Mysterious Bearded Man Found Hidden Beneath Picasso Masterpiece

Art experts have finally figured out what lies beneath one of Pablo Picasso's first artworks, the Associated Press reported.

Experts have always suspected that something was hidden underneath Picasso's "The Blue Room," which the Spanish painter completed in 1901 and is considered one of his masterpieces.

Using infrared imagery, scientists from The Philips Collection in Washington revealed that underneath the painting is the image of a bearded man with his face resting on his hand.

"It's really one of those moments that really makes what you do special," art conservator Patricia Favero, from The Phillips Collection, told the AP.

The original "Blue Room" shows a golden-haired woman bathing in Picasso's studio. One conservator noticed in 1954 that the brushstrokes did not match the painting's design. By the '90s, an X-ray revealed an obscure image under the painting. Yet experts still could not determine what it was.

It wasn't until 2008 when advances in infrared imagery showed the portrait of a man with a beard and three rings on his fingers, the AP reported. He's also wearing a bow tie and jacket. A more complete image of the man was unveiled for the first time this week.

But the solving of one mystery led to scientists to another.

"Well, who is it?" Favero told the AP. "We're still working on answering that question," she said.

One theory is that he is the French art dealer Ambrose Villard, who organized Picasso's first art show in Paris in 1901. However there is no historic evidence to support that theory.

"The Blue Room" was part of Picasso's Blue Period, where he painted a series of somber artworks in shades of blue and other warm colors, according to one Picasso website.

Experts say Picasso most likely painted over the bearded man in an attempt to save money.

"When he had an idea, you know, he just had to get it down and realize it," Phillips curator Susan Behrends Frank told the AP. "He could not afford to acquire new canvasses every time he had an idea that he wanted to pursue. He worked sometimes on cardboard because canvas was so much more expensive."

Art officials hope to organize an exhibit focusing on "The Blue Room" and the hidden portrait in 2017.

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