Provenance
Marc Chagall, to Jan. 1934 [letter to the artist from Kunsthalle Basel, Jan. 18, 1934, in curatorial file]. Albert Roullier Gallery, Chicago, by 1936 [this and the following according to letter from Mrs. Gilbert Chapman, Nov. 27, 1974, in curatorial file]; sold to Mrs. Charles Goodspeed (née Elizabeth Fuller, later Mrs. Gilbert Chapman; 1893–1980), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1949.
Accession Number
118614
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
23.8 × 18.9 cm (9 3/8 × 7 7/16 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman
Background & Context
Background Story
Marc Chagall's The Circus Rider (c. 1927) is an oil on canvas depicting a circus performer, a subject that fascinated Chagall throughout his career. The circus, with its combination of reality and fantasy, its performers and animals, was a perfect subject for Chagall's imagination. This painting shows a circus rider, perhaps on a horse, in a composition of movement and color. The palette is rich and varied, the forms are fluid and expressive. The circus rider floats in a space that defies gravity, suspended between earth and sky in the characteristic Chagallian manner.
Cultural Impact
The circus was a recurring theme in Chagall's art, representing the magic and freedom of the imagination.
Why It Matters
This circus rider captures the magic of performance, the figure floating in a space that defies gravity in the characteristic Chagallian manner.
