Discover a world of marvellous monsters and celestial creatures, of acrobats and harlequins in The Great Parade: Portrait of the Artist as Clown. See the circus in a new light through paintings, sculptures, photographs, and videos by artists from the 18th century to the present. This impressive gathering of works will allow you to experience first hand why the Big Top, and what happens behind its walls, has fascinated so many artists, including Degas, Toulouse-Lautree, Rouault, Picasso, Chagall, and Leger, More than 175 works - sometimes poetic, often comic - will stage a circus that may or may not be real. Clowns, circus riders, Punchinellos, and tumblers will greet you, inviting you to look through their comic appearance and dazzling costumes to see the tragedy of their lives. In the circus, the order of the show may favour surprise, but it is this exhibition catalogue that will bring you face to face with masterful and arresting works you will see for the first time - like the 18-metre stage curtain Picasso designed in 1917 for Erik Satie's ballet, Parade. You will also encounter more intimate works like Nadar and Tournachon's photographs of Pierrot as played by celebrated mimes.