Pablo Picasso Harlequin with a Mirror

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Harlequin with a Mirror
Pablo Picasso
Harlequin with a Mirror

Display types

Visible Light

The study using macro photography with visible light enables an in-depth, detailed look at the artist’s technique, and more precisely documents the conservation state of the pictorial layer.

Digital infrared photography

The study with infrared reflectography penetrates the surface of the picture and allows the layers in between to be analysed, revealing underlying drawings, composition modifications and hidden details that include signatures and inscriptions.

X-ray imaging

The study with x-rays provides information on the three-dimensional structure of the painting and more depth regarding the work’s strata, in particular the scope of certain abrasions.

Reverse

Allows the observation of information such as the date of the work or serial numbers, material and age of the canvas, origin and places where it has been, or determine restorations and state of the painting.

Pablo Picasso

Harlequin with a Mirror

1923
Oil on canvas.
100 x 81 cm

DESCRIPTION

Image Under Visible Light

Initially intended as a self-portrait, Harlequin with a Mirror combines three characters from the circus and the Commedia dell’arte that held a strong fascination for Picasso, and with which he identified: the two-cornered hat is a clear reference to Harlequin, the clothes are those of an acrobat, while Pierrot’s face, turned into a mask, conceals the artist’s identity. The solid figure of Harlequin, whose body takes up most of the composition, is evidence of a new artistic idiom inspired by the classical approach of the great masters, which Picasso had adopted after his visit to Italy in 1917. Although his experience in Italy prompted a return to classical principles, he eschewed literal interpretation in favour of the free approach acquired through his previous Cubist experience.

Image of the Barons Thyssen with the painting 'Harlequin with Mirror' by Picasso

Infrared Reflectogram

Infrared radiation reveals hidden details underneath the layers of colour visible to the naked eye. For example, depending on the material conditions, it enables us to visualise the artist's preparatory drawings.

Picasso sketched with his paintbrush on a whitish background, rapidly outlining the shapes. The close match between the strokes in the initial preparatory drawing and those of the subsequent reinforced drawing in which he defined the figure (except in certain areas such as the folds in the clothes, the arm and the legs) indicates a very confident hand, which is one of the most recognisable characteristics of this great artist.

IR detail of composition changes

X-Radiograph

The X-ray study (RX) yields valuable information about the details not visible to the viewer, revealing aspects of the pictorial technique the artist used as well as the composition and material history of the painting.

Close examination of the radiographic image shows how Picasso used white to situate the figure and loose, swift strokes of his brush to sketch in the rest of the composition. In this preliminary phase he conceived the Harlequin with open legs, creating a robust, balanced figure. The change he subsequently made, turning the left leg inwards, lent the final figure a certain instability and movement. This foreshortening is imperceptible in the X-ray due to the materials used.

RX detail of composition changes

The X-rays confirm how Picasso used paint to create a preparatory sketch and then employed planes of colour, the legacy of his Cubist period, to gradually cover and tone down the vibrant brush strokes in his initial more naturalistic composition.

Reverse

The reverse or verso tells us about how a work was executed and the materials of which it is made; for canvas, whether the fabric is original or a later addition; for wood, whether the planks were reinforced; and in the case of copper whether the support has been protected with coloured varnish.

It enables us to assess the work’s condition, as the brushwork on the front (recto) side of the picture sometimes conceals alterations such as tears, holes and stains resulting from the passage of time or damage that needs treatment. We sometimes find inscriptions by the artist stating how, where, or with what the work was made, as well as labels of the places where it travelled or was shown, or where it was purchased and sold.

For conservators and restorers, any trace of conservation work and the painting’s history plays an important part in achieving the goal of maintaining this universal heritage in the best possible condition.

This transmitted-light image shows us how the paint layer was built up. The light that penetrates it reveals the subtle forms of the Harlequin's face and clothing. We can see the thickness of the brushstrokes applied in oil, which contrast with the lightness of other areas of the work where Picasso applied a much more diluted paint.

The coexistence of the two areas causes certain movements of the canvas that lead to craquelure. This technique is used to monitor the conservation of the work.

Image captured with transmitted light of the work by Picasso 'Harlequin with Mirror'
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