Pantalone
The pantalone is one of the least modified masks of the Italian Commedia dell'arte . He is an old, enterprising, at the same time stingy, mostly in love and always deceived fashion fanatic , who appears in yellow slippers, red doublet and tight red tights as well as a black cape, usually his wallet is clearly visible at the level of the genitals and wears a pointed beard.
In engravings by Jacques Callot and paintings by Antoine Watteau , he is often shown with his torso bent forward. Along with the dottore, he belongs to the group of the Vecchi (Italian: the ancients), who face the Zanni , the servants. As a husband he gets horns on ; as a widower on free feet, he follows young girls unsuccessfully; as a father he tries to interfere in his daughter's love affairs, to prevent her love affair and to couple her up for his own benefit. He makes a welcome sacrifice for his servants and falls for any intrigue ; at the end of the piece he likes to portray himself as the secret arranger.
Word origin
The name Pantalone possibly goes back to piante leone as a mock designation for the Venetian merchants after the decline of the Republic of Venice as a trading power (see Karl Riha), possibly also to San Pantaleone , a Christian martyr popular in Venice . The Italian term pantaloni for (originally tight fitting) pants goes back to the figure of the Pantalone.
literature
- Karl Riha : Commedia dell'arte. With the figurines of Maurice Sands . Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1980, ISBN 978-3-458-19007-3 .
See also
Web links
- "Figures of the Commedia dell'Arte: Pantalone" ( Memento from November 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive )