About this artwork
From 1901 onward, costumed entertainers—harlequins, pierrots, and saltimbanques—were sporadic subjects in Picasso’s oeuvre. The harlequin in particular, with his lozenge-patterned costume, played a crucial role in the development of Cubism. This sheet, clearly torn from a sketchbook, as evidenced by the ragged top edge and rounded lower corners, relates to Picasso’s first foray into costume design. Picasso used this particular male model repeatedly in his compositions for Parade, a ballet based on the writing of Jean Cocteau, with music composed by Erik Satie and choreography by Léonide Massine. Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes debuted Parade in Paris on May 18, 1917.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Pablo Picasso
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Title
- Head of Harlequin
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Place
- Spain (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1916
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Medium
- Graphite on tan wove paper
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Dimensions
- 12.7 × 10.1 cm (5 × 4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection
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Reference Number
- 2013.1004
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Copyright
- © 2018 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York