Jean Hanau: Art Deco male athlete, harlequin with guitar

A stunning oil on canvas in the purest art deco style by French born Jean Hanau (1899-1966) . It depicts a harlequin-in a tight chequered body suit. Athletically built, he may be a circus trapeze artist. He is seated with his back towards us in an attic room playing his guitar.
Artist Jean Hanau, having exhibited at the Paris Salons, taught for periods from the 1940s at the Art Students League. Deaf from birth, he was a member of noted New York City group of deaf people called "The Merry-Go-Rounders".  In 1942, he became an American citizen and lived his last 25 years as an active artist in New York City near Greenwich Village.