Exhibition : Le Cirque

At the Musée de Montmartre

Until February 14, 2027.

At the Musée de Montmartre, the exhibition "The Circus: The Making of Modern Art" explores the extraordinary influence of the circus on the artistic avant-garde. Centred on the legendary Cirque Fernando, later renamed Cirque Medrano, it reveals how artists including Degas, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Chagall and Léger found an endless source of inspiration beneath the big top. Paintings, drawings, posters, costumes and rare objects show how the circus ring, its lights and its acrobats helped shape the imagination of some of the greatest artists of the modern era. A captivating journey into bohemian Montmartre, where modern art took shape.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La Clownesse Cha-U-Kao, 1895. Huile sur carton, 58 x 43 cm, Paris, Musée d'Orsay © GrandPalaisRmn / Franck Raux

12 Rue Cortot

75018 Paris