Stern Pissarro Gallery

Blue sky and acrobats

Le Cirque dans le ciel bleu de Paris [“Circus in the blue sky of Paris”] depicts an acrobat on his trapeze, a tumbler on her horse and in the foreground a harlequin figure holding a bouquet of flowers. The nocturnal atmosphere is emphasized by the presence of the moon amidst the figures and by a glowing sun, evoking the colours of the sunset. Several hybrid figures make up the scene: in the top left, an upside-down rooster, a traditional Chagallian animal that recalls the rural landscapes so dear to the painter; on the right there is a flying angel and in the background we see the Eiffel Tower, an allusion to the artist’s various stays in Paris and marking his permanent relocation to France in 1940.

Chagall’s return to France did little to renew his inspiration, but the significance of flowers and landscapes in his work increased. He reworked his recurring theme of the circus and its acrobats, which, like his visions of Paris, constitute a particularly poetic series.

Le Cirque dans le ciel bleu de Paris, circa 1978-81
Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Oil on canvas, 100 x 73 cm

Exhibited by the Stern Pissarro Gallery (London) - Stand no. 30