The Circus - A Visual History. Nominiert: The British Book Design and Production Awards 2019

A beautiful, highly illustrated and authoritative history of the circus around the world, which charts the evolution of travelling entertainment from antiquity to the present day.

Winner of 2019 British Book Design & Production Award for Scholarly, Academic & Reference BooksThis beautiful book charts the development of the circus as an art form around the world, from antiquity to the present day.Using over 200 circus related artworks from the French National Library's private collections, celebrated cultural historian Pascal Jacob tells the story of travelling entertainers and their art and trade. From nomadic animal tamers of the Dark Ages to European jugglers and acrobats of the 1800s, from the use of the circus as Soviet propaganda to the 20th-century Chinese performance art renaissance, this is an exhaustive history with a uniquely international scope.Jacob draws on both rare and famous artworks, including prints dating from the 13th century, and paintings by Picasso and Doré. In doing so he demonstrates the circus to be a visual and physical masterpiece, constantly moving and evolving, and just as exciting an experience for audiences now as it was 1,00 0 years ago.

Inhaltsverzeichnis:

Foreword by Marius KwintORIGINS: ANTIQUITY - 1770THE GRAND HIGHWAYA Day at the CircusThe Foundations of the 'Grande Banque d'Occident'Jugglers, Entertainers and Acrobats Priests, Gypsies, Merchants: Travellers' Tales Fairs, Construction Sites and Rostrums: The First Performance VenuesPreparing the Ground and Codes for Western AcrobaticsIMPACT AND DOMINATION: 1770-1880THE WEST CONQUERS THE WORLDIt All Began with a CircleFamilies and Troupes: The Great Dynastic Ventures The Franconi Dynasty A Huge Building Site: The Circus Joins the CityEquestrians Triumph Throughout EuropePauline Cuzent Pantomimes and the Emergence of Narrative in the CircusCircus Bodies: The Advent of Spectacular GymnasticsJules LéotardWhiteface and Auguste Clowns Foottit and Chocolat CHANGES:1880-1930OF MEN AND BEASTS Exoticism, Wild Beasts and Splendour, German-StyleHans Stosch-Sarrasini Men and BeastsClaire HéliotSetting a System for Mobility: The Big TopAmerica, America The Towering Figure of America and its Influence in EuropePhineas Taylor Barnum "Monsieur Loyal": The Spoken Word Enters the CircusRoger LanzacINFLUENCES: 1930-2015THE BIG PLUNGEThe Soviet Circus: State Circus and Vehicle for Propaganda Margarita Nazarova KarandashThe Chinese Acrobatic Theatre: a RenaissanceXia Ju Hua The End of a World: The American Circus in TurmoilJohn Ringling NorthThe Circo Fellini: A Fresh Perspective on the Ring, In Italy and ElsewhereThe Revival of the Circus Arts in France, Quebec and BelgiumAnnie FratelliniFINALE: A Circus for Today and TomorrowGlossaryBibliographyIndex of Names