Pablo Picasso

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
Sala Gaspar, Barcelona (acquired from the above by 1974)
Thence by descent to the present owners

Barcelona, Sala Gaspar, ANTES, Picasso, 67 acuarelas - Dibujos - gouaches de 1897 a 1971, 1974, no. 56, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Pablo Picasso, A Retrospective, 1980, illustrated in the catalogue

Christian Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Œuvres de 1970, Paris, 1977, vol. XXXII, no. 302, illustrated pl. 107
The Picasso Project, Picasso's Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture. The Final Years, 1970-1973, San Francisco, 2004, no. 70-332, illustrated p. 101

Executed on cream laid paper, not laid down, attached to the mount at the top two corners, the centre of the upper edge and at the lower left corner, floating in the mount. Apart from a spot of staining to the lower right corner, some tiny folds at intervals to the right edge and some handling marks to the edges of the work, this work is in very good condition. Colours: The paper tone is fairly accurate whilst the ink is slightly stronger in the original.
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Tête d'Arlequin is an outstanding example of the many powerful, self-reflective portraits which Picasso produced during the final years of his long and illustrious career. His iconography at this time focuses with unrelenting scrutiny on the persona of the heroic male figure, as represented by the matador, musketeer, harlequin and, ultimately, the painter. Picasso's intense devotion to this theme is particularly evident in the paintings and drawings which he created in the latter half of 1970, of which the present work is among the most complete and accomplished.

The presence of Picasso's alter egos in his iconography imbues his works with heightened significance; they are, effectively, self portraits. But it was the lonesome harlequin, melancholic and introspective, with whom Picasso identified most closely. The harlequin was the first to appear in Picasso's art and recurred the most consistently. In Au Lapin Agile, Picasso depicts himself as the sombre harlequin. In so doing, he draws analogy between the comedian and the artist, thus commenting on the often harsh reality of performing before a fickle audience. In the present work, Picasso has achieved a heady sense of drama and atmosphere with great economy of means. The boldness and fluidity of the brushstrokes demonstrate the artist's complete mastery of his medium. No detail of gesture or expression is lost. The harlequin's introspective gaze conveys a sincerity that is far removed from caricature or satire. All emotion is laid bare.

Remarkable, though, is the strong resemblance of the present work to a number of final self-portraits which Picasso produced in 1972, a year before his death. Autoportrait is a particularly arresting example of these 'death mask' self-portraits, in which Picasso confronts his own mortality. There is a striking similarity between both works, particularly in the facial features and the bold, introspective eyes. In the present example, Picasso reflects upon his life and career through the eyes of his most personal alter ego and he does so with a frankness rarely seen in the work of any western artist.