The Clothes are Italian
Medium
etching
Dimensions
sheet: 30 × 20.9 cm · image and plate: 27.5 × 20 cm
Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
2008.3
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
Actors dressed as stock characters from the Italian commedia dell’arte and the French popular theater take their final bow in this print. Known for their comic plots and improvisational satire, the Italian players were banned in France from 1697 until 1716 after one of their productions was thought to criticize King Louis XIV’s mistress. Still in demand with French audiences, some of the characters and stories were adapted into the less regulated popular performances. The sense of whimsy and pla...