George Cann from the department of Space and Climate Physics at UCL said: "I hope that Picasso would be happy in knowing the treasure he's hidden for future generations is finally being revealed, 48 years after his death and 118 years after the painting was concealed. "I also hope that the woman within the portrait would be happy in knowing that she hadn't been erased from history and that her beauty was finally being revealed in the 21st century. "At the time that Picasso painted The Lonesome Crouching Nude and The Blind Man's Meal he was poor and artist materials were expensive, so he likely painted over the former work with reluctance. "The fact that the woman within The Lonesome Crouching Nude is also within La Vie and a few of Picasso's sketches suggests that Picasso may have had an affinity towards this woman."