Even though it is disputed who made The Circus, Suzanne Valadon’s experiences in the circus would give her an advantage in depicting it.

The Cleveland Museum of Art attributes the painting to Suzanne Valadon. Not everyone, however, agrees with this attribution. Those who think it is in fact an artwork by Suzanne Valadon say that the painting looks different from her other pieces because it is an early work. The painting’s date says that it’s from 1889, and Suzanne Valadon only really developed her characteristic style in 1891.

Although it is debated whether Suzanne Valadon made the painting, she did spend some time working in a real circus. Due to her attractive looks, she got a job as an equestrienne (a woman who performs on horseback) and trapeze artist at a Parisian circus called Circus Molier. If you think these jobs sound dangerous, you’re probably right. After one year in the circus, Suzanne Valadon was severely hurt during a fall, and she had to stop performing. She instead started to work as a model for artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It was Edgar Degas who encouraged her to become an artist, introducing her to printmaking techniques and art dealers - so you could say something good came of her fall at the circus.

Valadon tried different jobs before the circus, such as working in a dressmaking shop, as a florist, and at an open-air market. It was her work at the circus, though, that she was really passionate about. The author John Storm wrote: “The circus life fired Valadon's imagination. The excitement, the colors, the atmosphere of a carnival were close to her; she seemed to have prepared for it unconsciously all her life.”

The strong emotions Suzanne Valadon apparently had for the circus make the painting seem even more special.