidden beneath Woman Ironing (1904). 

Reusing canvases has been common practice for centuries, especially among young or penniless artists. Over the past few years scientists have discovered many other unknown drawings hidden beneath famous paintings. Vincent van Gogh’s Patch of Grass, for example, hides the portrait of a peasant woman, and a beached whale was found ‘hiding’ in a painting by Hendrick van Anthonissen.