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    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Only have an hour to spend?

    We've got you covered.

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

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  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
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    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
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    • Tours, Guides, and Maps

    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Only have an hour to spend?

    We've got you covered.

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

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    3. Alexis Rouart
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    Alexis Rouart

    French, 1855 - 1911

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    Artwork

    An older man, a woman, and a child who holds a chair upside-down on his head stand near each other in this vertical painting, which is made with dabs and strokes of muted grays, cream white, and golden tan. The scene is lit from our right, creating deep shadows. At the center of the composition, the man has light gray skin and he stands with his body angled slightly to our left, as he looks in that direction. His eyes are shaded and he has a round nose over a mouth mostly covered in shadow. His hat has two peaks like rounded horns and a smoke-gray scarf wraps around his neck. He wears a loose, cream-white shirt under a slate-blue jacket, and dark pants. His feet are loosely painted so it is difficult to tell if he is barefoot or if his shoes are sketchily painted. A rolled-up mat held under one arm and a small wooden box held with the other hand are loosely painted and nearly lost in shadow. To our right, just behind the man, the child wears a parchment-white, full body leotard with long sleeves and pants. His pale peach-colored hands grip the ladder back of the chair, which rests upside down on his head and casts his face into shadow. To our left, the woman is mostly in shadow. A peach-colored oval suggests her face and she wears a dark garment, perhaps a shawl, over a coffee-brown, ankle-length skirt. Her weight rests on her right foot, to our left, and she holds a large drum by her other side. The background is painted indistinctly with an area of bone white in the upper left corner, which stretches nearly across the composition along the top. Most of the rest is darker sand brown with a small patch of turquoise-blue paint near the upper right corner.
    Honoré Daumier, Wandering Saltimbanques, 1847/1850, oil on wood, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.14

    Wandering Saltimbanques

    Wandering Saltimbanques

    Honoré Daumier · 1847/1850 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  1963.10.14

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