Venetian and Carnival Masks - Masquerade

A Masquerade ball was held only for the elite at one time, but originally started as masked festivities on the streets of Venice. The elite could mix with the lower class, lower class could feel elite, and being masked became an everyday practice until laws restricted masks for inappropriate use. The revival of the Carnivale in 1979 by artisans became internationally recognized and masks are loved once more.

I create masks to use in my Gothic home decorating quite frequently with a darker appeal added to them. Although not technically Gothic in any aspect, the lure of elegant culture and setting a mood through fixed expression remains appealing to me. Gothic Masquerade events are rare, but do exist and I strive to help them along a little...

My perception of masks is that they are not always used to hide or disguise to act upon a deviant manner. Like makeup, or clothing, or jewelry, they adorn to show a deeper image of what one's self is on the inside, or sometimes another side of what someone may not want or be able to show generally.

Modern day masquerades concepts of dressing up to celebrate can include: wearing elegant clothing for a special occasion, dressing skimpy to visit a nightclub, elaborate attire for weddings, and wearing costumes for Halloween. Which is why someone always pulls the masquerade card for one of these events. I'm guilty of the wedding one this year and also tied it into Halloween. :-) Mardi Gras is the international equivalent.

Many Venetian masks replicate artistic comedy theatrical characters. Most of the characters are listed below so you can search for them online individually to find variations of masks:

Arlecchino (Harlequin)
Arlechin Batocio
Brighella
Il Capitano
Colombina
Corallina
Il Dottore
Franceschina
Innamorati
Mirandolina
Pantalone
Pedrolino
Pulcinella
Scaramuccia
Tartaglia
Truffaldino
Zanni