Buried Secrets or Buried Treasure?

Underneath the surface of thousands of paintings lie completely different stories. Many paintings contain hidden omissions, fixes, or renovations, and we don’t even know it. And the reasons for those are much simpler than one would think. It’s not a case of massive conspiracies or buried secrets, as much as it’s a clue about how a certain artist worked and lived. Uncovering the hidden layers allows us to ask new and more accurate questions about the artist and their creative process. Overpainting can be a paint layer applied by a restorer, an artist or a dealer on top of an already filled canvas. A very common practice in the past was “improving” the art to suit that period’s ideologies and ideas. These changes are often seen as unnecessary, and many art conservators offer to remove the paint added by anyone but the original artist. Here, I want to talk more about the artists themselves reusing canvas and altering their own works.

It’s now possible to look at individual layers of a painting, even the minor changes made during the process. X-rays, ultraviolet light and other methods allow us to see different layers of the artwork without damaging anything. For example, reflectography was used to reveal that Leonardo da Vinci painted three different versions of “Lady with an Ermine”.

Recently, doctoral students at the University College London have used artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing to recreate a nude hidden under Pablo Picasso’s “The Blind Man’s Meal”. The image was uncovered using a multi-step technology. They trained AI to paint like Picasso using an algorithm that analysed the artist’s work. Then an image was created in the artist’s style and printed on canvas using 3D printing. This was quite a controversial move, as the artist himself cannot have a say in this process. The head of legal affairs for Picasso’s estate has said that uncovering the work by the artist is a right only his heirs have, and that AI cannot replace the sensitivity of an artist. Yet, we should not consider this a recreation of an artwork, rather a reconstruction. And we cannot deny the right to reconstruction and reinterpretation. The fundamental question here is - who has the right to uncover the works of dead artists?

Can this be a new road away from traditional ideas about art? One thing is clear - with new advancements in AI, undeniably more and more paintings are going to be reconstructed this way. Artists often paint over paintings for different reasons. It might be because the original painting didn’t sell, and the artist reused the canvas for new artwork. Picasso often reused canvases, because he likely couldn’t afford to buy new ones. The hidden paintings can also reveal the growth of an artist. Beneath one of Van Gogh’s paintings, a portrait of a woman was found. The artist used to paint many portraits to learn how to control colour and light, so this could be one of them. Importantly, these hidden portraits show us the evolution of Van Gogh’s style and how he used colour, as the overpainting is much more vivid. Under one of the most famous (and controversial) paintings in the world - “Black Square” by Malevich - are hidden two very vivid pictures in different styles. This could symbolize the artist’s transition from one art direction into another. Sometimes, artists cover up images because of politics or scandals. Goya most likely covered up his painting of Joseph Bonaparte, who renounced his throne and left Spain, to avoid possible repercussions at the time for the possession of such work. After several centuries, a portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, was found under a painting of a former lord chancellor of Scotland. Maybe her portrait was considered dangerous after she was executed amidst political turmoil, so it was painted over.

Another interesting story is that of a hidden self-portrait that was found under one of Georges Seurat’s works. He likely covered it up because of embarrassment, as his friend commented that the artist’s portrait looked comical. This would have been the only self-portrait Seurat painted.

There are thousands of hidden images underneath paintings all around the world. Even if it’s not a global secret buried in artwork, there is still something fascinating about every single detail we find beneath the surface. We can consider these hidden paintings treasures that allow us to broaden our look at the history of art. While we may never know the reasons for some of the overpainting, that doesn’t take away the significance of discovering these images.

Anastasija Šļapina