Charcoal on cardboard
France, 1961
Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) – Famous French pantomime
Signed and dated lower right ‘Marcel Marceau 61’ and with the dedication ‘To my sweet lovely Winifred your devote Bip’
Sheet size: 61.1 x 48.2 cm
Charcoal drawing by the famous mime Marcel Marceau, known as the tragicomic clown ‘Bip’; works on paper by the Frenchman fetch up to €13,600 on the auction market

The present drawing is a work by the French mime and actor Marcel Marceau. In the role of the clown ‘Bip’, with white make-up, striped shirt and top hat, he became world famous. In addition to his performances, Marceau also worked as an artist, creating many works in which he portrayed the circus and life as a pantomime. Here he presumably depicted himself as Bip, once with a cheerful and once with a sad expression on his face. In the background one recognizes the Parisian skyline.



The drawing is signed and dated lower right ‘Marcel Marceau 61’ and bears the dedication ‘To my sweet lovely Winifred your devote Bip’. The paper is lightly toned due to age, the lines are a little smudged. Partially a few small stains. In the lower right corner with distinct creases, in the left center also a with a crease mark. On the verso with traces of a previous mounting. The sheet size is 61.1 x 48.2 cm.



Marcel Marceau (1923-2007)

As one of the most famous mimes of the world, Marceau founded 1948 his own school for the training of mimes in Paris. Bip was the white-faced character, a melancholic vagabond, who he presented on stages and screens. Marceau was born as the son of two Jews, and when World War Two broke out, the family escaped to Limoges. His father was captured and deported to Auschwitz in 1944, and was murdered there. His mother survived. Marceau performed all over the world to distribute the ‘art of silence’. (tfa)

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