Descripción
Picasso identified himself with the personality of Pierrot and Harlequin. Sometimes he painted himself in the role of one of them, at other times he wore their costume or showed people close to him in that attire.
When reading the drawing, it must be taken into account that, in the Commedia Italiana, Pierrot personifies the lover or suitor, and Harlequin the person whose mishaps make the audience laugh. This work, on the contrary, presents the opposite situation. Harlequin is the one who smiles at Pierrot, an important paradox because Pierrot has traits that remind us of Picasso himself. It is Pierrot who appears sad, worried and old. Obviously, he cannot love and, if he tries, he can expect failure. Harlequin, on the other hand, appears with an ironic expression, mocking the suitor’s misfortune. But – and here is the apparent contradiction of the composition – Harlequin also reminds us of Picasso, although when he was younger. Was the artist, with the double representation, laughing at his own condition, at himself, and comparing, as was characteristic of him, two stages of his life? This is an attitude that few possess.
