Spanish, worked in France, 1881–1973

Long fascinated by Harlequin, Pablo Picasso returned to the character with renewed intensity in late 1915. A chameleon-like trickster, Harlequin must have seemed a fitting subject as the artist began to explore more realistic modes of representation alongside his Cubist experiments. The present work combines the geometric abstraction of Cubism with a classical linearity and a Pointillist application of color. Along with the many other depictions of Harlequin that Picasso made around this time, this watercolor may have been prompted by a new acquaintance, the young writer Jean Cocteau, who in the spring of 1916 visited the artist dressed as Harlequin in order to tempt him to participate in a new project, the Ballet Russe's Parade. Picasso's costume designs for the ballet included elaborate Cubist constructions in cardboard as well as more conventional ensembles. Though Harlequin was not actually one of the characters in the production, Picasso painted him in the center of the huge curtain he designed.

_{Pablo Picasso. Harlequin, 1917. Anonymous loan, 10.2002.}