PICASSO (2023) 50 EURO "HARLEQUIN WITH MIRRORID92937018
On the occasion of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of Pablo Ruiz Picasso, the National Mint and Stamp Factory dedicates a collection of commemorative coins to the Spanish painter, inimitable creator of the various currents that revolutionized the plastic arts of the 20th century.
On the reverse is a reproduction of the work titled "Harlequin with a Mirror", made by Pablo Picasso in 1923, which is preserved in the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, in Madrid.
On the obverse a photographic portrait of Pablo Picasso is reproduced in front of his work "The Amateur", made in 1912.
Shape | Square |
Series | Picasso Fiftieth Anniversary |
Year | 2023 |
Colour | Yes |
Quality | Proof |
Face Value (Euro) | 50 |
Size (mm) | 60 X 60 |
Alloy (‰) | 999 |
Metal | Silver |
Weight (g) | 135 |
Maximum Mintage (units) | 5,000 |
"HARLEQUIN WITH MIRROR" PICASSO (2023) 50 EURO
Initially conceived as a self-portrait, Harlequin with a mirror combines several characters from the circus world and Commedia dell'arte with whom Picasso felt fascinated and identified at the same time: Harlequin, with his double-cornered hat, an acrobat due to his clothing and Pierrot for his face that, turned into a mask, camouflages the identity of the artist.
In the monumental figure of Harlequin, who with his body covers most of the canvas, we recognize the new artistic language inspired by the works of the great classical masters that Picasso had begun to use after his trip to Italy in 1917. Although his Italian experience It represented a return to classical approaches, his interpretation was not literal, but rather started from the freedom that his previous cubist experience gave him.
Harlequin with a Mirror and The Flute of Pan were the culmination of Picasso's classicist period, but also the end of him. In the fall of 1923, the artist concentrated on a series of still lifes within a style that has been described as curvilinear cubism, which would gradually lead to his surrealist stage.