Josephus Clericus, Posture Masterius
Date1688
MediumInk on paper, etching and engraving
DimensionsSheet: 10 3/4 × 7 1/4 in. (27.3 × 18.4 cm)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineTibbals Circus Collection
Object numberht8000245
Joseph Clark, born around 1696, could contort his posture, shape, and face into extraordinary positions. He performed in taverns and on street corners in London and ultimately became an aspirational icon for future generations of performers and contortionists.
Unlike many of those exhibited for their differences, Clark had the power to shift in and out of the public sphere as a “proper” member of society and a “deformed outcast”. He often tricked tailors into altering his costumes multiple times by disfiguring his body to different sizes. In this print, he has a large belly, humpback, and rotates his foot 180 degrees.
His signature move was sticking out his tongue to distort and garble his speech to disrupt expectations even beyond just the physical body.
The term “posture master” was later replaced with the more popular “contortionist” which reinforced these performances as an intentional deviation from a “normal body”.
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1688
