Otaïti 1930 by Francis Picabia

Picabia’s so-called ‘transparency’ paintings – of which Otaïti is a prime example – have not been the subject of much technical analysis, until now. Otaïti appears to be unique in the series, with layers of deliberately incompatible media applied between layers of varnish. The delicate structure of the painting is examined here in detail for the first time, while the central image of the naked woman is revealed to have originated from a scandalous contemporary photograph.