X-ray and infrared imaging has revealed a long-hidden painting beneath "Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto," providing researchers with new insights into the artist's blue period

A portrait of a mystery woman was found under one of Pablo Picasso’s earliest Blue Period paintings, revealed using imaging technology. Courtauld Institute of Art conservators took x-ray and infrared images of the 1901 painting “Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto‚” a portrait of Picasso’s Spanish sculptor friend.

One of Pablo Picasso's earliest Blue Period paintings contains another portrait hidden beneath its surface, specialist imaging technology has revealed. The big picture: The artwork of the mystery woman was discovered when Courtauld Institute of Art conservators "took x-ray and infrared images of Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto — a portrait depicting Picasso's sculptor friend painted in 1901,

Nearly 125 years after Pablo Picasso painted one portrait, high-tech imaging tools have revealed a secret — another, earlier portrait concealed beneath.

Experts analyzing the painting have several theories about why this unidentified woman has remained submerged for more than a century.

Art historians studying a Picasso painting uncovered the mysterious portrait of a woman hidden beneath the painting’s surface. The portrait of the woman was lost in 1901, when Picasso painted a portrait of his sculptor friend Mateu Fernández De Soto over the original.

Conservators at London's Courtauld Institute used x-ray and infrared images to reveal the previously unseen works

Conservators at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London revealed a hidden portrait beneath Pablo Picasso's 1901 painting "Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto," adding a new layer of complexity to one of the artist's Blue Period iconic works.