La danseuse au cerceau

Forain was born in Reims in 1852 and moved with his family to Paris around 1860. He initially studied with several nineteenth-century masters, most notably Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. Later he joined the circle of Impressionist painters who gathered at the Café Guerbois and the Café de la Nouvelle Athènes. At Degas's invitation, Forain participated in 1879 in the fourth Impressionist exhibition; he also showed his works in the Impressionist exhibitions of 1880, 1881 and 1883. Degas was his closest friend and greatest influence, and Forain adopted both Degas's style and such typical subject matter as backstage scenes at the Opera. Forain was also an associate of many writers, including Verlaine, Rimbaud and Huysmans. A gifted illustrator, he made prints for Huysmans's Marthe in 1876 and Croquis parisiens in 1880; he also worked regularly as an illustrator for the journals Le Scapin, Courier Français, and Le Figaro. At his death in 1911, he was the president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.

La danseuse au cerceau is a charming painting that exemplifies the best qualities of Forain's works. The subject matter--a dancer backstage--shows the unmistakeable influence of Degas, as does the lime chiffon coloration of the dancer's dress. The realist treatment of light and perspective, however, is closer in temperament to Tissot. The affective details in the picture--the white gloves in the model's pocket, for example, or the little dog at her feet--indicate Forain's genius as an illustrator and narrative artist.