The Trial of Pierrot


An oil on panel 19"x28 3/4" painted circa 1883 now in private hands.

The explanatory text accompanying this painting states the influence for the painting was a black comedy play where a charming young girl had married a much older man, and as is common in these cases, had taken a string of lovers. One of her spurned lovers reported her to her husband who had the lovers spied on and taken to court.
Vibert has peopled his depiction of the trial with characters taken from the commedia dell'arte .In the painting of the courtroom farce Vibert portrays the coy Columbine as one lover and the black skull capped Pierrot as the other. The old man at the front right with the white wig is the scorned husband and whispering slander into his ear is Pierrot's arch enemy Harlequin. The cast of characters is completed by the fat Pulchinelle dressed as the pompous defence lawyer and three seemingly drunk soldiers.
This painting is believed to be one of Vibert's most sumptuous creations and the picture above does not really do justice to the richness of the colours of the original.

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