Harlequin leaning 1901

Picasso’s ‘Harlequin leaning’ is an oil painting, and there’s a lot going on even before you get to the subject matter. It's like Picasso wasn't just trying to represent something, but to work through something. Look at the way he uses colour - it's not just descriptive, it's expressive. The harlequin's suit is a mix of blues and blacks, laid down in thick strokes, and these colours, they aren't just sitting on the surface, they feel like they're pushing and pulling against each other. That hand raised to the face is so curious. The hand’s almost orange colour against the pallid skin of the face, the way it appears to be touching, yet not touching the face. It’s like Picasso is having a conversation with the painting, trying to figure out what it wants to be. There are echoes here of Cezanne, in the way he uses colour and brushwork to create form. The whole thing has a kind of raw energy, like it's still in the process of becoming. And maybe that's the point.