Marc Chagall

Galerie Chalette, New York
Private Collection, New York (acquired circa 1960)
Thence by descent

Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall, New York, 1963, no. 493, illustrated

Executed on grey wove paper laid down on canvas. Minor pigment shrinkage in a few areas of brown pigment near the left edge. Small loss to the white pigment of the crescent shape at upper right. "Marc" of the signature slightly obscured due to frame abrasion. Otherwise the colors are bright and fresh, work is in very good condition.
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The subject of the circus first appeared in Chagall's work in 1927, in a series of gouaches entitled Cirque Volard, which were inspired by the artist's visits to the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris. The subject remained a leitmotiv throughout the artist's work, and appeared frequently in his paintings, particularly at times fulfilled by personal happiness. In the present work this mood is achieved through bright, energetic colors and the cheerful, backbending central figure on the horse.

Chagall himself commented on the theme of the circus in his work: "For me a circus is a magic show which appears and disappears like a world. A circus is disturbing, it is profound... It is a magic word, circus, a timeless game where tears and smiles, the play of arms and legs take the form of great art... These clowns, bareback riders and acrobats have made themselves at home in my visions. Why? Why am I so touched by their make-up and their grimaces? With them I can move toward new horizons. Lured by their colours and make-up, I dream of painting new psychic distortions... The circus seems to me like the most tragic show on earth... I would like to go up to that bareback rider who has just reappeared, smiling; her dress, a bouquet of flowers. I would circle her with my flowered and unflowered years. On my knees, I would tell her wishes and dreams, not of this world" (Marc Chagall, Le Cirque (exhibition catalogue), Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1981).

In the present work, Chagall focuses his attention on depicting the overall mood of the circus scene through purely pictorial elements of color and form, achieving a lively and highly colored composition which expresses his timeless game of life, art and masquerade.

Fig. 1 Ilse Bing, Circus Acrobat with Ball, 1936