They make us laugh, they make us cry and some are just scary. Clowning has been a tradition dating back to the times of Pharaohs in Egypt and possibly before. Many cultures all over the world have history of a village clown or entertainer.
A pygmy clown performed as a jester in the court of Pharaoh Dadkeri-Assi during Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty about 2500 B.C. Court jesters have performed in China since 1818 B.C. (information pulled from the clown ministry website)
The kings of Europe had a court jester and the Hopi Indian from The American Southwest had a "kachina" that was a clown figure. The Aztec's also had clowns similar to those in Europe.
Clown and jester collectibles have become very popular over the years and many gift stores carry them. I personally love clowns and own many paintings and drawings by the artist shown in this blog. Gary Newcomb a versatile artist that resides in the far Northwest uses pastels, colored pencils and lead pencils in most of his pictures. The clown series that he does is very detailed and worth collecting. Each clown or jester has immense emotion in the facial features and Gary captures the true traditional clown look in his art.
I prefer Clown art to statuary as I find it more challenging to find the "perfect" addition to my collection. Because I love the more "traditional" clowns of the "circus era" I look for the emotional pull in the art I buy. Each picture must have detailed facial features with costumes that portray the period I enjoy most.
The most personal clown I own is actually a court jester and the only "picture" that I own of a clown with a "jester" style hat. It is a tattoo that I had done in 1979 by Larry Allen at Anchorage Tattoo. I loved it the day I got it and I love it still.
For me Clowns are not about just making a person laugh... a clown shows great strength in the struggle of life always finding a lighter side that will preserver and pull the soul upward into a better light. Clowns are strong and can find deep in their heart compassion for any and all living creatures no matter their status. I can imagine the court jester who daily made the king laugh and then cried a tear each night for the burden that kept the king so apart from his fellow man. While most would envy the king, in my mind the clown found a sadness that bordered on pity for a man so isolated yet so public.
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