Nearly 125 years after Pablo Picasso painted one portrait, high-tech imaging tools have revealed a secret — another, earlier portrait concealed beneath.

One of Pablo Picasso's earliest Blue Period paintings contains another portrait hidden beneath its surface, specialist imaging technology has revealed. The big picture: The artwork of the mystery woman was discovered when Courtauld Institute of Art conservators "took x-ray and infrared images of Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto — a portrait depicting Picasso's sculptor friend painted in 1901,

A portrait of a mystery woman was found under one of Pablo Picasso’s earliest Blue Period paintings, revealed using imaging technology. Courtauld Institute of Art conservators took x-ray and infrared images of the 1901 painting “Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto‚” a portrait of Picasso’s Spanish sculptor friend.

Under the painting of a Spanish sculptor is the outline of a woman, according to new infrared images. The artwork will be displayed in London.

X-ray and infrared imaging has revealed a long-hidden painting beneath "Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto," providing researchers with new insights into the artist's blue period

Conservators at London's Courtauld Institute used x-ray and infrared images to reveal the previously unseen works

Undiscovered painting by Picasso of a mystery woman, hidden for more than a century beneath a painting from his famous Blue Period revealed

Conservators at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London revealed a hidden portrait beneath Pablo Picasso's 1901 painting "Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto," adding a new layer of complexity to one of the artist's Blue Period iconic works.