The Acrobats (Doré)
| The Acrobats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Gustave Doré |
| Year | 1874 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 224 cm × 184 cm (88 in × 72 in) |
| Location | Roger-Quilliot Art Museum, Clermont-Ferrand |
The Acrobats (or The Wounded Child) is an oil-on-canvas painting created in 1874 by French artist Gustave Doré. It represents a family of acrobats, who work in a circus, struck by a tragedy: their male child, mortally wounded in the head, lies in the arms of his mother after an accident during a tightrope walker's number. His father, seated and slightly in the background, watches the scene with deep sadness. The painting is held in the Roger-Quilliot Art Museum, in Clermont-Ferrand.[1][2]
Description[edit]
The light in the painting is centered on the child and his mother. Conversely, the background of the painting, where the tragedy occurred and where the curious are massed, is much darker. The painting can be divided into two parts, by drawing an imaginary diagonal going from the upper right corner to the lower left corner; moreover, the position of the child follows this line, and it is reinforced by the pallor of his white jerkin (the folds of the garment show that it is not his skin).
The bright colors of the circus clothing contrast precisely with the whiteness of the injured child's clothing, yet lit up as if he was beaming with his mother holding his. The child and the mother are characters in a central position, and therefore are seen in full light. The mother, dressed in a long blue coat and with her head crowned, is possibly a gypsy, with her matte skin and very brown, curly hair, and / or a fortune-teller, judging by the cards that are spread in front of her. She holds her dying son in her arms, against her body. Her eyes are closed, and a tear runs down her face as she kisses him. She is seated in a drum and some musical instruments are seen at the right.[3]
This representation recalls a Christian iconographic theme, the Virgin Mary mourning the death of Christ – her son – before the burial, therefore resembling a pietà.[citation needed]
The child is dressed in a tight-fitting white garment and his head wound is surrounded by a heavily bloodstained cloth. His skin, very pale, seems to indicate an approaching death.[citation needed]
On the left, the seated and bent father watches the scene. He seems helpless, with his arms dangling. He shows deep sadness, with tears in his eyes. He too is dressed in an all-red circus costume. His hair (or hat) is also colored red. He is holding circus slippers.
In the background in the dark, to the left of the father on the edge of the frame, a crowd of acrobats and onlookers observe the group of the mother and father with the dying son.
Three animals are also shown near the group, two dogs and an owl. The father owns a bulldog, who is sitting next to him on his right, and who is also looking sadly to the child. The mother has a bichon. He is covered with a garment whose patterns are similar to those of his owner's dress, but with the blue, gold and silver colors reversed, in negative. The animal puts its left front paw on her and also looks towards the child. The two dogs seem to sympathize with the suffering of their masters and to share their emotion.[4]
The only animal not observing the scene is the strange presence of an owl, who is placed and chained on the edge of the drum where the woman is seated. The owl, with his eyes wide open, gives the impression of looking in the direction of the viewers of the painting. Traditionally, in certain French regions, the cry of the owl was believed to predict the imminent death of a family member. The painting's owl thus seems to announce the death of the child.[5]
Provenance[edit]
The painting was exhibited at the Clermont-Ferrand Museum, since 1937, before being transferred to the Roger-Quilliot Art Museum in the same city, in 1992. It is shown on the floor reserved for 19th century French art. In 2011, the painting was elected as the museum's favorite by its visitors.[6][7]
References[edit]
- ^ The Acrobats, Ministère de la Culture (French)
- ^ Marie-France Cussinet, "Bohémiennes et saltimbanques dans les musées d'Auvergne", in Pascale Auraix-Jonchière and Gérard Loubinoux (dir.), La Bohémienne, figure poétique de l'errance aux xviiie et xixe siècles, Clermont-Ferrand, Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal, 2005, p. 315 (French)
- ^ Los saltimbanquis Tragedia en el circo, Historia-arte.com (Spanish)
- ^ The Acrobats, Ministère de la Culture (French)
- ^ The Acrobats, Ministère de la Culture (French)
- ^ Du Musée d'Orsay au Musée d'Ottawa pour un tableau clermontois, Franceinfo (French)
- ^ Marie-France Cussinet, "Bohémiennes et saltimbanques dans les musées d'Auvergne", in Pascale Auraix-Jonchière and Gérard Loubinoux (dir.), La Bohémienne, figure poétique de l'errance aux xviiie et xixe siècles, Clermont-Ferrand, Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal, 2005, p. 315 (French)