Editing Circus clown (section)

==={{anchor|White}}The whiteface clown===
[[File:Cirque d'Hiver de Paris. La chasse à courre et les célèbres clowns Paul François Albert Fratellini c.1930.jpg|thumb|Poster for the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris with famous clown family the Fratellini's]]
The '''whiteface''' (or white clown) is the oldest of the clown archetypes. In modern times, when whitefaces perform with other clowns, they usually function as the leader of the group. Whiteface clowns use "clown white" makeup to cover their entire face and neck, with none of the underlying flesh colour showing. Features are then usually painted on in either red or black.

The whiteface clown is traditionally costumed more extravagantly than the other two clown types. They often wear the ruffled collar and pointed hat which typify the average person's idea of a "clown suit".

Notable examples of whiteface clowns in circus history include [[François Fratellini]] and [[Felix Adler (clown)|Felix Adler]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=François Fratellini {{!}} French circus performer {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francois-Fratellini |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Felix Adler American Circus Clown |url=https://www.circusesandsideshows.com/performers/felixadler.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.circusesandsideshows.com}}</ref>

Canio, the protagonist of [[Ruggiero Leoncavallo]]'s famous tragic opera ''[[Pagliacci]]'', is typically dressed as a whiteface clown. He is a classic trope of the "[[Sad clown paradox|sad clown]]" (or [[jester]]) who laughs on the outside, but is secretly melancholic due to a grievance or a depressed state of mind.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-01-06 |title="Pagliacci": Classic tale of the tears of a clown |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/pagliacci-classic-tale-of-the-tears-of-a-clown/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref>