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Harlequin

1927
Not on view
The presence of Harlequin in this enigmatic picture—signaled by the bicorne hat and the lozenges at lower right—identifies this work as a self-portrait, for Harlequin was the artist's known alter ego. At the left margin, Picasso painted the shadow of his own profile, as if he were observing the disorientation of Harlequin and, by extension, himself. When he painted the picture, Picasso felt he was trapped in a failed marriage, the victim of his mentally unstable wife, Olga Kokhlova. He had already met the young woman who would become his lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Harlequin
  • Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
  • Date: 1927
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 32 in. × 25 5/8 in. (81.3 × 65.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls Collection, 1997
  • Object Number: 1997.149.5
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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