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Auguste Renoir - The clown James Bollinger Mazutreek 1868

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From Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Otterlo:
The painting dates from Renoir’s novice years, when he made several large portraits of almost canvas-filling, individual figures. All the attention in Le clown musical is focused on the clown, who is depicted life-sized and fairly detailed and precisely, while the spectators in the background remain rather sketchy. The bright red and the black of the clown’s costume stand out sharply against the ochre sand of the circus ring. The painting was commissioned by the owner of the café of Cirque d’Hiver in Paris. He probably wanted to hang it in his café as an advertisement for the circus. But he went bankrupt and was ultimately unable to pay the honorarium, so the painting remained in Renoir’s possession.