Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando by Renoir Jigsaw Puzzle

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg), 1879. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. The two little circus girls in this painting are Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg, who performed as acrobats in the famed Cirque Fernando in Paris. Although they were depicted in the center of a circus ring, the sisters actually posed in costume in Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s studio, enabling him to paint them in daylight. Here he portrayed them just as they have finished their act and are taking their bows. One sister turns to the crowd, acknowledging its approval, while the other faces the viewer with an armful of oranges, a rare treat that the audience has tossed in tribute.