Seated Harlequin

Juan Gris

c. 1920

Oil on canvas

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A cubist painting depicts a figure seated in a chair, rendered in geometric shapes and muted colors. The figure's face is divided, with one side in shadow and the other illuminated. A cubist painting depicts a figure seated in a chair, rendered in geometric shapes and muted colors. The figure's face is divided, with one side in shadow and the other illuminated. Harlequin is a character in the Commedia dell’arte, a form of Italian theater in which masked actors perform broad, humorous sketches. Most figures in commedia are based on social stereotypes of 1500s Italy. Harlequin is a mischievous servant dressed in a diamond-patterned costume who vies against the clown character Pierrot for the love of Colombina, a servant girl. Gris and other modern artists—including Picasso—commonly used Harlequin and other Commed