Carnival & Cabaret

It’s party time at the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts as we celebrate the art of having fun at our latest exhibition 'Carnival & Cabaret'. With Carnival approaching, we are exploring the flamboyant festivals in Venice, Rio and New Orleans as seen by porcelain artists from Europe. The centerpiece of our new exhibit is 'Carnival in Venice', a monumental masterpiece full of masked revelers in porcelain by Lladró of Spain. Discover how Harlequin and Columbine and other characters from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte have influenced carnival fun, the art of clowning and masquerade balls through the ages. Masking was particularly popular during the roaring 1920s to disguise the flirtatious behavior of the flappers. Cabaret and variety shows in early 20th century Paris and Berlin also reveled in the theatrical excesses of carnival costumes.