While preparing for the exhibition on Pablo Picasso, experts at the Guggenheim Museum in New York made a surprising discovery: the image of a dog hidden within one of his paintings.
Pablo Picasso’s painting “Le Moulin de la Galette,” with a dark brushstroke in the lower corner concealing the image of a dog. (Photo: New York Times).
The exhibition “Young Picasso in Paris” took place at the Guggenheim Museum on May 19, showcasing ten works created by the Spanish artist when he arrived in Paris in 1900. Among these was the painting “Le Moulin de la Galette,” which depicts a famous dance hall in Paris.
While preparing for the exhibition, museum experts utilized X-ray fluorescence scanning and discovered something unusual in the lower corner of the painting: the image of a dog hidden beneath a dark paint stroke, according to CNN.
Experts believe this dog is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, also known as a toy spaniel, named after King Charles II of Spain.
Experts used X-ray fluorescence to analyze the painting and discovered the image of the dog wearing a red ribbon hidden beneath the paint. (Photo: CNN).
Julie Barten, a curator of paintings at the Guggenheim Museum, expressed uncertainty as to why Picasso painted over the dog. She speculated that the artist, born in 1881, found the dog to be a certain “charm” that could overshadow the dance scene, which was the main composition of the painting.
“I find it fascinating that he painted hasty strokes to cover the dog. This could be a rather intriguing aspect of the painting’s composition,” Barten said.
Megan Fontanella, the museum’s curator, remarked that discovering the hidden dog was a surprising and exciting moment, as reported by the New York Times.
“When we began our analysis of the painting, we did not expect to uncover something as interesting and captivating as this,” Fontanella stated.
