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At the Circus: The Bareback Rider (Au Cirque: Écuyère)

A work made of tambourine with oil on vellum painting.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of tambourine with oil on vellum painting.

Date:

1888

Artist:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
French, 1864-1901

About this artwork

One of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s favorite haunts was the Cirque Fernando, also the subject of his large painting, Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando) in the collection of the Art Institute. Like many of the artists in his circle, Toulouse-Lautrec experimented with styles and materials beyond easel painting. His decision to paint on a tambourine with little castanets (called a tambour de basque) was perhaps inspired by the instrument’s association with bohemian life and creative freedom. The shape of the tambourine mirrors that of the paper hoop held by the clown in the larger painting, so that our view here seems to be framed by the hoop just after the bareback rider has broken through it.

Status

On View, Gallery 242

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Title

At the Circus: The Bareback Rider (Au Cirque: Écuyère)

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1888

Medium

Tambourine with oil on vellum painting

Inscriptions

signed 'HTLautrec' (lower right)

Dimensions

Diam.: 26.7 cm (10 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Patterson/Taylor Acquisition Fund; Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. Patterson Endowment Fund

Reference Number

2010.413

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/204686/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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