Experts Discovered A Secret Hidden Within An Iconic Picasso Painting

Pablo Picasso: you've heard his name and seen his artwork, but do you really know anything about him? So much was hidden behind his expressive eyes, and as it turns out, he hid a few secrets in his artwork, too. For example, when he completed The Old Guitarist around 1904, the painting became one of the most iconic pieces of his Blue Period. It seems to depict a poor and fragile musician and his instrument. However, experts have recently uncovered a long-held secret lurking beneath the work of art.

Baby Picasso

Born in the Spanish city of Málaga in 1881, Pablo Picasso displayed an amazing talent for art from a young age. In fact, his mother would later claim that Picasso’s earliest words were piz, piz – a shortened version of the word lápiz, which means “pencil” in Spanish. Even Baby Picasso seemed to be destined for greatness. Picasso’s early talent was fostered by his father, who was himself an artist.

Like father, like son

Picasso's father taught him oil painting and figure-drawing techniques from the age of seven. But when Picasso was 13, it’s rumored that his father believed his son was already a better artist than him. As a result, he promised to stop painting. However, works by Picasso’s father from later years throw this story into doubt. It's proof that once you've been bitten by the art bug, you can never go back.

Feeling at home in Barcelona

In 1891 Picasso moved with his family to A Coruña, where his father began working as a professor at the city’s School of Fine Arts. They remained there for four years before relocating to Barcelona. It was here that Picasso began to thrive, and he would later consider the city as his home for many years to come.

All he needed was one week

Aged 13, Picasso won a place at Barcelona’s School of Fine Arts – the same school his father worked at. There was reportedly no special treatment given to the young Picasso, however; to gain entry into the academy, Picasso had to complete an entrance exam. This process could take some students up to a month to finish. However, the teen needed only a week.