At the circus, horse and monkey dressage 1899

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec sketched this pastel drawing of a circus scene featuring a horse, a clown, and a dog. The clown, with his stark white makeup and red lips, embodies the archetype of the fool, a figure stretching back to antiquity, where the fool was both entertainer and truth-teller. We see echoes of this figure in commedia dell’arte’s Harlequin, who wears motley but possesses sharp wit. The horse, a symbol of power and freedom, is juxtaposed here, tamed and obedient, reflecting humanity's complex relationship with nature. The little dog in the lower right corner, a crude toy, hints at the artificiality of this spectacle. It is a far cry from the mythic beast, the lion, king of the jungle and emblem of courage. Here, it is reduced to a mere plaything, stripped of its true essence. The painting is a stark contrast: the raw power of the horse, the artifice of the clown, the degradation of the lion.