The entire picture is not gay, but neither is it sad and grey. It is harmoniously attractive, self-contained and perfect. The inner turmoil of the face almost appears as the key to the whole, to the completion of the form. The sadness in the expression, as seen in the mouth determines the character of the picture, but the sadness is not despair - it is reality. And therefore the harlequin does not appear to be unhappy, but rather knowing and serene.
Sadness can make one ill.
But it is not something a person can or may do without - if he has been chosen to bear this knowledge within himself. N ot every person possesses the seeing eye. But if he or she has it, that which is seen must somehow come into the open. The wisdom of the fools will always be with us. This is something Otmar Alt has always known.