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Henri Matisse, The Nightmare of the White Elephant (Le Cauchemar de l'éléphant blanc), 1947. Mary B. Jackson Fund

Introduction

Circus

August 1, 2014 - February 22, 2015

The circus presents human and animal bodies in their extremes, juxtaposing grace, strength, and elegance with the wonderous and grotesque. These characteristics extend to the visual culture of the circus, from ephemeral advertisements designed by now-unknown artists to monumental canvases executed by critically acclaimed painters. The artists whose works are featured in this exhibition delve into both the imagery of the circus and its wider cultural connections, exploring popular entertainment as subject matter and a times using it as a tool for cultural critique.

The first modern circus was performed in London in 1768 at Philip Astley’s equestrian school, with the first American incarnation debuting in 1774 in Newport, Rhode Island, with Christopher H. Gardner’s performance of equestrian acts. Between 1850 and 1950, the circus grew to include animal acts, acrobats, and the sideshow, giving rise in the U.S. to Barnum & Bailey’s “Greatest Show on Earth” and the Ringling Brothers Circus, Zirkus Sarrasani and Zirkus Hagenbeck in Germany, the Cirque Fernando (later Medrano) and the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris, and dozens of smaller troupes throughout Europe and the United States.

The rise of the circus was closely tied to the industrialization of the United States and Europe. An increasingly pervasive railroad system enabled touring to small towns as well as large urban centers. The manufacture of circus posters—typically made with woodcut until the 1870s—changed dramatically as widespread use of the technology of lithography enabled poster designers to make more complex and graphically dynamic images in greater quantities. For its audiences, the circus served as both entertainment and education, providing many circus-goers with their first exposure to cultures from around the world, shaping knowledge while simultaneously reinforcing Western rule of, and cultural dominance over, colonized lands.

Selected Objects

Pablo Picasso, designer

At the Circus (Au Cirque), 1905-1906

Charles Demuth

Bicyclists, ca. 1916 - 1917

Alexander Calder

Tumblers with Spectators, 1931-1932

Max Beckmann, designer

Behind the Wings, 1922

Max Beckmann, designer

Shooting Gallery, 1922

Max Beckmann, designer

Dressing Room, 1922

Max Pechstein

Somali Dance (Somalitanz), 1910

Martin Lewis, designer

Circus Night, 1933

American

Circus Poster, 1850-1855

American

Circus Poster, 1850-1855

John Steuart Curry, designer

Missed Leap, 1934

American

Circus Poster, 1850-1855

James Tissot

Ladies of the Chariots (Ces Dames des chars), 1883-1885

American

Circus Poster, 1850-1855

August Sander

Circus Artists, Düren (Zirkusartisten), 1930, printed later

Max Beckmann, designer

The Tightrope Walkers, 1922

Max Beckmann, designer

Negro Dance, 1922

Henri Matisse, designer

The Nightmare of the White Elephant (Le Cauchemar de l'éléphant blanc), 1947

Paul Klee, designer

The Tightrope Walker, 1921

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

At the Circus: Bareback, 1899

Georges Rouault, printmaker

Parade, 1934

Max Beckmann, designer

The Negro, 1922

Auguste Brouet, designer

L' Acrobats, ca. 1900

Max Beckmann

The Snake Charmer, 1922

Max Beckmann

The Barker, 1922

Max Beckmann

The Big Man, 1922

Edouard León Louis Edy-Legrand

Crowd at the Circus, ca. 1930

Marc Chagall, designer

The Acrobat, 1925

John Steuart Curry

Tamara Codona on the Trapeze (Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus), 1932

Ilse Bing

Circus, Trapeze Artist, 1936

Otto Dix

Illusion Act (Illusionsakt), 1922

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Circus

August 1, 2014 - February 22, 2015
View Checklist PDF

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