L’ARLECCHINO MODERNO

From the 18th century engraving “L’Arlequin Moderne”,
depicting the Italian actor Luigi Riccoboni.

This painting is inspired by one of the famous images of Gillot, who masterfully celebrated Italian comedians in France, contributing to the growth of the vast iconography on the Commedia dell’Arte. While respecting the engraving, the larger scale of the painting forced me to specify and sometimes invent some details. Finally, I placed the character on a wooden platform typical of itinerant comedians. These stages sometimes had as a backdrop the landscape of the places crossed by the itinerant actors.
S.B.