 |
| Figurine of a Dwarf French, Nineteenth Century Based on an engraving by Jacques Callot The Victoria & Albert Museum |
On Tuesday, we looked at one of a series of figurines which were produced in France in the Nineteenth Century and were modeled after images created by Jacques Callot (1592-1635) who was artistically inspired by a troupe of “grotesque” dwarf entertainers known as “Les Gobbi.”
Callot’s other great interest was the Italian tradition of the Commedia dell’Arte. Since Les Gobbi incorporated many facets of the Commedia into their act, the troupe was of great appeal to Callot who was fascinated by their costumes and their melodramatic antics.
This figure of multi-colored, glazed porcelain depicts one of Callot’s drawings of a member of “Les Gobbi.” This little fellow, a masked dwarf musician plucking a violin, is clearly based on the Commedia dell’Arte stock character, Puclinella, who, as we know, is Mr. Punch’s Italian ancestor. The dwarf wears a wee black Pulcinella mask and affects some of the grotesque features which we’ve come to associate with our Old Red Nose. That’s the way to do it.
And, don’t worry. It’s not another day devoted to dwarf-related are. It’s Friday, so it’s a Mr. Punch day! Let’s carry on. Shall we?
2 comments:
Do you suppose a lineage from the Egyptian god Bes might be possible? Bes is a potbellied dwarf. He is complex: patron of music, merriment, dancing, drinking, and debauchery of all kinds. He is also patron of children, and was beloved by them. He was a trickster, and a demonic fighter, especially in protecting pregnant women and infants from the Terror of the Night. He holds a flat paddle-like knife somewhat resembling a slapstick in this role. He is named after it, so there’s a chance it produced a percussive sound (God of music? Isis has her sistrum.) He might live on in Punch, in Santa Claus (partially), and Bugs Bunny, among others. There seems to be a gap between early AD and the Italian Renaissance, if there is a lineage, but that gap is fairly pervasive. ... Saints and chivalry, anywhere? Nicholas?
This dwarf is a lovely piece, certainly resembling depictions of Bes, some more than others.
The following film suggests a plausible conduit from Egypt to Italy:
“‘The Letter P’ is a ride with Pulcinella on a roller coaster of European history, politics, language and culture. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Italian commedia dell'arteintroduced the hunchback Pulcinella for the mirth and mockery of its audience. His diasporic tale of ancient Roman curses, Marranism, and escape from fascist Italy to Argentina is recounted for the first time in an interview by the Itallian Radio Network RAI 8. The revelation of Pulcinella’s Judaic roots challenges the benign public image of the commedia dell'arteand casts the shadow of modernism over its not-so-innocent origins.
Pulcinella is the last Marrano, or new Christian, who secretly worships as a Jew. He is not the descendant of Maccus from late Roman theater, nor the Neapolitan of Neapolitans as history has written, nor the Pulcinella of the ghetto tribe Tiepolo has painted, but the other Pulcinella who wears mask upon mask and whose true identity is as a descendant of Jews who emigrated from Spain to Venice via the Kingdom of Naples, only to emerge in the 17th century a favorite of the commedia dell arte.”
.http://www.mafishco.com/video_Pulcinella01.htm
Post a Comment