An exceptional example of Delaunay’s mature work once in the collection of Solomon R. Guggenheim, Rythme circulaire demonstrates the artist’s lasting interest in geometric and abstract forms. The work was created as part of the artist's ambitious project for the 1937 Exposition internationale des arts et des techniques appliqués à la vie moderne in Paris, and encapsulates his visionary approach it art.

In Rythme circulaire, colour and form have been separated from figuration, which Delaunay saw as a limitation to creative possibility. It realises an idea about the intersection between art and life that he articulated as early as 1912: 'Clarity will be colour, proportions; these proportions are composed of various simultaneous measures within an action. This action must be representative harmony, the synchromatic movement (simultaneity) of light, which is the only reality' (Delaunay quoted in, Visions of Paris: Robert Delaunay’s Series, 1997, Berlin, p. 126). Drawing on the signature coloured disks of Orphism (fig. 1), the interlaced circles and segmented colour planes in Rythme circulaire represent this idea of synchronised movement, expressing optimism for the future and the constant forward drive of progress.

In the clearly demarcated forms and considered application of colour of the present work, Delaunay creates a dynamic composition infused with light. Rythme circulaire exudes an atmosphere of weightlessness evocative of the feeling of eternity that Delaunay wished to capture: 'The concept of a boundless universe leads to the painting that has been inserted into a frame being rejected and replaced with one which continues both inside and outside, and even extends into eternity' (Delaunay quoted in, Robert Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (exhibition catalogue), Galerie Art Focus, Zurich, 2001, p. 18). The interlinking circular forms give the impression of constant energy within a greater sphere of movement, reflecting the artist’s shared views with the Futurist movement and with the ideas laid out by Kandinsky, whose animated works also focused on the transcendental qualities of cyclical forms and were often set within a square format much like Delaunay's work (fig. 2). Delaunay had long been fascinated with the concept of creating works that could transcend pictorial and spiritual boundaries. Eschewing traditional notions of space and depth, Delaunay draws upon the earlier fragmented canvases of Cubism, combining them with avant-garde theories concerning the relationship between light and colour, to produce: 'a style of painting that created an architectural order and which stayed on the surface of the wall without making a window or hole in the areas and proportions of the building. That is a characteristic of this form of art and shows its usefulness in modern life and the new style of architecture' (Delaunay quoted in, ibid., Zurich, 2001, p. 18).

The 1930s marked a period of renewed experimentation for the artist, which included an interest in mural painting as a means of escaping the confines of the easel. When in 1937 Delaunay was commissioned, alongside artists including his wife Sonia Delaunay, Albert Gleizes, Léopold Survage and Raymond Duchamp Villon, to produce work for the Exposition internationale des arts et des techniques appliqués à la vie moderne at the Palais des Chemins de Fer and the Palais de l’Air (figs. 3 and 4), he was given the opportunity to truly explore the limits of painting.

Delaunay had long been an advocate of modern technology and his circular rhythms, much like his earlier Eiffel tower paintings, are a paean to modernity. The decision to work on a building dedicated to railways and airplanes, with the latter’s connotation with flight, seemed particularly fitting. Discussing the importance of Delaunay’s large scale works, art historian Matthew Drutt has remarked upon the significance of this commission: ''Delaunay’s greatest achievement in this regard was a large-scale commission to decorate the Palais de l’Air and Palais de Chemins de Fer for the Exposition Internationale de Paris, 1937. He and Sonia enlisted a team of artists in the effort, creating a suite of murals and decorations that proved to be the most monumental expression of their ideas in their careers' (M. Drutt, op. cit., 1997, Berlin, pp. 42-3). For the Palais des Chemins de Fer, Delaunay painted Air, Fer et Eau, the oil on canvas version of which now resides in the Israel Museum of Art (fig. 5). In the Palais de l’Air Delaunay paired an enormous polychrome panel with an experimental Rhodoid sculpture, in the centre of which a model airplane hung. Historic images show that the commissioned panel is almost identical to that of Rythme circulaire, suggesting that the latter was intended as a companion piece or final large scale preparation for this ambitious undertaking.

Exemplifying Delaunay’s unique form of pictorial expression, Rythme circulaire is testament to Delaunay’s desire to create a global aesthetic movement; one that would liberate art from figuration and allow for artworks to become assimilated into everyday life. There is a lyricism to the careful arrangement of colour and form that inspires an optimism for the future. Speaking of Delaunay’s works from the 1930s, art historian Karin Schick has observed: 'They are free colour rhythms, harmonious dimensions that no longer bear any reference to objective reality. Indeed, they did justice to the demands Delaunay made of his work: they are both pure art and part of life' (K. Schick, op. cit., Zurich, 2001, p. 18).

The same year it was painted, Rythme circulaire was acquired from the artist by legendary collector Solomon R. Guggenheim and gifted to his museum where it remained for nearly half a century. It was acquired by the current owner in 1987 and has remained in their collection since.