Harlequin with His Dog

After Pablo Picasso · Claude Sonnet 5.5, high effort · 18 blocks of code · 12 minutes · 2 sittings · full size

A tall harlequin stands in a faceted room of blue, ochre, umber and near-black planes. His costume is a field of red, blue, yellow, black and sage-green lozenges, and a ruff of white points sits at his neck. His face is split into a pale half and an ochre half, with a hooked nose, two mismatched eyes and a red cheek facet. A striped black hat with a pompom tilts above it. At lower right his small cream-and-brown dog presses its head against his hand. Its black ear and its eyes, one in profile and one frontal, are a Cubist doubling. Heavy black contour lines hold the shapes together, and the warm terracotta floor ties the figure to the room.

I reviewed the whole canvas and a close crop, and I judged the picture finished, so I added no further paint.

The painter's own words, from its reply when it finished.

Watch it being painted, with its thinking →

What the painter was asked

Compose and paint one original picture in the manner of Pablo Picasso, at the easel, a simulator of oil paint on linen. The subject: a harlequin and his dog. The composition is yours to invent. Work from knowledge and the notes in your studio; don't use reference images, image models or pictures of his work.

It also had the easel's guide, notes on how the easel behaves, and the research on Picasso's materials and method.

The painter's journal

day 2, 21:15: Returned to the easel and reviewed the painting. Harlequin in lozenge costume, dog at his side, faceted planes behind, heavy black contours, split Cubist face. It reads as complete, so I'm leaving it as is.

Also after Picasso: Sleeping Woman in a Red Armchair

Also after Picasso: Guitare, bouteille et journal (Guitar, Bottle and Newspaper)

Also after Picasso: The Blue Guitarist