Description of the painting by Konstantin Somov “Harlequin and the lady”

Description of the painting by Konstantin Somov Harlequin and the lady

The colorful canvas “Harlequin and Dame” introduces K. Somov to us as a graphic artist. The master of the brush depicts an ordinary picture – the lady and her gentleman are walking along a park alley. Suddenly, they are replaced by masquerade characters – doubles in masks. These are the heroes of the comedy Columbine and Harlequin. They cuddly embrace, but it turns out that these characters are drawn cardboard dolls.

Fireworks can be seen in the background of the painting. It is they who, together with the rays of the evening sunset, illuminate the wonderful action in the park, snatching the heroes from the pitch darkness. Master brush skillfully theatrical happening. In his work on the canvas, the artist used his favorite gouache, harmoniously combining it with watercolor, so the color scheme is rich and juicy, then a little transparent. Brush and gouache in the hands of a virtuoso give a picture of

magic, while the author himself casually as if appeals to the spectators.

The original imagination of the painter brought us to the distant past of the eighteenth century, he dressed the heroes of the time in appropriate costumes, conveying a bit hard the wedding of the court balls. After all, in such “strange” masquerades it was difficult to understand whether the smile of the characters is natural or contorted.

The entire composition of the picture – solid scenery. Tree branches hang like wings, to the left of the Harlequin is another dummy: a basket of flowers.

Somovskaya “lady” has closed its appearance mask of black. Harlequin also took off his mask and openly smiles. The curtain is open, the viewer has the opportunity to see the refined appearance of the characters, because the dark mask is in harmony with the pale pink skin of the appearance and elaborate outfits.

The whole theatrical entourage on the canvas stood for a moment: the masks were frozen, and the mannequins were standing still. The painting “Harlequin and the lady” is very effective. In it the main place Somov assigns to the color scale, the sophistication of toilets and accessories, as well as the fantasy of light.


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Description of the painting by Konstantin Somov “Harlequin and the lady”