When people think of “clowns”, this is usually the first of type clown that comes to mind.
It is the Whiteface clown that has both iconic and terrifying association. Due to the fear of clowns that developed in the 1980s, Whiteface clowns are not as common as they used to be. Features of this clown are a fully painted white face, exaggerated facial features, and colorful oversized clothing. They may wear a false nose or paint the tip of their nose.
These days, most classic circus clowns generally opt for an Auguste style face paint instead of the fully painted white face.
Auguste clowns were originally created as a foil to the Whiteface clown, with a distinct clumsy and buffoonish personality. As clowning evolved into the 21st century, the Whiteface and Auguste clown are often more similar in personality. They paint white around the eyes and mouth, have flesh-toned or red paint for the rest of their face, and generally wear a large false nose.
As the circus arts and clowning evolve, character clowns have become more and more popular.
The first character clown was the Hobo character developed in the late 19th century. Character clowns can be anything, as it is up to the clown to decide what look and style they may have. They may be a character from an existing occupation (such as firefighter or doctor) or they may create a character of their own. They may Whiteface or Auguste style face paint and opt in or out of wearing a false nose.
While not technically a circus clown, mimes are closely related to clowns because of their use of physical comedy.
Mimes connect with audiences using body language. They do not speak and instead focus on gestural communication to tell a story or express emotions. Their costume and face paint mainly focus on white and black patterns and they generally wear white gloves. Most of the time, they do not wear a false nose.
