The Collection
The American Wing Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Asian Art The Cloisters The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Robert Lehman Collection The Libraries Medieval Art Musical Instruments Photographs Antonio Ratti Textile Center Modern and Contemporary Art

Parade de cirque

Georges Seurat French

1887–1888

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 825

Par sa maîtrise du pointillisme, Seurat confère un caractère intemporel et mystérieux à cette parade du cirque Corvi, à Paris. Sur une scène à balustrade, éclairée par la lumière diffuse de neuf becs de gaz scintillants, le maître de piste (à droite) et des musiciens (à gauche) tentent de séduire les spectateurs potentiels, dont les chapeaux hétéroclites ponctuent le premier plan d’une note rythmique et humoristique. L’artiste commença le travail en 1887 par des esquisses du cirque ambulant de Fernand Corvi, installé alors dans un quartier ouvrier de Paris. Il élabora ensuite la composition au fil de quelques études préparatoires. Parade de cirque est l’une des six grandes compositions picturales de la brève carrière de Seurat. C’est aussi son premier tableau nocturne et le premier qui soit consacré aux divertissements populaires.

Custom framed to suit your space

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris), Oil on canvas

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 1. The Corvi Circus at the Gingerbread Fair, cours de Vincennes, Paris, 1906. Postcard. Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseilles

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 2. Georges Seurat, "The Tree," 1887–88. Conté crayon on paper, 11 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. (30 x 24 cm). Private collection

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 3. Georges Seurat, "Trombonist," 1887–88. Conté crayon with white chalk on paper, 12 1/4 x 9 3/8 in. (31.1. x 23.8 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Henry P. McIlhenny Collection in memory of Frances P. McIlhenny, 1986

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 4. Georges Seurat, "Ferdinand Corvi and Pony," 1887–88. Conté crayon on paper, 11 5/8 x 8 5/8 in. (29.5 x 22 cm). Private collection

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 5. Georges Seurat, "Study for 'Circus Sideshow',” 1887–88. Ink squared in graphite on paper, 4 7/8 x 7 1/2 in. (12.5 x 19 cm). Menard Art Museum, Aichi, Japan

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 6. Georges Seurat, "Study for 'Circus Sideshow',” 1887–88. Oil on wood, 6 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (16.5 x 26 cm). Foundation E. G. Bührle Collection, Zürich

Fig. 7. "Circus Sideshow" with a diagram of Seurat's compositional grid

Fig. 8. Detail of "Circus Sideshow" (central area), macro-X-ray fluorescence map of calcium distribution, showing the chalk lines of the compositional grid and some underdrawing

Fig. 9. (right) Detail of "Circus Sideshow" (bottom right corner). (left) Macro-X-ray fluorescence map of cobalt and nickel distribution, same area, showing initial large dots of cobalt blue with no detectable cobalt (in red) and subsequent small dots of cobalt blue rich in nickel (in pink)

Titre: Parade de cirque

Artiste: Georges Seurat, Français, 1859–1891

Date: 1887–1888

Technique: Huile sur toile

Dimensions: 99,7 x 149,9 cm

Crédits: Legs de Stephen C. Clark, 1960

Accession Number: 61.101.17

Two circus monkeys appear on stage balancing atop balls, each adorned with a mauve-colored star.

How Can Art Trick Our Minds?

Instead of mixing paint colors on a palette, what happens if we let our eyes do the mixing? Learn about Pointillism and how the artist Georges Seurat used the science of optics to create a whole new way of painting!

An illustrated brain character waves a magic wand over an open sketchbook page featuring an illustrated rainbow painted with many colorful dots.

How to Make An Optical Illusion

Trick your friends with this optical illusion! Create an entire rainbow using only the primary colors — red, yellow, and blue dots.

The Met Fifth facade

Following the Trail of (Ginger)bread Crumbs: Seurat, the Corvi Circus, and the Gingerbread Fair

Research Assistant Laura D. Corey traces the history of the Corvi Circus around the time that Georges Seurat painted his evocative depiction of the traveling troupe, Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque).

The Met Fifth facade

Side Notes on the Sideshow

Associate Museum Librarian for Interlibrary Services and Digital Initiatives Robyn Fleming highlights some of the books that appear in the exhibition Seurat's Circus Sideshow.

The Met Fifth facade

Explore and Make Art at The Met

Emily Sutter, coordinator for Digital Learning, discovers what happens in one of the exciting Children's Classes at The Met.

The New Nineteenth-Century European Paintings and Sculpture Galleries

The New Nineteenth-Century European Paintings and Sculpture Galleries

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 8, Modern Europe

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 8, Modern Europe

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

Seurat's Circus Sideshow

Seurat's Circus Sideshow

One Met. Many Worlds.

One Met. Many Worlds.

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Georges Seurat, 1859–1891

Georges Seurat, 1859–1891

French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 3, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 3, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue

European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue

Art = Discovering Infinite Connections in Art History

Art = Discovering Infinite Connections in Art History

"Impressionists in the Metropolitan"

"Impressionists in the Metropolitan"

See more

The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.

The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

The Met

European Paintings at The Met

The Met's celebrated European Paintings collection encompasses more than 2,500 works of art from the thirteenth through the early twentieth century.