On Sunday I attended the Grimaldi Service at The Holy Trinity Church- t'was quite a sight on a snowy afternoon in Dalston.
Its an annual occurrence in which around 60 clowns, dressed in full costume, gather to honour the king of the clowns, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837).
Grimaldi reinvented the clown, he was the first to use white-face make up and wear outrageous over sized and colourful clothes. He was also the first 'sad clown'- the tales of misfortune in his personal life (the death of his wife and son, forced retirement due to the strain his clowning activities had placed on his body and the resulting poverty etc) began the cliche of the lively stage larikiken who is doomed to battle his demons when he doesn't have an audience to delight. A famous anecdote to this effect was first told of Grimaldi:
A young man goes to see his doctor. He is overcome by a terrible sadness and doesn’t think anything will make him feel better. The doctor says, “Why not do something happy, like going to see Grimaldi the clown?”. The young man answers, with a knowing look, “Ah, but Doctor”, he says, “I am Grimaldi.”
Grimaldi reinvented the clown, he was the first to use white-face make up and wear outrageous over sized and colourful clothes. He was also the first 'sad clown'- the tales of misfortune in his personal life (the death of his wife and son, forced retirement due to the strain his clowning activities had placed on his body and the resulting poverty etc) began the cliche of the lively stage larikiken who is doomed to battle his demons when he doesn't have an audience to delight. A famous anecdote to this effect was first told of Grimaldi:
A young man goes to see his doctor. He is overcome by a terrible sadness and doesn’t think anything will make him feel better. The doctor says, “Why not do something happy, like going to see Grimaldi the clown?”. The young man answers, with a knowing look, “Ah, but Doctor”, he says, “I am Grimaldi.”
The Grimaldi service has been running since 1946- it was initially a dour affair, attended in plain dress by Christian clowns who cared to pay homage to Grimaldi and other jesters who had recently passed away. Today it is a full blown, colourful, circus affair- holy bread, sermons and juggling balls-- one doesn't know quite what to make of it!
Here is the procession as filmed by Moon:
mono-brow clown...
ceremonial cutting of the cake...
photos of past services...
Illustrated Grimaldi....
Grimaldi's final resting place in Islington...
Grimaldi's memoirs-- edited by none other than Dickens...
p.s. coulrophobia= fear of clowns..The prefix "coulro-" may be derived from the Ancient Greek word κωλοϐαθριστής meaning "stilt-walker"
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