At the Circus: Work in the Ring - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. B. E. Bensinger

European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"At the Circus: Work in the Ring" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1899) Charcoal, pastel, and black chalk, with stumping, touches of colored pencil, and incising, on off-white wove paper.

Commentary

"At the Circus: Work in the Ring" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1899) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include Post-Impressionism, pastel. This piece is held in the source collect ion's Prints and Drawings collection. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901. The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. It is associated with the Post-Impressionism period. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as pastel, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Charcoal, pastel, and black chalk, with stumping, touches of colored pencil, and incising, on off-white wove paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (21.7 × 31.6 cm (8 9/16 × 12 1/2 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include Post-Impressionism, pastel. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/41315

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data