Arlequin 1950

Joan Ponç created this curious jester, Arlequin, with watercolor and ink. Imagine him at work, maybe a little smirk playing on his lips as he conjures this figure. I'm drawn to the tentative, almost shy lines that define the face, contrasting with the bold, playful colours of the harlequin hat. It’s like Ponç is having a conversation between restraint and exuberance. The watery washes of colour create a translucent effect, allowing the underlying paper to peek through. Look at the eyes, half-closed, almost as if he knows something we don’t! There’s a melancholic quality about him; a sense of knowing the joke, but not quite finding it funny anymore. Artists are in a constant dialogue, riffing off each other, and I see echoes of Ensor’s masked figures here. And ultimately, that’s what painting is all about: an ongoing conversation where meaning is never fixed but always shifting, evolving, and open to interpretation.