Picasso work is in fine health

Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece “Guernica” depicts intense suffering, but its own health is not in danger.

That’s the diagnosis after the first X-ray of Picasso’s 20th century antiwar painting taken on behalf of the Reina Sofia art museum in Madrid.

The X-ray of the large-format canvas -- 11 feet by 25 feet -- was part of a series of tests begun over a year ago on one of the world’s most prized artworks.

The last major analysis of “Guernica” a decade ago turned up 129 imperfections -- including cracks, creases, marks and stains -- all attributed to the painting’s hectic past. The new X-ray results “show the imperfections haven’t increased,” said Manuel Borja-Villel, the director of Reina Sofia, Spain’s national museum of 20th century art.