‘A CIRCUS IS DISTURBING. IT IS PROFOUND’ — THE FANTASY WORLDS OF MARC CHAGALL’S LE CIRQUE

The visual experience of the circus lay at the heart of Chagall’s personal mythology. In his 1967 lithograph series — offered online from 19 February to 1 March — the artist summoned the full spectacle in all its colourful variety

‘For me, a circus is a magic show that appears and disappears like a world,’ Marc Chagall wrote in 1966. ‘These clowns, bareback riders and acrobats have made themselves at home in my visions. Why? Why am I so touched by their make-up and their grimaces? With them I can move towards new horizons.’

Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Le Cirque, one plate, 1967. Lithograph in colours, on Arches paper. Estimate: $20,000-30,000. This work is offered in Marc Chagall: Le Cirque, 19 February to 1 March, online

The spectacle of the circus and its performers had fascinated Chagall (1887-1985) from his childhood days in Vitebsk, Russia, where travelling acrobats and equestrians often came to entertain crowds at village fairs. Chagall never forgot an incident when, as a young man, he had looked on as a father and his children performed clumsy but strenuous acrobatic stunts on the street. The passing public deemed their efforts more pathetic than laudable, and Chagall watched as they walked away, unappreciated and empty-handed. Then, as at other times during his career, Chagall must have feared that this might be the fate of anyone who sought for himself the life of an artist………………………

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