Ancient Theatre Masks. The masks of Tragedy and Comedy.

8/27/13
by world4
Ancient Roman Theatre Masks. Greek cult of Bacchus. Caricature, Cartoon mask

Roman Theatre Masks

Roman Theatre Masks. Tragic and grotesque Mask.

A hallmark of the tragic and grotesque theater in ancient Rome were the colorful and expressive masks (caricature). They accompanied the Roman theater play as a heroic choir, using songs, lively gestures, songs and movements. They were taken from Greece and reflected in the grotesque mask, the irreverent satyrs of ancient Greek cult of Bacchus, again. In return, the tragic mask was assigned to the fauns in its subtle beauty. The masks were elaborately worked metal and designed so that they as a sounding the tone of the actors reinforced.
This type of Roman masks was widespread and was often found during excavations.

Ancient Art Greco Roman Pompeii Theatre masks. Satyr Performing masks.

Greco Roman Pompeii. Satyr Performing masks

Above: Satyrs Theatrical performing masks from Pompeii. Ancient Art Greco Roman style. Antiquité Art Gréco Romain de Pompéi. Masques Scéniques en Marble Blanc et tête de Satyre.

Maschera Scenica. Antique Roman Theatre Mask. Tragic Masks theatrical performing masks.

Roman Scenic mask

Above: From the book Le gemme antiche figurate di Leonardo Agostini Senese, by Leonardo Agostini, published by Giacomo Dragondelli, Rome, 1657. Discoveries from the Augustus ruins of great Rome.

Further reading: Caricature and other comic art in all times and many lands by James Parton, 1877. Read online as Free Ebook

Related: Ancient Roman Costume History in Europe B.C. 53 to A.D. 450.

Literature:

  • The Masks of Menander: Sign and Meaning in Greek and Roman Performance
  • The Stagecraft and Performance of Roman Comedy
  • Costume in Greek Classic Drama (Dover Fashion and Costumes)
  • Early Modern Theatricality (Oxford Twenty-First Century Approaches to Literature)
  • Costume in Greek Tragedy
  • Plautus in Performance: The Theatre of the Mind (Greek and Roman Theatre Archive,)

Related:
(Ancient Roman, Greek, Persian fashion history)



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  4. The Amazons.
  5. The Ancient Greek costume history.
  6. Ancient Roman costume history. B.C. 53 to A.D. 450..
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  19. Roman, Greece and Egypt. The Corset and the Crinolin fashion history.
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