The Family Of Saltimbanques: Painting Technique

The family of Saltimbanques is a large oil on canvas painting, 6’ 11 ¾” x 7’ 6 ⅜”. There is a tight group of five figures to the left of the painting and a women seperated in the right bottom corner. A male Harlequin stands furthest to the left with his back to the viewer, left arm behind his back, and holding the hand of a young girl. His head is turned to the right as if looking toward the women. A pounchy jester stands to the right of him wearing facing the viewer, wearing a tight red suit and a hat. In front of the jester stands a young girl dressed in a pink and black ballerina dress, with her back to the viewer, head looking down and holding a basket of flowers in her right hand. An older boy acrobat is standing behind the jester to his left carrying a drum on his shoulders. …show more content…
A small boy acrobat is standing, facing the women, dressed in a blue/gray and orange costume with long sleeves and pants. The women sitting far right in the corner separate from the group is wearing a brimmed tan hat, faced turned away from the group, wearing a white shawl over a gray blouse and orange skirt. She has pale white skin and holds her shawl with her left hand extended upward to her shoulder. All of the circus figures look disconnected from each other. They all stand in a desolate barren landscape with fluffy clouds on a blue sky. The axis is horizontal and the contour soft. There is a variable composition and overlapping figures. A monochromatic palette which is chalky, is made up of browns and grays, along with fresco like colors like rose-blue and complimentary red, orange, yellow, and darkish hue. This painting was made in 1905 and is on display in the National Gallery of Art, Washington