Harlequin

Harlequin (2000), an aquatint by Joel Stewart, depicts a large spherical form rendered in mottled black, dark brown, and ochre tones with a spray-textured, granular surface, topped by a small pale-yellow cylindrical projection. Bright gold and rust-orange pigment breaks through in patches across the sphere, with the white paper showing through as scattered highlights, while a cool blue-grey wash fills the background above a pale, largely unmarked lower section of the sheet. The composition is entirely abstract, with no figures or representational details visible, and the deckled edges of the paper are visible on all sides.