page_title: Paul Legrand
hierarchical_section_title: Paul Legrand
caption_attribution_description: Paul Legrand (1816-1898)
context_page_description: Paul Legrand, born Charles-Dominique-Martin Legrand, was a highly regarded and influential French mime who turned the Pierrot of his predecessor, Jean-Gaspard Deburau, into the tearful, sentimental character that is most familiar to post-19th-century admirers of the figure. He was the first of the Parisian mimes of his era to take his art abroad—to London, in late 1847, for a holiday engagement at the Adelphi—and, after triumphs in mid-century Paris at the Folies-Nouvelles, he entertained audiences in Cairo and Rio de Janeiro. In the last years of the century, he was a member of the Cercle Funambulesque, a theatrical society that promoted work, especially pantomime, inspired by the Commedia dell'Arte, past and present. The year of his death coincided with the last year of the Cercle's existence.
context_section_description: Paul Legrand (January 4, 1816 – April 16, 1898), born Charles-Dominique-Martin Legrand, was a highly regarded and influential French mime who turned the Pierrot of his predecessor, Jean-Gaspard Deburau, into the tearful, sentimental character that is most familiar to post-19th-century admirers of the figure.  He was the first of the Parisian mimes of his era (the second was Deburau fils) to take his art abroad—to London, in late 1847, for a holiday engagement at the Adelphi—and, after triumphs in mid-century Paris at the Folies-Nouvelles, he entertained audiences in Cairo and Rio de Janeiro.  In the last years of the century, he was a member of the Cercle Funambulesque, a theatrical society that promoted work, especially pantomime, inspired by the Commedia dell'Arte, past and present.  The year of his death coincided with the last year of the Cercle's existence.
caption: Nadar: Paul Legrand as Pierrot, c. 1857.
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