Explore the Description of this artwork.
The painting is a mixed media composition on cardboard that measures 104 cm × 75 cm (41 in × 30 in). It is signed "Picasso" and on the rear "P 1905". The image depicts a young family of circus performers in the midst of an intimate moment. To the left is the father, a thin male acrobat wearing a tight pink harlequin outfit with a bicorn hat. He is sitting on a drum next to the mother wearing a blue dress. They are both looking at a young boy who is being held by the woman. Lower down and further to the right is a baboon, which is looking up at the family. The figures are circus performers, who are resting off stage between acts. There are splashes of greens and blues in the background, and red on the floor, which is perhaps part of a circus tent. The man's orange bicorn hat is unpainted and the colour of the cardboard background. The figures are arranged in a pyramidal composition, based on classical images of the Holy Family. It is an image of hope, conveyed by the child in the mother's arms.During this period, Picasso decided to push the boundaries of his art with different media. He experimented with oil paints, but also with drawing, pastels and painting with gouache, as is evident by the use of mixed media in this work.
bicorn hat circus tent acrobat harlequin pastel baboon gouache mixed media Holy Family