Tartaglia Commedia Del Arte Character

The Tartaglia character has a minor role in the Commedia Del Arte .He is known to be near sighted and with a terrible stutter , hence his name which is a translation from Spanish meaning "to stutter".Most of the time the Tartaglia is put in the class of the elderly group and has a profession like bailiff,lawyer,chemist or notary, this leaves his character in the void between servant class and noble class.

the costume of this Commedia Del Arte character is an over sized cloak, large felt hat and boots, long sword and huge moustache , and a cardboard nose.

the famous porky pig cartoon character is known to have been based on this Commedia Del Arte character. 

to see our selection of Italian Commedia Del Arte masks visit www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk

A Carnival in Venice

A Carnival in Venice or (Carnevale Di Venezia) is the annual festival held forty days before Easter. Carnaval stated as a time for celebration and expression throughout the social classes, and wearing a Venetian mask helped them to merge to even more.After the decline of the Carnaval in Venice during the 1700s , it was reintroduced by the Italian government in 1970, in the hope of restoring Venice's history and culture.

Approx 30,000 people come to Venice Carnival a year , and one of its most important events is the best masked competition , with a panel of international costume and fashion designer judges.

if your looking for the perfect Venice Carnival mask then visit www.venetianmasqueademasks.co.uk

The Masque

A masque is a form of festive courtly entertainment , which became popular in the 15oos and 1600s in Europe , although it was developed earlier in Italy with Ventian masks.The masque tradition evolved  from the elaborate 1400s party's of ducal Burgundy, where masques were used to celebrate births,marriages and changes of rulers.the themes of these masques would be  classical  more than christian , with elements of ethical debate ,politics and mythological fable.

A masque involved music,dancing ,singing and acting , which usually Incorporated elaborate stage designs and full face masks .Many professional actors were hired for the singing and speaking parts and minor parts were given to the courtiers, such as King James 1st wife Anne of Denmark who frequently danced in them.Both Henry 8th and Charles 1st were known to perform in their own masques at court.

The origins of The Masque came from the tradition of masked players calling on Noble halls and performing all night for their hosts ,until the end when they unmasked themselves .

Of all the Arts from the Renaissance , the Masque is the most unknown , being overshadowed by painters ,carnivals and plays. 

To see our selection of Masque Masks please visit us at www.venetianmasqueademasks.co.uk

Assassins Creed Brotherhood Carnival Mask

If there are any fans of the brilliant assassins creed series out there , then you will have seen the stunning Bauta mask worn by Ezio Auditore for the carnival in sequence 9 of assassins creed 2 brotherhood , which is set in Renaissance Italy .The Bauta

 venetian mask is worn when you must slip into a carnival party held by Barbagio and assassinate him whilst not being found . the Bauta mask aides you in getting into the party without being detected .

a thoroughly good game especially for us . 

to see our selection of bauta masks please visit us at www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk 

Scream Mask

The Scream mask or "Ghost Face " is forever remembered from the iconic slasher scream series films .and is a fictional identity used by the main antagonists of the film.the characters voice is by Roger L. Jackson regardless of who has been behind the mask.

The mask is based on the Scream painting by the artist Edvard Munch and was created by the fun world employee Brigitte sleirstein. the mask used primarily as a disguise for the murders to protect their identity has become more thrilling due to the fact that the changing faces behind him mean he has no definite motivation.

The costume consists of a rubber latex mask ,hooded black robe and hunting knife .

to see our selection of scream masks just visit www.venetianmasqueademasks.co.uk

Halloween Masks

Halloween or also know as All Hallows Eve and All Saints Eve is a 16th century variant of the Scottish All Hallows Even which means the night before all hallows day.the phrase all hallows is found in old English , but all hallows even wasn't used until 1556,Halloween is observed on the 31st of October.Some historians have found origins of Halloween in the roman feast of Pomona , the goddess of fruits , and in the Perentaila festival of the dead .But it is more typically thought to be from the Celtic festival of Samhain , which translated means "summers end".

Customs and symbols developed over time with Halloween . such as the Jack-o-Lanterns which came from the custom of souling originating in Scotland and Ireland , and was traditionally used using a turnip.it was thought that by carving the lantern you were remembering the souls in purgatory .when the Scottish and Irish starting emigrating to the states , pumpkins were used instead as they were readily available and larger , making them easier to carve .the first recording of using pumpkins was in 1837.

Scarecrows ,pumpkins and corn husks are all things used to decorate around Halloween , which are also elements of the autumn season and "summers end ".

the image of ghosts and ghouls and monsters with Halloween , stems from the works of artists such as Robert Burns and John Mayne around the 1700s and greatly added to the Gothic horror theme of Halloween, but it really took off with books such as Frankenstein and Dracula during the 1800s .

The most symbolic of customs for Halloween is trick or treating and disguises , where children go from house to house saying "trick or treat" in the hope of receiving sweets. originally his was done in Scotland and the child would have to perform a "trick" i.e sing songs or tell ghost stories to receive a reward.trick or treating mostly resembles the practice of Souling whereas well as carving turnips ,poor folk would go from door to door receiving food in return for prayers for the dead .this was a custom used as far as Italy where venetian masks were worn as well.

the idea of disguise for festivals  dates back to the middle ages  and the first recorded costume disguise was in 1895 where masqueraders visited homes in Halloween masks to be rewarded with fruit and cake .

to see our great range of sophisticated Halloween masks visit www.veneianmasquerademasks.co.uk