Schijnwerper op de ring van Circus Carré 1876 - 1924

Curator: Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof’s charcoal drawing, "Schijnwerper op de ring van Circus Carré," offers a fascinating glimpse into Amsterdam's cultural scene sometime between 1876 and 1924. The piece resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first impression is of immense theatricality. That spotlight practically pierces the dense crowd; it's captivating! The way the artist captured the light with charcoal creates such drama. Curator: The social aspect here is significant. Circuses were a popular form of entertainment for all classes. To depict it like this says something about how deeply the circus and its dramatic lighting, which you astutely observe, were embedded in Amsterdam society at this time. Editor: Yes, it's almost like a sacred space defined by light and shadow. The ring, illuminated, becomes the stage for the spectacle, contrasting with the darker mass of faces surrounding it. Even the spotlight takes on symbolic weight, doesn't it? Directing the audience's gaze, unifying their experience. The audience's eyes drawn to this point. Curator: Certainly, the spotlight acts as a visual metaphor for spectacle itself. It underscores how the gaze of the audience is carefully manipulated, directed by those in power. But who are they really? The artist who put his attention to those under the spectacle of the ring and light? Is it those organizing the performances? Or perhaps even a societal need for escape and controlled excitement amid larger historical and social challenges. Editor: It almost evokes a ritual, doesn't it? Consider the circular nature of the ring, a symbol of continuity, while the beam of light, is like the sun that creates all the meaning within it and on its periphery. Light and the circle has very long histories as objects for cult following. The city's modern life has begun and everything goes by modern principles in constant turning, just like the circle and the spectacle it brings under light for all of its devoted audience. Curator: What’s compelling is the very ephemeral, fleeting quality captured with a somewhat humble material such as charcoal. We are so close and personal to what Dijksselhof must have felt about society. The energy and spectacle that drew him to capture it here in this work. It certainly captures something powerful about the society of that day. Editor: A brilliant distillation of a place, time, and enduring symbols indeed. I'll never see a circus the same way.