710 



MASK. 



one whatsoever with regard to what your ancient 

 prisoner has done,'' seems to overturn all the hypo- 

 theses, according to which this unhappy man owed 

 his misfortune only to the accident of his birth. 



MASKS, or LARV.< (q. v.), were used in the 

 most ancient times, particularly in the processions 

 and ceremonies attending the orgies of Bacchus. As 

 there were in the ceremonies three degrees, those of 

 Satyrs, Sileni, and the bearded Bacchus, so each 

 degree had its peculiar and characteristic mask. 

 These are often found represented on ancient vases. 

 On account of this religious signification, it is not 

 strange that they were used in connexion with the 

 Phallus, the symbol of fruitfulness, as an effectual 

 defence against witchcraft. An old writer explains 

 the power of the mask to protect against enchant- 

 ment, in this way: that its ridiculous distortion, 

 drawing upon itself the pernicious glance of the sor- 

 cerer, averts it from the person for whom it was 

 intended. It was natural that the Greeks, whose 

 highest aim was beauty, should elevate the charac- 

 ter of the mask ; thus, at length, there sprung from 

 this fashion of misshapen masks the more pleasing 

 Sileni and Satyr masks, and other sportive fancies of 

 artists, which, in time, produced the grotesque and 

 arabesque. As the origin of Grecian tragedy was 

 closely connected with the worship of Bacchus, masks 

 were used in it even in the beginning. Who first 

 introduced them into comedy is unknown. We shall 

 err if we consider the Grecian and Roman masks 

 exactly like those of the modern Italian ; these lat- 

 ter only cover the face; the former were a covering 

 for the whole head, and represented, with the features, 

 the head, hair, and eyes. The following cuts repre- 

 sent two Roman masks : 



They were, at first, made of the bark of trees, then 

 of leather, afterwards of wood, which the artist 

 fashiored according to the design of the poet. Tra- 

 gic masks were distinguished by great, open mouths, 



and a frightful appearance ; comic, by a laughing 

 countenance : there were, also, Satyr masks and 

 orchestric, or those with regular features, for dancers. 

 They had mostly very large, open months, within 

 which were metallic bars, or other sounding bodies, 

 to strengthen the voice of the speaker a cciitri- 

 vance which was required by the construction and 

 immense size of the old theatres. Many critics (so 

 called), ignorant of the peculiarities of the Grecian 

 itage, are unsparing in their censures of the ancients 

 for the introduction of masks into their plays, because, 

 ;ay they, all imitation of nature, and even the flexi- 

 bility of voice necessary for the expression of passion, 

 were thus rendered impracticable. They do not 

 remember, that the tragic imitation of the ancients 

 aimed at the highest dignity and grace, that is, 

 was ideal, and the close representation of individual 

 character, in which the moderns are accustomed to 

 place the chief merit of the actor, would have seemed 

 to them the last thing to be admitted in their tragic 

 theatre. " The Greeks preferred beauty to liveliness 

 of representation. The introduction of the mask was, 

 on account of this feeling, not merely allowable, but 

 essential, as they would have considered it little less 

 than profanation for an actor, with common, ignoble 

 features, bearing the stamp of his individual charac- 

 ter to have played Apollo or Hercules." To this 

 may be added, that, from the colossal size of the Gre- 

 cian theatres, the minute imitation of nature, in tone 

 and countenance, which the moderns applaud, would 

 have been lost. As the Roman theatre was, in 

 almost all its parts, formed upon the G recian, it dif- 

 fered little in the use of the mask. The work of 

 Francesco de' Ficoroni, upon the stage masks and 

 comic personages of ancient Rome, is instructive 

 and highly interesting, from the copperplate illus- 

 trations. 



The Italian popular theatre, called Commedia deW 

 Arte, which has a close resemblance to the old 

 Roman mime and pantomime, still retains the use of 

 the mask ; for these drolleries of the old Roman stage, 

 requiring no particular learning-, or high cultivation, 

 continued even under the government of the bar- 

 barians. As early as the twelfth century, when 

 Irnerius established a new school of law in Bologna, 

 we find the Bolognese doctor, also called Gratiano. 

 He has a mask with a black nose and forehead, and 

 red cheeks ; his character is that of a pedantic and 

 tedious proser. The Pantalone came upon the stage 

 about the end of the fourteenth century. His part 

 is that of the father ; he represents a rich Venetian 

 trader ; his dress, was, formerly, the zimarra, a sort 

 of mantle with short sleeves and a small collar. This 

 garment was worn by Venetian traders in their shops, 

 and is still worn by lawyers. It was likewise a part 

 of the costume of Pantalone, that the breeches and 

 stockings should be in one piece ; hence the origin 

 of the name pantaloons. They were in the old cos- 

 tume, always red, and the zimarra always black. 

 When the republic of Venice lost the kingdom of 

 Negropont to the Turks, the fashion of the under 

 dress was changed from red to black, as a sign of 

 mourning, and has remained the same since. In the 

 mask there was nothing unusual; the beard was still 

 worn, and the representation was that of a common 

 old merchant. The beard of the new Pantalone mask 

 is different : it passes round under the chin, and ter- 

 minates at a point in the middle. The vest was 

 lengthened, and the full pantaloons were tightened at 

 the knee. The zimarra and slippers remained the 

 same. The character of Pantalone is usually that of 

 a goodnatured, simple, old man. He is generally in 

 love, and is continually imposed upon by a rival, son, 

 or servant. In modern times, he is often a good 

 father of a family, full of honour, and conscientiously 



