Clowns & Commedia dell'Arte
Two lines of one stage: street theatre and circus.
Theatre lives on recognition: the audience knows who is in front of them before the first line. This series works the same way.
Six commedia dell'arte characters form one close set — same height, black carnival mask, and each name incised in the porcelain base. Columbina holds her mask in her hand, Harlequin in his diamond costume plays a stringed instrument, Pulcinella is dressed all in white, Pantalone wears a red cloak and a bearded mask, Dottore Balanzone carries a book and a purse, Brighella a dagger at his belt. Costume and prop stand in for a caption.
The clowns are the second line, closer to the circus. All twelve share a painted face; what tells them apart is the instrument and the small detail underfoot — a drum and a dog's muzzle on the base, a trumpet and a ladybird, an accordion and a parasol, a saxophone and a yellow ball with a star. One holds an ice cream cone, another stands beside a lifebuoy.
Apart from them stands «Circus Scene», the only multi-figure group in the series: the conductor clown with baton and score, a boy with cymbals, a dog with a drum.