The circus sideshows that inspired Seurat

Amongst photographs of Paris in two small albums found in a charity shop were several that capture the circus sideshows at the Gingerbread Fair, we believe in the early 1890s. Possibly taken by British pharmaceutical chemist William Maskew, one image in particular has a striking resemblance to Georges Seurat’s haunting and enigmatic masterpiece Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque) painted around 1887-88, and an important part of The Met’s collection in New York.

What do we know about the images?

Part of a collection compiled by chemist Marmaduke Richards, the Paris images we believe might have been taken by pharmaceutical chemist William Maskew (born 1870). Maskew had very strong connections with Paris and lived there for some time in the early 1890s. For more on Richards, Maskew and the other images visit The Paris Albums.

Of all the photographs in the Paris Albums it is those that feature the Gingerbread Fair that are the most atmospheric and intriguing. Focusing on the circus sideshows, the photographs capture the bustle of the crowds, the colourful characters enticing them in, the gaudy tents, and the musicians adding to what must have been a noisy scene. Established in the Middle Ages in the working class district around the place de la Nation, all of Paris used to attend the Gingerbread Fair – young, old, rich and poor. It was here in April 1887 that Seurat made his first studies that led to the creation of Circus Sideshow – a composition said to feature the Circus Corvi and its sideshow act. In fact many artists have been drawn to the circus from Renoir and Degas to Picasso and Matisse – but perhaps no work is quite so haunting and mysterious than Seurat’s. We believe the photographs we have would have been taken a few years after Seurat visited the Gingerbread Fair, possibly in the early 1890s.

The Gingerbread Fair photographs

The most striking image is of the Cirque Nouveau Parisien which was created by Joseph Oller (1839-1922). We see a member of the troupe gesturing with his fingers… “six de plus!”. © historyreunited.org / Hunter Gatherer Ltd.

What is especially interesting is the similarity of the positioning and composition of the musicians, which is much closer to that seen in photographs of the musicians outside the Circus Corvi. The wooden handrail also looks exactly the same here.

Richard Thompson
Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh

Curator, Seurat’s Circus Sideshow
The Met, New York 2017

An as yet unidentified music salon – with the star of the show manning the front desk by the look of it.  © historyreunited.org / Hunter Gatherer Ltd.

An acrobatic sideshow, not quite in the same league as Circus Corvi and Circus Nouveau.  © historyreunited.org / Hunter Gatherer Ltd.

An air baloon themed fairground ride.  © historyreunited.org / Hunter Gatherer Ltd.

Find out more about Seurat’s Circus Sideshow