1879
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg) is a 1879 oil by Auguste Renoir, a Impressionism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
You see a colorful painting of acrobats performing at the circus. The crowd is excited, but some men in the front row seem out of place. Renoir focused on the joy of the scene, not the darker side of it, which is interesting because it shows his approach to art. You can learn more about the artist who created this scene by looking up Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
This painting depicts a favorite Parisian pastime in the late nineteenth century: attending the circus. Among the enthusiastic crowds at these events were men on the prowl in a world of young female entertainers. But Pierre-Auguste Renoir barely alluded to the unwholesome aspects of this environment, relegating a group of dark-suited men, seated in the front row, to the very top of the composition. “For me a picture . . . should be something likeable, joyous, and pretty,” Renoir insisted. “There are enough ugly things in life for us not to add to them.” Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando reflects…
The artist (d. 1919); deposited with Durand-Ruel, Paris, Apr. 6, 1881 [per Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book for 1879–84 (no. 3155, as Les Petites acrobates), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, Oct. 5, 2010, curatorial object file]; sold to Durand-Ruel, Paris, May 12, 1882, for 2,000 francs. [This transaction is recorded in the Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book for 1880–82 (no. 2362, as Les Saltimbanques), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, Oct. 5, 2010, curatorial object file]; sold to Potter Palmer…
Paris, Offices of La vie moderne, Cinquième exposition de La vie moderne, P.-A. Renoir, June 19–July 3, 1879, no cat. Paris, 251, rue Saint-Honoré, Salons du Panorama de Reischoffen, 7me exposition des artistes independants [seventh Impressionist exhibition], Mar. 1–31, 1882, no cat. no. New York, American Art Galleries, Works in Oil and Pastel by the Impressionists of Paris, Apr. 10–28, 1886, cat. 209; New York, National Academy of Design, May 25–June 30, 1886, as Au Cirque. Paris, Durand-Ruel, Exposition A. Renoir, May 1892, cat. 3, as Au Cirque. Cambridge, Mass., Fogg Art Museum,…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born on 25 February 1841 in Limoges, the son of a tailor and a seamstress.
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