Pierrot yawning
Artist
Adrien Tournachon
(French, 1825 - 1903)
Artist
Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]
(French, 1820 - 1910)
Date1854
MediumSalt print
DimensionsImage and sheet: 11 1/4 × 8 1/2 inches (28.58 × 21.59 cm)
Mount: 18 1/4 × 14 3/8 inches (46.36 × 36.51 cm)
Mount: 18 1/4 × 14 3/8 inches (46.36 × 36.51 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2017.61.39
Signednone
Inscribednone
MarkingsOn mount verso, upper left corner, in pencil: “2 [?]”;
On mount verso, left edge, in pencil: “25. /2”;
On mount verso, lower left corner, in pencil: “22869”.
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a mime yawning; his mouth is open, eyes are closed, and arms are raised behind his head. He wears a blousy top with puffy buttons up the center.Exhibition HistoryRotation 25. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, October 19, 2018- March 17, 2019, no cat.
Immensely popular with Parisian audiences, mime Jean-Charles Deburau (1829–1873) performed as the stock character Pierrot with his signature billowing white costume, painted white face, and black skullcap. Here, Deburau embodies Pierrot’s clownish spirit through expressive and exaggerated gestures. Brightly lit as if performing on stage, he stretches his arms against a simple cloth backdrop that emphasizes his character rather than his surroundings. Taken during a short period of collaboration between brothers Gaspard Félix and Adrien Tournachon, this close-up photograph shows Pierrot yawning.
Serge Kakou, Paris France;
Purchased from him byThe Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2017;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2017.
Purchased from him byThe Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2017;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2017.
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