Acrobats, Contortionist and Clowns
Artist
Frans De Vos
(Belgian, 1880 – 1936)
Dateca. 1900
Periodn/a
Mediumoil on canvas, mounted on wooden support bars
Dimensions113 x 102 1/2 in. (287 x 260.4 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of Howard and Janice Tibbals, 2005
Object numberSN11134.2
Functioning like shop signs, banners like these were hung on the front of theaters or as a part of European circus entrances during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Eye catching in their design, they were used to entice the passing visitor to purchase tickets to see the acts depicted on the banners. The banners were durable, so an investment in a painted banner would be more financially responsible for small troupes or circuses than the ephemeral printed paper of a poster.
Canvas banners used by traveling shows were subjected to all kinds of weather and coupled with the constant rolling up, storing and unrolling, they suffered damage. When no longer useful for advertising, the worn banners were either thrown away, used as tarps, or cut up for scraps. Very few examples of these European banners have survived.
Acts left to right: perch act with juggling; clown balancing act; single trapeze with iron jaw and acrobatic strength act; and a contortionist. The artist’s signature is in the upper right hand corner.
On View
On view
