Original etching and aquatint printed in colors on Montval laid paper.   Dated and signed with the artist's monograms in the plate lower left: "1934 GR".   A brilliant impression of the definitive state from the overall edition of 280.   Plate 8 of 17 from the suite "Cirque de l'Étoile Filante" published by Ambroise Vollard and printed by Roger Lacourière, Paris, 1938.

Platemark: 12 3/8" x 8 1/8", sheet: 17 3/8" x 12 3/4"
Catalogue Reference: Chapon/Rouault 247, Wofsy 326

The color aquatints that Rouault made for the "Cirque de l'Étoile Filante" mark a culmination in his career as a printmaker.   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.