The artwork titled “Harlequin at a Table” was created by Juan Gris in 1919. It is an oil on canvas piece that exemplifies the Synthetic Cubism movement, which is known for its use of collaged shapes and simplified forms. The dimensions of this portrait are 101 x 65 cm. Currently, “Harlequin at a Table” is held in a private collection.
“Harlequin at a Table” is a quintessential piece of Synthetic Cubism, showcasing a fragmented and geometric depiction of a figure, presumably a harlequin, sitting at a table. The figure and table are rendered using a palette consisting of various tones such as blacks, browns, blues, yellows, and grays. Trademark aspects of Cubist works are evident, such as the overlapping and interlocking shapes that break down the form of the harlequin into a series of planes that suggests both dimensionality and flatness simultaneously.
One can observe abstracted elements that denote characteristics of a harlequin, including a patterned garment that hints at the character’s traditional diamond-patterned costume. The artwork skews the perspective and reassembles it in a way that defies traditional representation, which encourages the viewer to interpret the spatial dynamics in a new way. These stylistic choices set forth by Juan Gris contribute to the innovative approach that defined the Cubist movement during the early 20th century, pushing the boundaries of how form and space were represented in art.
