At the Circus

1899

Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901

Not On View

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.

About the Artwork

Depicted here is a scene from the ballet Papa Chrysantheme performed in 1892 at the Nouveau Cirque in Paris, an establishment renowned for its modern fixtures such as electrical lighting and mechanically operated scenery. For this ballet the central area of the Nouveau Cirque was flooded to produce a lake filled with artificial lotus leaves. The figures in the foreground are dancers dressed in Japanese costumes. Lautrec was among the most innovative draftsmen of the 19th century. His work-whether executed with a brush, pen, crayon, or pencil is characterized by vibrant lines that convey the essence of a subject with the deftest of means.

Title At the Circus

Artwork Date 1899

Artist Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec

Life Dates 1864-1901

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Crayon, pastel, and watercolor on wove paper

Dimensions Sheet: 9 7/8 × 14 inches (25.1 × 35.6 cm) Framed: 24 1/2 × 20 1/2 × 3 1/2 inches (62.2 × 52.1 × 8.9 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 70.297.A

Markings

Signed Signed, in black crayon, lower left: [artist's monogram]

Inscriptions ------

Marks Marks, lower right corner: [traces of artist's monogram]

Provenance

Maurice Joyant

Mme. Dortu

Jacques Seligman

1944, Robert H. Tannahill [1893-1969] (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, USA)

1970-present, bequest to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Published References

Figaro Artistique (April 1902): p. 13 (ill.).

Joyant, Maurice. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Paris, 1927, p. 239.

Jaccomet, Daniel. Toulouse-Lautrec au cirque, 17 dessins, 1932, no. 13 (as: Ballet-Fantaisie Nautique et Japonaise).

Frankfurter, Alfred. "Master Drawings of Five Centuries." Art News, November 1938 (ill.) "Souvenir de Papa Chrysanthème, at the Nouveau Cirque, November 1892."

"Family Art Game," DIA Advertising Supplement. Detroit Free Press. April 26, 1981, p. 15 (ill.).

Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.

Suggest Feedback

Catalogue Raisoneé

Please note: This section is empty

Credit Line for Reproduction

Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Circus, 1899, crayon, pastel, and watercolor on wove paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.297.A.