In 1948, Querubim Lapa was attending the sculpture course at the Lisbon School of Fine Arts. The teachings he received can be clearly seen in the modelling of the bodies here, especially in those on the right side of the composition, which stand out volumetrically from the background.

 

These figures, whose fragility is symbolised by their elongated, stylised bodies, wear simple clothes in grey tones. In their free time, at the circus, they maintain the everyday tension of struggle, fearfully watching the movements of an acrobat who – we assume from the composition – works without a net, identifying with the uncertainty of their fate.

 

The composition is divided into two parts, separated by the rope ladder up which the figure everyone is looking at has disappeared. A certain bonhomie is reflected on the faces of the assistant and clown, placed to the left and bathed in the intense spotlight. On the right, a group of spectators apprehensively watch as the ‘action’ unfolds.

 

The circus theme, which Lapa worked on in this 1948 series, formed part of the artist's concern to create art that recorded the reality of the poor, touching in its portrayal of simple figures in their everyday greys, and in the painter’s commitment to be always ‘close to the problems’ of others.

 

 

Emília Ferreira

March 2013