Circus Arts in Scientific Discourse (Late XVIII–XIX Centuries)

The purpose of the article is to study the formation and development of the circus art on Western Ukrainian territory as a part of Hapsburg Empire; to analyse the aesthetic reception of the circus performances and the profession of the circus performers in scientific thought at the end of the 18th – during the 19th century; and to determine, on the basis of the analysed materials of the primary sources, the legitimacy of the relation of the circus performances to the category of fine arts. To achieve this purpose, the following research methods have been applied: the method of content analysis, historical and comparative, the method of theoretical generalization. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, for the first time in scientific discourse, relying on the scientific works on aesthetics and the philosophy of arts by authors of the 18th – 19th centuries, the scientific perception of the circus performances and the profession of circus performers is being analysed. The place and status of the circus in scientific and cultural space of the studied period is determined. The conclusions indicate that, despite the noticeable nature of the circus as a cultural phenomenon, in the scientific discourse, none of the genres, presented at the circle, have been recognized as an absolute category of fine arts. The main reasons for that were, firstly, the preconceived public attitude to the comedians and the circus performers and, secondly, the discrepancy of the content and integrity of the acrobatic performances towards the aesthetic criteria of the time.