Friday, February 9, 2018

Concept Art for the Early Mardi-Gras

Assuri” costume design by Carlotta Bonnecaze for the
“Myths and Worships of the Chinese” theme, Krewe of Proteus, 1885:
Carnival Collection, Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University — Source
In the 19th century, concept art for the Mardi Gras celebration of New Orleans drew inspiration from an eclectic variety of religions and design traditions—everything from Chinese mythology, to South Asian deities, to dragons from European folktales.

Bat costume designed by Charles Briton for the “Missing Links”
theme, Mistick Krewe of Comus, 1873: Carnival Collection,
Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University — Source
The theme of the 1873 parade was “Missing Links to Darwin’s Origin of Species,” with a gentle satire of the ideas that were circulating at the time.

Scorpion costume designed by Charles Briton for the “Missing Links”
theme, Mistick Krewe of Comus, 1873: Carnival Collection, Louisiana
Research Collection, Tulane University — Source
The teams of designers competed with each other to come up with the most creative and outlandish  creatures.

“Such Stuff as Dreams are Made of” float design by Jennie Wilde for the
“Familiar Quotations” theme, Mistick Krewe of Comus, 1911:
Carnival Collection, Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University — Source 
There were also extravagant floats in the early Mardi Gras, and many of them were designed by women, such as Jennie Wilde, who drew inspiration from Art Nouveau and the Symbolists.

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