The Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)

Toulouse-Lautrec painted this equestrienne at the Cirque Fernando in 1887 and 1888, in his studio in Paris. He was 23, at the beginning of his career, and this is one of his first major paintings. It was exhibited at the Salon des Independants in 1888 and established him as a painter of Parisian nightlife. A bareback rider stands on a horse, her body bent forward, her arms extended, balancing as the horse runs around the ring. The ringmaster stands at the center of the ring, holding a whip, his body turned to watch the rider. The audience is visible at the upper left, a row of faces in the stands. The painting is built in broad, loose strokes of color, with the ring rendered in warm yellows and browns and the rider in a bright blue costume. The Cirque Fernando was a permanent circus in the Montmartre district of Paris, near Toulouse-Lautrec's studio. He attended the circus regularly and made dozens of drawings of the performers, the animals, and the audience. This painting was based on those drawings, composed in the studio rather than painted on the spot. The bareback rider is the subject, but the painting is also about the audience and the atmosphere of the circus, the sense of watching and being watched. Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi in 1864, the son of an aristocratic family. He broke both legs in childhood and never grew beyond 5 feet tall, his legs stunted while his torso developed normally. He moved to Paris in 1882 and studied with Fernand Cormon, where he met Van Gogh and Emile Bernard. He lived in Montmartre and painted the cafes, cabarets, circuses, and brothels of the district. His paintings and posters of Parisian nightlife are among the most distinctive works of the late 19th century. Oil on canvas, 100 by 161 centimeters, roughly 39 by 63 inches. Toulouse-Lautrec painted with a loose, rapid brushwork that was unlike the precise dots of Seurat or the smooth surfaces of the academic painters. The rider is built in broad strokes of blue and white, the horse in strokes of brown and black. The audience is barely indicated, their faces reduced to dots and dashes of color. The painting has an energy and immediacy that comes from the speed of execution. The wide horizontal format and circus subject make this print work well in a living room, dining room, or hallway with modern or traditional furniture. The dynamic composition suits a room with minimal decoration. A dark wood frame matches the painting's warm palette. The 18x24 size gives the rider and the ring enough room to read. The painting is in the Art Institute of Chicago. This is a public domain artwork. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 18x24 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.