Harlequine 1890

Editor: Here we have Jean Béraud’s "Harlequine," painted in 1890 using oil paint with visible impasto. It's quite striking; the figure almost seems caught between performance and vulnerability. What do you see in this piece? Curator: This painting invites us to consider the historical context of performance and its relationship to female identity in 19th-century Paris. Béraud, known for depicting Parisian life, offers us a glimpse behind the curtain. This "Harlequine" isn't the boisterous figure we might expect from commedia dell'arte. Instead, she turns away, a slight melancholic air about her. How do you read her averted gaze in relation to the male gaze that typically dominated such representations? Editor: That's a great point. I hadn’t considered the power dynamics at play here. The fact that she is looking away… Is she rejecting that male gaze? Curator: Exactly. We might consider the performance of femininity itself as a kind of Harlequinade, a constructed identity. Her costume, while playful with its pink accents and polka dots, simultaneously confines her within societal expectations. Béraud’s work here allows us to reflect on how women navigated those constraints, both embracing and subverting them. How does this perspective shift your understanding of the impasto technique, that visible brushwork? Editor: It adds another layer. The visible brushstrokes almost reveal the work, or the labor, that goes into constructing the image...and, perhaps, the performance of identity itself? I initially just saw it as an artistic style, but now it seems almost like a deliberate commentary. Curator: Precisely. By drawing attention to the artifice, Béraud invites us to question the "naturalness" of both the artistic representation and the societal roles assigned to women. It really challenges the artifice inherent to the male gaze itself. Editor: I see what you mean. It makes me consider how much these historical images reflect and reinforce existing power structures, something I hadn't really appreciated before. Thank you. Curator: And thank you for prompting this valuable discussion. Looking closely at historical works through the lens of contemporary theory allows us to excavate previously silenced narratives.