The strange and fascinating world of the circus and the travelling fairs has fascinated artists since the Middle Ages, even if then the artists were regarded to a certain degree with disdain. In the 19th and 20th century this subject made a strong comeback in the world of graphic arts, and it seems it is here to stay.
The National Gallery in Dublin, Ireland, will be hosting, starting on the 18th of July an exhibition with this subjects, presenting around 20 paintings of Jack B. Yeats, under the title " Masquerade and Spectacle. The Circus and the Travelling Fair in the work of Jack B.Yeats". This subject was very important for Yeats, playing a major role in his art. Even from his early years as an artist, Yeats was fascinated by circus shows, and usually captured their magic in his sketchbooks.
 | The exhibition will feature not only sketches, but also oil paintings, showing how this theme was treated and how several distinct motifs, such as the clown or the horses used in circus appear in Yeats's work, over several decades. For the painter the circus artists were not only talented individuals, but also metaphors of the artist's role in society and of the individual in contemporary times. |
Marking the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the painter's death, the curators have chosen well known compositions of one of the most important Irish modern artists, but also several rarely seen before works.
Photo : nationalgallery.ie
2007-07-09
