The Harlequin Family 1735 - 1745

The Meissen Manufactory crafted this porcelain sculpture depicting a Harlequin family. Notice the father’s suit adorned with playing card suits. These aren't merely decorative; they evoke a lineage stretching back to the medieval carnival, where the fool, the gambler, the trickster held sway, challenging social order. The Harlequin, a jester, evolved from the dark, demonic figure of the medieval wild man. A spirit of chaos that dances on the edge of madness. The raised arm appears through art history, from classical orators to ecstatic saints, it's a gesture of command, of supplication, and here, perhaps, of joyful abandon. It is a primal expression of reaching beyond, a reaching for something more. Think of the figures in Mantegna's paintings! Observe how the motif of the Harlequin resurfaces through time. What once was a figure of the underworld is now domesticated. And we are still drawn to the character, subconsciously perhaps, because it offers an outlet for repressed desires. The Harlequin is still with us, transformed but ever-present, in our collective cultural memory.