Harlequin

The composition is split between two figures. At left, a man in a red, green and blue harlequin costume and pointed cap sits half turned away beside a chessboard set with black and white pieces, in front of a green floral curtain. At right, a woman in a red hat and gold-patterned red dress sits on a checkerboard floor, tenderly holding a long reddish dog to her cheek, with cut flowers and a candlestick at her feet.

Deep reds and warm golds dominate the woman's side while cooler greens surround the jester, both rendered with the same flat, richly patterned brushwork. The juxtaposition of costumed performer and intimate portrait lends the scene a hushed, faintly mysterious stillness.