MONTE CARLO.- For the first time, from January 18-20, Artcurial will organise a week of winter sales in Monte Carlo dedicated to the most luxurious of objects (jewellery, watches and Hermès Vintage.) To mark the inauguration of this new event, Artcurial will hold an exceptional auction devoted to the Fratellini clowns which will coincide with the 40th edition of the Festival International du Cirque de Monaco. The collection of works gathers around 100 lots which previously belonged to performing artists from the famous Italian circus, including the three brothers Paul, François and Albert who gained such a reputation around the world between 1909 and 1940.

Travelling around Europe and based in Paris at the Medrano Circus between 1915 and 1924, the Fratellini’s were able to impose their comical genius style and revolutionise the plot of existing comical sketches. They reinvented the personalities of traditional characters and created a spectacular and gripping circus experience for the public. They put on shows at the biggest Parisian music halls and acquired a fame that had never been seen before in the industry. Charles Dullin, Jacques Copeau, André Antoine, Firmin Gémier and other comedians from the Comédie Française were inspired by the Fratellini’s.

They were the darlings of Paris and gathered a crowd of adoring fans who would show up to the circus just in time for the Fratellini entrance, which sometimes ran as long as forty-five minutes. They aroused interest and generated endless amounts of books, illustrations, posters and advertising material and were also popular among artists and the Parisian intellectual elite. The brothers inspired painters such as Pablo Picasso, André Derain and Raoul Dufy.

The collection includes an exceptional set of paintings, drawings and engravings representing the Fratellini clowns most of which have been personally dedicated by the artists. Works by Joseph Faverot, Jules Monge, Pierre Lacroix, Marcel Prangey, Bernard Naudin, Fernand Gravey, Edmond Heuzé, Marcel Vion, Fernand Fernel and more will be presented.

Artcurial will also unravel original photographic documents clearly showing the Fratellini’s, the Pierrots de Wilette, the Cirque d’Hiver, the Cirque Medrano and other travelling Fratellini circus venues.

Finally, the collection will include original posters; circus programmes; other rare decorative objects and advertising material personifying the three clowns. Personal objects belonging to the Fratellini’s including stage costumes, accessories and musical instruments will also be on sale.