Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901)
At the Circus: Acrobats, 1899
Black and color chalks on white wove paper
9 15/16 x 14 in. (25.3 x 35.5 cm)
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1955.1429
This circus scene, along with At the Circus: The Dog Trainer, belongs to a large group of drawings that Toulouse-Lautrec made from memory while he was recuperating in a medical clinic from alcoholism and a mental breakdown. The attenuated bodies and expressive gestures of the figures reveal the artist’s undiminished mastery of line.