Marlborough Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above in 2004

Bert Van Bork, The Artist at Work: Lipchitz, New York, 1966, illustration of another cast in the artist's studio
Lipchitz, The Cubist Period, 1913-1930 (exhibition catalogue), Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York, 1968, no. 40, illustration of another cast n.p.
Jacques Lipchitz: Sculptures and Drawings (exhibition catalogue), Marlborough Fine Art, London & Marlborough Galerie, Zurich, 1973, no. 9, illustration of another cast p. 40
Alan G. Wilkinson, The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz, A catalogue raisonné, The Paris Years, 1910-1940, vol. I, New York, 1996, no. 110, illustration of another cast p. 55 & 165

Work is in excellent condition. Rich brown patina with reddish highlights. Surface is clean with no nicks or stains.
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Conceived eleven years after Lipchitz's arrival in Paris from Vilna, this full-length sculpture of a standing figure playing a mandolin exemplifies the artist's exploration of Cubism in the round. Lipchitz received a traditional training at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian, but early in his career displayed an interest in a wide range of sculptural styles, from classical to tribal. During his early years in Paris, Lipchitz met many of the leading figures of the Parisian avant-garde, who introduced him to new artistic interpretations, including the principles of Cubism. 

By 1920, when he executed the model for Arlequin à la mandoline, Lipchitz had developed an attuned sense of spatial composition influenced largely by his study of the Cubist works of Picasso, Braque and Gris. The artist was now able to translate effectively his two-dimensional conceptions into a three-dimensional form. Lipchitz utilized themes from the Commedia dell'arte that had become common currency in the work of Picasso, Gris and many of their contemporaries. He referred to this interest in his autobiography: "One of the first sculptures made in 1919 was the Arlequin à l'accordéon. It reflects my interest in eighteenth century paintings, particularly that of Watteau... The Pierrots and harlequins were part of our general vocabulary, characters taken from the Commedia dell'arte, particularly popular in the eighteenth century. We may have been attracted to them originally because of their gay traditional costumes, involving many different colored areas" (Jacques Lipchitz, My Life in Sculpture, New York, 1972, p. 58).