The Clown
Artist / maker
Henri Evenepoel (painters (artists))Date
ca. 1898 - 1899Period
19th centuryCollection
Museum of Fine Arts Ghent
Although the music hall was Henri Evenepoel’s favourite subject, his fair scenes, such as The Clown, are more exceptional than anything else. The theme of the clown is unique in his oeuvre as a whole. Evenepoel portrays him as a tragic leading character surrounded by a crowd of spectators. The clown moves across the stage rather clumsily, with a bald…
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Although the music hall was Henri Evenepoel’s favourite subject, his fair scenes, such as The Clown, are more exceptional than anything else. The theme of the clown is unique in his oeuvre as a whole. Evenepoel portrays him as a tragic leading character surrounded by a crowd of spectators. The clown moves across the stage rather clumsily, with a bald head, garish make-up and a grimace on his face. His pitiful character contrasts sharply with his mocking, somewhat malicious, audience whose faces are almost transformed into masks, in a way that reminds us of Ensor, as they ridicule the clown on the stage.
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