There is an amazing exhibit of paintings by the Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck 1862-1946. It is pronounced "SHAIR-beck" - it is easier to pronounce than you would think! The title is "Seeing Silence." This is a painting called "Factory Girls on the Way to Work." What is astounding is that on the back of this painting, is another painting - a self-portrait of the artist, which she painted first and apparently didn't like and abandoned it. Because canvas was so expensive back then, she turned the canvas with the portrait around and painted this on the other side.
This is the back of the frame of the "Working girls" The abandoned portrait was hidden for years because the back of the frame was covered up. Can you imagine how excited they must have been to discover this hidden painting!
Here is a close-up of the hidden painting, with a number of scratches across her forehead. It has been said "There are several ways to interpret this painting - as a work in progress ultimately abandoned, or perhaps as a sign of externalized emotional turmoil. Absent the aggressive scratches, the portrait is a telling example of Schjerfbeck's process and the degree to which her inner life is manifested in paint." Please click on this because it is a larger sized image and you can see more detail.
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