Barbette (trapeze artist)
Barbette ( aka Vander Clyde , born December 19, 1899 in Round Rock , Texas , USA ; † August 5, 1973 in Austin , Texas, USA) was an American trapeze artist in the circus . As a teenager he joined a circus and learned the art of trapeze art and the tightrope act . Disguised as a girl, he appeared together with another girl as a “pair of twins”. After the death of his partner, he continued as a travesty solo act. He came to Europe in the mid-1920s and was extremely successful there too. He was friends with Jean Cocteau , who dedicated an essay to him. For him, Barbettes performance is "a true masterpiece of pantomime: he parodies all the women he has observed, and becomes a model image of a woman, in contrast to the prettiest girls who are on the program before and after him, fading. Because don't forget, we are in that magical light of the theater, in that world of trap doors and false floors, where the truth loses its validity [...]. ”During this time, numerous photos were taken by the photographer Man Ray from made for him. During his appearance in Vienna in November 1926 , he was photographed in the Atelier d'Ora Benda .
He fell badly from the trapeze in the 1930s and returned to the United States. The injuries meant that he ended his career as an artist in 1938 .
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Barbette |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Vander Clyde (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American trapeze artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 19, 1899 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Round Rock (Texas) , Texas, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th August 1973 |
| Place of death | Austin , Texas |