Large Antique MID Century Modern Jester Oil Painting Old Vintage Cubism Clown 50

  
FANTASTIC ANTIQUE MID-CENTURY MODERN EXPRESSIONIST OIL PAINTING ON BOARD. THIS WORK DEPICTS A RECLINING JESTER TAKING CENTER STAGE, EXUDING A WHIMSICAL CHARM. THE ARTIST SKILLFULLY CAPTURES THE PLAYFUL ESSENCE OF THE CHARACTER, WHO IS ADORNED IN A VIBRANT CHECKERED BOARD OUTFIT THAT SPLASHES THE SCENE WITH AN ARRAY OF COLORS. THE JESTER SPORTS A MASK, ADDING AN INTRIGUING LAYER OF MYSTERY TO THE COMPOSITION. THIS IS A LARGE-SCALE MASTERPIECE, SIGNED WITH THE INITIALS REM. PERHAPS YOU RECOGNIZE THE ARTIST? IT DATES AROUND THE 1950s. DIMENSIONS: 19" H x 61" W. A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during royal court. Jesters were also traveling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town markets, and the discipline continues into the modern day, where jesters perform at historical-themed events. During the Post-classical and Renaissance eras, jesters are often thought to have worn brightly coloured clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Their modern counterparts usually mimic this costume.

Jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills: principal among them were song, music, and storytelling, but many also employed acrobatics, juggling, telling jokes (such as puns, stereotypes, and imitation), and performing magic tricks. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic style. Many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences. In ancient Rome, a similar tradition of professional jesters were called balatrones full citation needed Balatrones were paid for their jests, and the tables of the wealthy were generally open to them for the sake of the amusement they afforded.

Other cultures such as the Aztecs and the Chinese employed cultural equivalents to the jester. Many royal courts throughout English royal history employed entertainers and most had professional fools, sometimes called "licensed fools". Entertainment included music, storytelling, and physical comedy. Fool Societies, or groups of nomadic entertainers, were often hired to perform acrobatics and juggling. Jesters were also occasionally used as psychological warfare.

Jesters would ride in front of their troops, provoke or mock the enemy, and even serve as messengers. They played an important part in raising their own army's spirits by singing songs and reciting stories.

Henry VIII of England employed a jester named Will Sommers. His daughter Mary was entertained by Jane Foole.

During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I of England, William Shakespeare wrote his plays and performed with his theatre company the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later called the King's Men). Clowns and jesters were featured in Shakespeare's plays, and the company's expert on jesting was Robert Armin, author of the book Foole upon Foole. In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Feste the jester is described as "wise enough to play the fool". In Scotland, Mary, Queen of Scots, had a jester called Nichola. Her son, King James VI of Scotland, employed a jester called Archibald Armstrong.

During his lifetime Armstrong was given great honours at court. He was eventually thrown out of the King's employment when he over-reached and insulted too many influential people. He held some influence at court still in the reign of Charles I and estates of land in Ireland. Anne of Denmark had a Scottish jester called Tom Durie. Charles I later employed a jester called Jeffrey Hudson who was very popular and loyal.

Jeffrey Hudson had the title of "Royal Dwarf" because he was short of stature. One of his jests was to be presented hidden in a giant pie from which he would leap out. Hudson fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War. A third jester associated with Charles I was called Muckle John. Jester's privilege is the ability and right of a jester to talk and mock freely without being punished.

As an acknowledgement of this right, the court jester had symbols denoting their status and protection under the law. The crown (cap and bells) and sceptre (marotte) mirrored the royal crown and sceptre wielded by a monarch. Martin Luther used jest in many of his criticisms against the Catholic Church. [16] In the introduction to his To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, he calls himself a court jester, and, later in the text, he explicitly invokes the jester's privilege when saying that monks should break their chastity vows.