Special Exhibitions
Picasso: The Artist's Studio
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Special Exhibitions |
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Picasso: The Artist's Studio |
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X-Radiograph of La Vie This x-radiograph of La Vie reveals that the man standing at the center was originally a self-portrait of Picasso (red A). Picasso later repainted the face, replacing his features with those of Carles Casagemas, a former companion and fellow artist who had committed suicided in 1901. Parts of the wooden easel depicted in Picasso’s preparatory studies for the painting can also be detected in this x-radiograph (B, outlined in yellow).Some preparatory studies also depict the naked woman standing beside the artist, presumably his model and lover, with long, flowing hair. Unfortunately, the large areas of lead white Picasso applied around her head and back (green C) make it impossible to determine whether or not she had long hair in the early stages of the painting. Some preparatory studies also include a bearded man entering the studio from the right and standing at the exact location now occupied by the robed woman holding a child. It is difficult to tell whether the bearded man was ever present in the painting, but there is a suggestion in x-radiographs of a second profile to the left of the robed woman’s head (D, outlined in orange). X-radiographs also disclose hidden details of the flying “birdman” scene that once appeared at the lower center (E, outlined in blue), but which Picasso subsequently obscured by overpainting it with the image of a lone, naked woman crouching in a fetal position. Page 1 of 4 | On the next page: Infrared Reflectograms of La Vie |
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