Circus

Circus scenes had a long history in French painting before Erma Bossi took one up. Toulouse-Lautrec had painted the ring of the Cirque Fernando in Paris in the late 1880s, and writing on Bossi names him as a likely model for this picture. The museum's catalogue lists what is in it, a horse and rider, artistes, lamps and spectators. Bossi handled the theme more freely than Lautrec, building it from pinks, reds and purples. She painted it on cardboard in 1909 and signed it Bossi at the lower right. It has been on long-term loan to the Lenbachhaus since 2002 from the Gabriele Münter and Johannes Eichner Foundation.