Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg)

Seen from above, but up close—as if observed through opera glasses from one of the cheaper seats— Renoir's young circus girls are shown receiving applause at the end of a performance. The older girl at left takes her bow while her sister holds five of the oranges offered as tribute. It was customary for the best performances in the circus to be recognized by a flood of oranges, often thrown by appreciative children in the audience. Renoir lightly applies his paint in thin, translucent washes. He models the girls' skin tones in Naples yellow and outlines their arms and legs in violet. Renoir's models at this circus in Montmartre were most likely Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg, aged seventeen and fourteen, respectively, who were part of an itinerant German acrobatic troupe.