In his early years, Picasso discovered the theater as a source of inspiration and motifs for his art. Characters came from carnivals and vaudeville, and commedia dell’arte figures such as Harlequin and Pierrot were key. The sad clown became an emotional figure identified with the artist.Picasso’s fascination for the theater, however, was not only reflected in the motifs of his countless paintings and drawings. Beginning in 1917, Picasso began working intensively with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, creating famous sets and costumes for the troupe. For Picasso’s artistic work, the stage proved to be an extraordinarily fertile ground, as can be seen in his paintings and sculptures. Featuring over eighty works dating between 1900 and 1930, this publication shows how passionate this universal artist was about the theater.Exhibition schedule: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt , October 21, 2006–January 21, 2007