This vertical black-and-white drawing depicts Pierrot, a comic character from pantomime, seated in the corner of a room. The figure is centrally positioned, facing forward but turned slightly to the left. His hands and feet are bound in shackles. The light source comes from above and to the left.

The face is simplified, drawn with just a few lines. The head is round with a wide, bald forehead, and square eyes set within clearly marked sockets. The eyebrows are short and rounded. The nose is shown as a small black dot. The mouth is obscured by a white dummy (pacifier). The area from the nose to the chin is shaded with vertical black strokes. The hair is tied up in a small topknot at the crown of the head.

The character wears a harlequin costume made from gathered fabric. Around the neck is a ruff — a round, pleated collar typically trimmed with lace. Pierrot's ruff is circular and frilled. A black cord wraps around his torso beneath the ruff, ending in a large black padlock resting on his stomach. His hands are joined on his chest, concealed inside long sleeves that end in frilly cuffs, and locked in chains. His ankles are also shackled, with a padlock fixed to the outside of his right ankle.

Pierrot is seated on an oversized wooden chair, its high back extending above his head. His head rests on a large, soft white cushion. His feet do not touch the ground but dangle freely above the floor.

To the right of the figure are rising trails of smoke, ascending vertically to the level of Pierrot’s head. These trails appear to emanate from five sources — possibly matches — placed on an undefined object on the ground, painted as an irregular black blotch. The smoke forms narrow wisps at the base that widen and merge into a cloud near the top. Pierrot’s gaze is fixed on the smoke.

The setting is a room corner. Behind the chair, a long black ink wash represents the back wall and forms the backdrop of the scene, positioned on the left side of the drawing.

The image is rendered in a simplified, linear style. Most elements are outlined with clean contours. Darker elements such as the costume are drawn with thicker lines, while shadows on the floor and chair are created with vertical hatching. Only a few parts — the background wall, the source of the smoke, the padlocks, and Pierrot’s nose — are fully filled in with solid black ink.

The central figure is the artist himself, portrayed in the costume and makeup of Pierrot. His slumped body, resting against a cushion with dangling legs and chained limbs, evokes a state of physical and emotional helplessness. The reference to Pierrot aligns the work with a broader 19th and 20th-century tradition of artists identifying with this character — a symbol of existential tragedy. The smouldering form at the bottom of the composition is interpreted as a metaphor for inner suffering, linked to the artist’s diseased heart, which ultimately led to his premature death.

Audio description: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Expert consultation: Irena Buchenfeld