Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

In 1899, inspired by his many visits to the Cirque Fernando in Paris, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec worked from memory to compose this drawing and at least 39 other circus-related works. Perched precariously atop an enormous horse, a bareback rider raises her arms, gliding effortlessly around the ring. Seamless communication between horse and rider is essential for a successful equestrian act, and Toulouse-Lautrec’s touches of pale blue pastel throughout the rider’s costume, hair, and body, as well as on the horse’s saddle pad, bridle, and tail ribbon, alude to this connection.

In this drawing by Toulouse-Lautrec, bold passages of black delineate the female bareback rider perched precariously on her enormous horse. The curved diagonal of the circus ring destabilizes the entire composition by seeming to force the horse askew. The viewer is constrained to define the ambiguous distance between the horse and the ringmaster as well as the relationship of the horse to the ground. Toulouse-Lautrec’s strong black lines describe contours and create energetic movement to produce tension within a scene of superficial gaiety.