Artist-printed lithograph, 300 gsm paper, 47 x 32 cm (image size) in a 57 x 42 cm mat; published by Centro Diffusione Cultura Milano; paper specially produced for this edition by Cartiera Sterzi; edition of 1,000 copies; the lithographic plates were destroyed to prevent unauthorized reproductions.
The painting on which this lithograph is based was created by Picasso in 1901 during his so-called Blue Period and is housed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The melancholic Harlequin also bears the traits of Pierrot—an unhappy, heartbroken clown. Perhaps this was Picasso’s way of commemorating Casagemas, who committed suicide over a woman.
The painting on which this lithograph is based was created by Picasso in 1901 during his so-called Blue Period and is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The Blue Period in Pablo Picasso’s work, lasting from 1901 to 1904, was a pivotal time marked by a profound personal tragedy—the suicide of the artist’s friend, Carlos Casagemas in 1901. This event became a turning point for Picasso, triggering intense melancholy and depression that were directly reflected in his paintings.
The Blue Period is characterized by a predominance of cool, subdued shades of blue—a color symbolizing sadness, loneliness, and introspection. Picasso consciously used this color palette to emphasize the emotional weight of his works, giving them a deep, psychological expression. His paintings from this period are almost visual poetry of suffering, in which the aesthetics of color blend with the expressive, simplified forms of the figures. Following the Blue Period, Picasso’s work entered the Rose Period between 1904 and 1906. This was a time of optimism and a warming of the tone of his works after the melancholic Blue Period.
The frames shown in the visualizations are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a commercial offer.
