Bitter Lemon (Translation)
Amer Citron (Primary Title)
Cirque de l'Etoile Filante (The Shooting Star Circus), published in 1938 (Series Title)
Georges Rouault, French, 1871 - 1958 (Artist)
By the 1930s, Rouault’s already considerable international reputation as a painter was enhanced by his prolific achievement as a printmaker. Each plate of The Shooting Star Circus, published as a loose folio, features a portrait of a circus performer in costume. The inky blacks, a signature of Rouault’s style, highlight the vibrant, even garish, colors of the troupe’s gaudy attire. Rouault was particularly fascinated by the roadshow clown, who lived an improvised existence at odds with his humorous appearance on stage. He poses his figures in moments of solitary reflection, their isolation in full stage regalia serving to heighten the feeling of alienation, absurdity, and pathos.
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