From the Médrano Circus (Aus dem Zirkus Médrano) 1924

George Grosz created this lithograph, From the Médrano Circus, in Germany, sometime in the 1920s. Grosz uses a deliberately crude style to convey an atmosphere of social decay. He was associated with the New Objectivity movement, which offered a cynical and critical perspective on the failings of German society after the First World War. In place of the pre-war enthusiasm for progress, artists began to focus on the poverty, corruption, and moral bankruptcy they saw all around them. The circus, a place of entertainment, becomes a symbol of social breakdown. The clown’s exaggerated costume and gestures are grotesque, while the other figures in the image seem shady and sinister. To understand this work better, it is useful to consult contemporary newspapers, literature, and political pamphlets. It's also important to understand the history of exhibition culture and the role of art critics and collectors. These resources would reveal the social and institutional contexts that shaped the work. Grosz's image reminds us that art is always a product of its time.