Description
The attribution of this painting to Suzanne Valadon has been rejected by several authorities. Others support the attribution, arguing that the painting is merely atypical because it is an early work, signed and dated 1889. Valadon did not begin to develop her mature style until 1891.She was the mother of artist Maurice Utrillo and a prolific painter herself, although she never received any formal artistic training.
Provenance
Myria Barnwell, Nice. According to label on reverse, sold at auction in 1939. Valentine Gallery, New York, 1942. Bought by Leonard C. Hanna Jr., 12 January 1942, New York and Cleveland. Bequeathed to the CMA in 1958.
Accession Number
1958.56
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Unframed: 48.8 x 60 cm (19 3/16 x 23 5/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting French Color: Orange Color: Gold
Background & Context
Background Story
Suzanne Valadon (1865-1938) was a French painter known as one of the first women painters admitted to the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts, whose bold, expressive nudes and portraits in the strong, drawing-based manner distinguish her from the more Impressionist painting of her contemporaries. The Circus from 1889 is one of Valadon's earliest works, depicting a circus scene in the bold, expressive manner that would become her signature style. Valadon began her artistic career as a model for Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others before becoming a painter herself, and The Circus shows her early talent for bold, expressive composition.
Cultural Impact
The Circus is important in the history of women's painting because it shows Suzanne Valadon—one of the first women painters admitted to the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts—developing the bold, expressive manner that would make her one of the most important women painters of the early 20th century. Valadon's transformation from artist's model to independent painter represents an important moment in the history of women's art, and The Circus shows this transformation at its beginning.
Why It Matters
The Circus is Valadon's bold beginning: a circus scene rendered in the strong, expressive manner that one of the first independent women painters in France was developing from her experience as a model for Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec. The 1889 painting shows the birth of a distinctive artistic voice that would make Valadon one of the most important women painters of her generation.
