Pierrot and His World: Art, Theatricality, and the Marketplace in France, 1697–1945

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Marika Takanishi Knowles

Pierrot and His World

Art, Theatricality, and the Marketplace in France, 1697–1945

Marika Takanishi Knowles

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Forthcoming
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English

Manchester University Press
20 January 2026

History of Art & Design Styles; Photographs: portraits; Theatre Studies; Film theory & criticism

Pierrot, a theatrical stock character known by his distinctive costume of loose white tunic and trousers, is a ubiquitous figure in French art and culture.

This richly illustrated book offers an account of Pierrot's recurrence in painting, printmaking, photography and film, tracing this distinctive type from the art of Antoine Watteau to the cinema of Occupied France. As a visual type, Pierrot thrives at the intersection of theatrical and marketplace practices. From Watteau's Pierrot (c. 1720) and douard Manet's The Old Musician (1862) to Nadar and Adrien Tournachon's Pierrot the Photographer (1855) and the landmark film Children of Paradise (1945), Pierrot has given artists a medium through which to explore the marketplace as a form for both social life and creative practice.

Simultaneously a human figure and a theatrical mask, Pierrot elicits artistic reflection on the representation of personality in the marketplace.

By: Marika Takanishi Knowles
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 525g
ISBN: 9781526194718
ISBN 10: 1526194716
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 20 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Marika Takanishi Knowles is a Senior Lecturer in Art History at the University of St Andrews.

Reviews for Pierrot and His World: Art, Theatricality, and the Marketplace in France, 1697–1945

'I cannot overstate the value of this deeply scholarly, beautifully written account of the social, theatrical, and mercantile influences on French art and popular culture.' Robert A. Nye, French History Journal -- .