

The defining characteristic of Pierrot is his na.


But most frequently, since his reincarnation under Jean- Gaspard Deburau, he wears neither collar nor hat, only a black skullcap. Sometimes he appears with a frilled collaret and a hat, usually with a close- fitting crown and wide round brim, more rarely with a conical shape like a dunce's cap. Performing unmasked, with a whitened face, he wears a loose white blouse with large buttons and wide white pantaloons. His character in contemporary popular culture-in poetry, fiction, and the visual arts, as well as works for the stage, screen, and concert hall-is that of the sad clown, pining for love of Columbine, who usually breaks his heart and leaves him for Harlequin.
