I think he was so much of a perfectionist that he must have been left with a feeling of dissatisfaction after completing a work, any work. And not because they were bad or mediocre in the least but because there always was probably more to say with a painting. Like there were no minor works for him and all could be subjected to improvement.
In the just seen Mother and Child, for example, adding lilies to it must have been seen as an improvement; and the mere idea, a motivation to produce another painting on the same theme but even if only slightly better because of the added detail. A change in a color or eliminating an unnecessary detail may have sufficed to doing it as well.
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