The presence of Harlequin in this enigmatic picture—signaled by the bicorne hat and the lozenges at lower right—identifies this work as a self-portrait, for Harlequin was the artist's known alter ego. At the left margin, Picasso painted the shadow of his own profile, as if he were observing the disorientation of Harlequin and, by extension, himself. When he painted the picture, Picasso felt he was trapped in a failed marriage, the victim of his mentally unstable wife, Olga Kokhlova. He had already met the young woman who would become his lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Inscription: Signed and dated (in black and two shades of gray paint, upper right): Picasso / 27
the artist (1927–30; sold on July 31, 1930 to Rosenberg and Wildenstein); [Paul Rosenberg, Paris, and Georges Wildenstein, Paris and New York, joint ownership, 1930–at least 1938, stock no. 2531]; [Perls Galleries (Klaus G. Perls), New York, by 1961, stock no. 6144]; Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, New York (until 1997; their gift to MMA)
New York. Valentine Gallery. "Abstractions of Picasso," January 5–February 7, 1931, no. 11.
Paris. Galerie Georges Petit. "Exposition Picasso," June 16–July 30, 1932, no. 173.
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Picasso Retrospective, 1901–1931," September 11–October 30, 1932, extended to November 13, 1932, no. 171.
Boston Museum of Modern Art. "Picasso–Henri Matisse," October 19–November 11, 1938, no. 21.
New York. Valentine Gallery. "Picasso & Miro," November 2–28, 1942, no. 6.
New York. Perls Galleries. "21 Major Acquisitions," October 10–November 25, 1961, no. 23.
New York. Rosenberg Galleries. "Picasso: An American Tribute," April 25–May 12, 1962, no. 47.
Art Gallery of Toronto. "Picasso and Man," January 11–February 16, 1964, no. 92.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. "Picasso and Man," February 28–March 31, 1964, no. 92.
Toulouse. Musée des Augustins. "Picasso et le théâtre," June 22–September 15, 1965, no. 102.
New York. Perls Galleries. "Pablo Picasso: Highlights in Retrospect," October 12–November 20, 1965, no. 9 (lent by a private collection).
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. "Picasso: Two Concurrent Retrospective Exhibitions," February 8–March 26, 1967, no. 46.
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. "Exposition Picasso," October 15–December 4, 1977, no. 40.
Nagoya. Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art. "Exposition Picasso," December 13–26, 1977, no. 40.
Cultural Center of Fukuoka. "Exposition Picasso," January 5–22, 1978, no. 40.
Kyoto. National Museum of Modern Art. "Exposition Picasso," January 28–March 5, 1978, no. 40.
Cleveland Museum of Art. "The Spirit of Surrealism," October 3–November 25, 1979, no. 66.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Picasso and the Weeping Women: The Years of Marie-Thérèse Walter and Dora Maar," February 10–May 10, 1994, not in catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso and the Weeping Women: The Years of Marie-Thérèse Walter and Dora Maar," June 12–September 4, 1994, not in catalogue (brochure no. 6; as "Portrait Profile and Harlequin," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, New York).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Florene M. Schoenborn Bequest: 12 Artists of the School of Paris," February 11–May 4, 1997, extended to August 31, 1997, not in brochure [among 14 non-Schoenborn bequest works included in the exhibition].
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso the Engraver: Selections from the Musée Picasso, Paris," September 18–December 21, 1997, not in catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Painters in Paris: 1895–1950," March 8–December 31, 2000, extended to January 14, 2001, unnumbered cat. (p. 102).
Barcelona. Museu Picasso. "Picasso y el circo," November 15, 2006–February 18, 2007, no. 192.
Martigny. Fondation Pierre Gianadda. "Picasso et le cirque," March 9–June 10, 2007, no. 192.
Rome. Complesso del Vittoriano. "Picasso Harlequin, 1917–1937," October 11, 2008–February 8, 2009, no. 19.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 27–August 1, 2010, no. 75.
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Picasso by Picasso. His First Museum Exhibition, 1932," October 15, 2010–January 30, 2011, no. 58.
Paris. Musée du Quai Branly. "Les Maîtres du désordre," April 11–July 29, 2012, unnumbered cat. (p. 133).
Musée National Picasso-Paris. "Picasso. Tableaux magiques," October 1, 2019–February 23, 2020, no. 17.
Maud Dale. Picasso. New York, 1930, pl. 42.
Georges Bataille, ed. "Hommage à Picasso." Documents 2, no. 3 (1930), p. 132, ill.
Christian Zervos et al. "Picasso [special issue coinciding with Exh. Paris 1932]." Cahiers d'art 7, nos. 3-5 (1932), unpaginated, ill.
Genaro Estrada. Genio y figura de Picasso. Mexico, 1936, p. 59, no. 173 (Exh. Paris 1932 checklist).
Christian Zervos. Pablo Picasso. Vol. 7, Works from 1926 to 1932. New York and Paris, 1955, p. 34, no. 80, ill.
Dorothy Sieberling, ed. "Picasso: His Disguises (in special double issue: Picasso)." Life Magazine 65 (December 27, 1968), p. 123, ill.
André Fermigier. Picasso. Paris, 1969, p. 141, fig. 87.
Jean Leymarie. Picasso: Métamorphoses et unité. Geneva, 1971, p. 292, ill. p. 25.
Christine Piot. "Décrire Picasso." PhD diss., Universite de Paris Pantheon-Sorbonne, October 1981, p. 247 n. 183.
Lydia Gasman. "Mystery, Magic and Love in Picasso, 1925–1938: Picasso and the Surrealist Poets." PhD diss., Columbia University, 1981, pp. 689, 1720, pl. 189.
Anne Baldassari. Picasso photographe, 1901–1916. Exh. cat., Musée Picasso. Paris, 1994, p. 85 n. 110.
J[ason]. E[dward]. K[aufman]. "Perls Adds Gems to the Met." Art Newspaper no. 61 (July–August 1996), p. 14.
Kirk Varnedoe inPicasso and Portraiture: Representation and Transformation. Ed. William Rubin. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York. New York, 1996, p. 150, ill.
Herschel Chipp and Alan Wofsy, ed. The Picasso Project: Picasso's Paintings, Watercolours, Drawings and Sculpture, A Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue 1885-1973. Vol. 4, Toward Surrealism, 1925–1929. San Francisco, 1996, p. 84, no. 27-014, ill.
Sabine Rewald in "Recent Acquisitions. A Selection: 1996–1997." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 55 (Fall 1997), p. 76, ill. (color).
Mila Andre. "Bien merci, Mme Schoenborn." Daily News (February 14, 1997), p. 63.
Ornella Volta. "Picasso and Italy: The Last Memories of His Journey." Picasso: The Italian Journey, 1917–1924. Ed. Jean Clair. Milan, 1998, p. 91, ill.
Elizabeth Cowling. Picasso: Style and Meaning. London, 2002, p. 486, fig. 449.
Anne Baldassari. Bacon–Picasso: The Life of Images. Exh. cat., Musée Picasso. Paris, 2005, pp. 74, 79, 111–12, figs. 48 and 104.
Julia May Boddewyn in Michael FitzGerald. Picasso and American Art. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 2006, p. 337.
Gary Tinterow inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 12.
Magdalena Dabrowski inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, pp. 206–8, no. 75, ill. (color).
Isabelle Duvernois inPicasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Gary Tinterow and Susan Alyson Stein. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2010, p. 209, figs. 75.2 (Photomicrograph, detail), 75.3 (Photograph under ultraviolet light).
Marilyn McCully and Michael Raeburn inPicasso. Tableaux magiques. Exh. cat., Musée National Picasso-Paris. Milan, 2019, pp. 24, 148, 191, no. 17, TM [Tableaux Magiques] no. 36, ill. (color) p. 61 and front cover.
É[milie]. B[ouvard]. inPicasso. Tableaux magiques. Exh. cat., Musée National Picasso-Paris. Milan, 2019, p. 60.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, Malaga 1881–1973 Mougins, France)
1921
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
