Hilaire-Germain-Edgar DEGAS,
Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando,
1879

Known in England as the “African Princess”, Miss La La was one of a few famed black performers that captured the imagination of audiences in Europe. Hailed “Le Femme Cannon”, she was a notorious acrobat who attracted audiences with her almost inhuman strength.
This iconic image painted by Degas depicts the acrobat suspended by a rope lodged in her mouth. Picture her performance if you will: A generously built, caramel skinned beauty, climbs up to her podium wearing a wild sun-like afro. A tense atmosphere escalates as she makes her way on to her trapeze. She holds another smaller trapeze in her mouth; where two other acrobats jump up and perform their own acrobatic skills – all the while La La and her jaw, seem unmoved. As a grand finale to a string of unimaginable stunts, six hulky men lift a huge canon up to her mouth, where it hangs between her teeth. She swings on the trapeze, often only on one leg, as attendants light the end of the canon for a final explosion. Astonishment, curiosity and admiration grip the audience. There is a deafening applause.
An article written on the 16th March 1879 notes:
“La La as we have hinted, is a representative of a dark-skinned race, but in the matter of strength she is prepared to assert her superiority of the boastful people who will have it that all the virtues are associated with a light-skinned complexion” (The Era)

link to National Gallery site