History's Runway: The Cornelli Countryman, 1905

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This costume design by Attilio Comelli was intended for the role of a countryman or peasant in a production of : The Prodigal Son” in London, 1905. The design depicts a man dressed from head to toe in pink with a “gnome style” hat and a mask that covers his forehead and nose—Pulcinella-style. He dons a knee-length coat with a waistcoat and a large bow tie, striped trousers and horizontal striped hosiery and shoes.

Comelli’s design in pencil and watercolor on board is clearly rooted in the tradition of the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. The production opened in September of 1905 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.