Ostrich ballets and fish floats: the ephemeral art of festivals

Abstract

During the Renaissance and Baroque periods temporary festival monuments, architectural works, fireworks, and table pieces were designed for the time of celebrations and were destroyed or torn down at the ceremony’s end. Memories of these works live on in the books and prints published as historic accounts, souvenirs, and reports for those at a distance who were unable to attend. Now held in library and archival collections, these works on paper are indispensable sources for researchers who seek to describe and to interpret the transitory and disposable, yet extraordinary, art of festivals.