Slapende man bestolen door jonge Pierrot 1781 - 1837

André Joseph Mécou created this print, "Sleeping Man Robbed by Young Pierrot," sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. A sleeping man is being robbed of his pocket watch, while a young Pierrot looks gleefully at the viewer. Pierrot, with his white face and loose costume, is a figure drawn from the Commedia dell'Arte. This character, descended from the "zanni" or clown figures of the Italian Renaissance, carries a certain melancholy. Think of Gilles in Watteau’s painting. Yet, here, Pierrot seems mischievous, almost malevolent. The image of theft, however, is ancient, appearing in Greek comedies and medieval morality plays. The act of stealing while someone is asleep, evokes deeper anxieties about vulnerability and betrayal, resonating with subconscious fears. This Pierrot, then, is not just a comical figure, but a symbol of timeless human failings, reborn in each era.