Image: Image reproduction rights managed by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; institutional source link provided
View source →Pablo Picasso, 1918
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 171 x 132 x 7.5 cm (67 5/16 x 51 15/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 142.2 x 100.3 cm (56 x 39 1/2 in.)
Style
Neoclassicism
Decade
1910s
The official Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio record identifies Harlequin with Violin as a Pablo Picasso artwork, dated 1918, in oil on canvas. The diamond-patterned costume and triangular hat identify the musician in this painting as one of Pablo Picasso’s alter egos, Harlequin, a jokester from the popular commedia dell’arte (a theatrical form in which a cast of colorful stock characters spoke in improvised dialogue).The phrase <em>Si tu veux </em>(“If you wish”) on the music sheet may refer to a contemporary popular song that began, "If you wish, Marguerite, make me happy by giving me your heart.” The inclusion of this lyric may refer to Picasso’s marriage to Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova the year this painting was made.
Harlequin with Violin is grouped here under Neoclassical Period for gallery navigation based on the date published by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio. This period label is interpretive context, not a replacement for the cited primary object record. The holding collection is documented by the cited institutional source.
2026 Estimated Value
Public collection / market value not asserted
* Estimates are based on comparable auction results and market analysis. Not a formal appraisal.
Last Known Sale
No public auction record — held in permanent museum collection
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If you love this neoclassical period masterpiece, explore these curated books and resources on Amazon.
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Picasso: A Life Documentary
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