Jean Gaspard Deburau

Jean Gaspard Deburau (1796-1846), French mime artist, who revolutionized popular theater in France with his portrayal of Pierrot, a character in the Italian theater form known as commedia dell’arte. He was born in Kolin, Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic). He performed from an early age with his family, who were acrobats. In 1811 the family moved to Paris. Deburau joined the Théâtre des Funambules (Theater of the Ropewalkers), along with his father, and he remained there for the rest of his career, despite offers from more prestigious companies.

Deburau began playing Pierrot in the 1820s. Using his gift for mime, he gradually transformed the character from a simple trickster into a more complex mischief-maker who also had a dreamy, childlike side and was forever lovelorn. Deburau instituted changes in Pierrot’s standard costuming. He discarded the ruffled collar and large white hat then common and instead wore loose, flowing, white clothing and a black skullcap. This attire emphasized his lankiness and his white face. Deburau charmed audiences and critics, and he became the star attraction of the Funambules, then the center of popular entertainment in Paris. His newly complex character was later taken up by such 19th-century writers as Théophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire of France and Heinrich Heine of Germany. In their writings, these authors turned Pierrot into a personality of almost mythic proportions.

Deburau’s life later became the subject of the motion-picture classic Les enfants du paradis (1945; also released as Children of Paradise) by French director Marcel Carné. His work also greatly extended the possibilities of the art of pantomime and inspired modern mime artists, particularly Marcel Marceau of France. After Deburau’s death, his son Jean-Charles took over at the Funambules and continued to play Pierrot.