12 thoughts on “Scanning technology reveals what’s under a Picasso painting

  1. Gwen Fiorillo

    This is very interesting. It’s a very interesting technique to use an already existing painting and transform it into something else. It reminds me of a game I used to play with my mom where we would draw 5 lines on any way on a piece of paper and the other would make a picture out of it. It makes you curious how many famous paintings were once something else.

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  2. Sarai David

    I was so excited when this article popped up on my news feed a couple weeks ago. These techniques are part of the reason I became interested in art history. Whenever I hear stories about paintings being covered up, I always wonder why the artist chose to paint over a particular piece that they’ve already created. I look forward to other discoveries that are made as technology improves.

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  3. Pratima Kandel

    This is brilliant!! I am really glad with the new innovation of technology that allows us to discover further more about the history and arts.

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  4. Beth Bayless

    This is such a great use of new technology and i can’t wait to see what is under other paintings. This also provides some look into the process in which Picasso painted. Really cool find!

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  5. Lucy Bondje

    This is a very interesting technique. I never really thought you could have an artwork already painted but form it into something else. I feel like tattoo artists utilize this technique when trying to form new art on an artwork already established on their body. The fact that major artists do this as well makes it very clear to the person viewing it that they had some type of inspiration to create their own form of art.

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  6. Caroline Thompson

    This new technology is basically a door that has been opened to many more discoveries ahead. The fact that they can x-ray a painting and determine when it was dated is amazing. Also, the fact that the x-ray fluorescence system is cheaper making it cheaper for galleries to use is even more astounding. I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out secrets about artists and the past through this system.

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  7. Hunter Stephens

    interesting that x-ray technologies are showing how a canvas is really not blank sometimes…. I wonder how many other artists have followed this same trait…??

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  8. Emma Bower

    This is incredibly wild! Very interesting that he chose to do that with his art. If we didn’t know about this before, that brings up the question what if he has other works that he’s done the same thing with?
    I’m curious as to why he did such a thing to his art in the first place. Maybe he was trying to do this purposefully?
    I wonder many other artists have done this in their lifetime with famous pieces we now know and love…

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  9. Jenna Gilbert

    I thought that this was very interesting. It allows us to know more about a painting by learning everything that has been done to a painting. It raises the question of weather, with this scanning technology, if there are other paintings we could find painted under famous works of art.

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  10. Adam Cooper

    I found this especially interesting for a few reasons. I had a conception that Picasso would have used all new materials and tried for perfection but it seems (and is said in the article) that it was most likely a students work. It could seem as though he just sat down and painted the crouching woman on top as a sort of sketch but on the other hand he used the hills from the landscape on the underlying painting for the womans back so perhaps it was more thought out than it seems. Regardless this technology is groundbreaking and will surely lead to more new discoveries

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  11. Caleigh Sullivan

    The quote, “Picasso is known to have painted over a number of his blue period paintings…” is touching to me and shines a light on human emotions that people can connect to. I think the tool is useful for scanning other paintings to see if other paintings are to be discovered. This is a fun and interesting system to be able to see behind the layers without damaging the top layer.

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  12. Carolyn Riley

    I wonder what made Picasso paint over an already existing landscape. I’ve seen videos of artists painting over art that they ended up not liking and completely starting over, but I’ve never heart of a famous artist painting over someone else’s work.

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