Pasquale Iannetti Art Gallery

Original etching and aquatint on Rives paper with full margins. Signed and dated in the plate lower right. An impression from the edition of 160 (apart from 110 on Montval paper). One of eight aquatints from the series entitled "Cirque".

Platemark: 11 3/4" x 10 7/16, sheet: 17 3/8" x 13 1/8"
Catalogue Reference: Chapon/Rouault 203

This particular etching was originally conceived to accompany texts by André Suarès. The publication was cancelled in 1932 after Vollard read the manuscript and decided that Suarès' caricatures would affront his "Clientèle Americaine".

The circus was one of the most important themes in the artist's work. However, his interpretation of the symbolic role of the performer was quite different from that of either Picasso or Chagall. He was fascinated with the split between their outward public face and their inner personality. At the time, most circus performers were in essence itinerant and very often extremely impoverished. It was only when they put on their traditional and very often splendid costumes for each performance, that they appeared rich and aloof. This dichotomy of appearance summed up Rouault's feelings about the two-faced attitudes of contemporary society.