Cirque Medrano

The following year, he came to Paris to perform at the Fête de Montmartre, but the traditional fairgrounds for this annual fair were on the very spot on which the Church of the Sacré-Cœur was being built.

Because of its proximity to Montmartre, the circus attracted many artists (Renoir, Degas, Lautrec, among many others), who came to sketch the performers in action, which sometimes resulted in full paintings.

Mrs. Fernando, who oversaw the box office, decided to let the painters work freely in the circus during rehearsals and watch the performances free of charge — a tradition that will remain under the subsequent management of Gerónimo Medrano.

Although Louis's artistic direction proved quite successful, notably with popular revues written for his star clown, Gerónimo Medrano (1849-1912), known as "Boum-Boum," his financial management of the family's enterprise was often erratic.

During World War I, Bonten hired a trio of clowns, the Fratellinis, who soon became the Idols of Paris and ensured Medrano's financial success.

During World War II and the German Occupation of France, the lease of the Cirque Medrano, which, since Fernando's bankruptcy, included the land as well as the walls, was put for sale.

During that time, he continued to give remarkable shows, with such guest stars as Buster Keaton, Grock, Achille Zavatta, Charlie Rivel, the famous French comedian Fernand Raynaud, and even the tap-dancer Harold Nicholas.

The Cirque Medrano gave its last performance on January 7, 1963, in front of a house packed with the Tout-Paris and a crowd of disconsolate Parisians, habitués, circus fans, and friends from the neighborhood.

They rented the building for a short while to Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil, and then to a Fête de la Bière—a sort of Bavarian beer-hall.

In the late 19th century, the Parisian Post-Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec also attended the Cirque Medrano and produced many drawing and pastels depicting its performances [4].