The name of the work, which for so many years hid a charming surprise, refers to a place popular among Parisian bohemians in the famous windmill located in the bohemian district of Montmartre. The dog originally appeared as almost the main character in the foreground: – If you look closely, you can see the looming silhouette of this dog here. The red paint even shines through a little, points out a fragment of Picasso’s early painting “Le Moulin De La Galette” by Julie Barten, a specialist at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, which has had the painting in its collection for several decades.
Picasso hid a dog in his painting. Scientists have only discovered it now
The outline of the dog is actually clearly visible on the enlargement – the animal was seated at the table covered with a white tablecloth in the lower left corner of the picture. Also the texture of the paint itself differs at this point from the rest of the composition of the painting. Julie Barten points out the dark outline and emphasizes that even with the naked eye you can see where the ears of the animal are. Because although Picasso decided to paint the dog with dark paint, he left the silhouette profile.
Picasso finished painting “Le Moulin de la Galette” in Paris in 1900 – it is considered one of the earliest masterpieces. Julie Barten at the Guggenheim Museum is a senior painting restorer and has been studying this Picasso painting carefully for years. The dark outline in the foreground has been bothering her for years – she has been analyzing the canvas for a long time with the help of various new technologies. Pieska was discovered by using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. This allowed to create a visualization of a painted animal.
What exactly the dog looks like, one could find out only by removing the top layer of paint – and this is contrary to the author’s final concept. Experts bet that it is most likely a representative of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed. Such animals were very popular in Paris at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when the painting was created.
– We know that Picasso often put various elements in the composition and then methodically erased them or transformed them into other representations. That was his way of working, Barten explains.
Megan Fontanella, the custodian, told Reuters: “When we discovered there was a dog under that brown blotch, it was a big surprise. This would completely change the perception of the image; first we would look at this really cute dog with a red bow around his neck, who is looking straight at us from the foreground. We can only speculate and guess why Picasso decided to paint over it. But after this procedure, I will certainly look at all the characters in this excellent composition with more attentiveness – he explains. The painting is currently part of the Young Picasso in Paris exhibition, which was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death.
Source: Gazeta
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