The Three Dancers 1925 by Pablo Picasso

Abstract

Devastated by the death of a friend in 1925, Picasso painted this ‘dance’ of intertwined sinister figures, the story and composition of which have been so well scrutinised by scholars. However, new technical imaging has revealed that the final painting was rapidly executed and is the last in a series of three paintings begun on this canvas. Relating the X-radiographs to a now-lost Picasso painting – The Dance 1923 – the possible date and appearance of the earlier compositions are explored