The zanni comes from the countryside and is known to be a dispossessed immigrant worker note 1 through time the zanni grew to be a popular figure who was first seen in commedia as early as the 14th century.
Commedia dell arte masks zanni.
In the early days of commedia dell arte the zanni mask used in the theatre was a full face mask with a long nose.
In later times we also have a primo and secondo zanni that in a certain way replicate that situation the smart.
They communicate to the audience the nature of the actor.
We ve been talking about harlequin and identified him as a zanni character but who is zanni.
The zanni mask collection commedia masks are character and statement creators.
The english word zany derives from this persona.
Zanni harlequin left and probably scapin right with pantaloon centre detail from the gelosi company 1580.
They express the performer s character social class and attitude.
Courtesy of the drottningholms teatermuseum stockholm.
He represents the figure of the servant with coarse and instinctual ways of doing often related to sex and hunger.
The zanni can be recognized with good approximation as the matrix on which other masks were created.
Harlequin for instance had especially in his first years so much of the zanni character that was almost a reflection of it.
Zanni is a character type of commedia dell arte best known as an astute servant and trickster.
Zanni was a character of the comic theater of the ancient rome later became mask of the commedia dell arte.
It developed from here into a half mask covering the upper half of the face only with an extended long nose.
Zanni zani or zane is a character type of commedia dell arte best known as an astute servant and a trickster.
The longer the nose on the mask then the more stupid was the character.
Zanni masks the name zanni is roughly equivalent to the english term joe schmoe a real nobody.
Some of the zannis shown are taken from traditional commedia characters others invented by newman or borrowed from contemporary maskers the character stupino created by gina bastone.
Dei zanni the zanni was a generic term for the commedia dell arte itself.
In the drottningholm theatre museum stockholm.
Through time the zanni grew to be a popular figure who was first seen in commediaas early as the 14th century.