Georges Rouault: Cirque Forain

The circus plays a thematic role in about a third of George Rouault's works. In all of history, there has never been an artist whose work has been so focused on this particular theme.

His portraits of various circus figures, especially clowns, have earned him the reputation as the greatest painter of clowns. Rouault was not unique in the depiction of such subjects, as can be attested by works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, and other modern artists. What sets him apart is the reason he pursued this theme. He was particularly drawn to cheap circuses in out-of-the-way areas and run-down traveling circuses, and by presenting the pitiful figures he encountered, he attempted to depict human nature the way he saw it.

"We are all clowns," Rouault once said, and it is clear his clowns symbolize those who suffer in a deeply sinful society. Through his clowns, Rouault explored human suffering and despair, even as he depicted the grace and love that his subjects sought out to find respite from such a world.

Thanks to the special cooperation of the Paris-based Rouault Foundation, the Museum has gathered together some of the most important circus-themed paintings and etchings in Rouault's oeuvre, spanning his entire career. Other items on display here for the first time include circus posters and programs actually seen by Rouault, as well as newspaper and magazine articles and postcards from his time. The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to connect the dots between Rouault's worldview and circus and cabaret culture from the late 19th to the early 20th century, so that visitors may come to better understand why Rouault repeatedly depicted circus figures.