Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre that began in Italy and became popular across Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries. It was sometimes called "Italian comedy" in English and is also known as commedia alla maschera, commedia improvviso, and commedia dell'arte all'improvviso. Commedia uses masked characters that are standard types, recognized by their names, costumes, and roles in the plays.
Commedia helped famous actresses like Isabella Andreini rise to fame and included performances that mixed planned scenes with improvisation. A play, such as The Tooth Puller, has both written parts and parts made up on stage. Important events and character movements are written, but actors often add new jokes or actions during the performance. A special part of commedia is the lazzo, a joke or witty moment that actors know well and often follow a planned routine. Another feature is pantomime, a type of acting without words, mostly used by the character Arlecchino, now known as Harlequin.
The characters in commedia often represent common social roles, such as foolish old men, dishonest servants, or boastful soldiers. These characters are exaggerated, like a know-it-all doctor called il Dottore, a greedy old man named Pantalone, or a couple in love called the innamorati. Many groups performed commedia, including I Gelosi (which included Isabella Andreini and her husband Francesco Andreini), Confidenti Troupe, Desioi Troupe, and Fedeli Troupe. Commedia was often performed outdoors on platforms or in public places like town squares. Though it began in Italy, it spread to other parts of Europe, even reaching as far as Moscow.
Commedia may have started with Carnival in Venice, where Andrea Calmo created the character Il Magnifico, an early version of Pantalone, by 1570. In some plays, like those by Flaminio Scala, Il Magnifico remained a character until the 17th century. While Calmo’s characters were not masked, it is unclear when masks were first used. However, since Carnival was a time when people wore masks, this tradition likely influenced commedia. In northern Italy, commedia was centered in cities like Florence, Mantua, and Venice, where groups were supported by local rulers. In southern Italy, a different style developed, featuring the character Pulcinella, later linked to the puppet character Punch in England.
History
Commedia dell'arte became popular in Italian theatre during the Mannerist period, but many people have tried to find its origins in ancient times. While some similarities exist between commedia dell'arte and older theatre traditions, there is no clear proof of where it began. Some believe it started during the Roman middle republic (Plautine types) or the early republic (Atellan Farces). Atellan Farces, from the early Roman republic, used simple characters with exaggerated masks and made-up stories. Some historians say that Atellan characters like Pappus, Maccus (and Buccus), and Manducus were early versions of commedia characters like Pantalone, Pulcinella, and il Capitano. More recent studies connect commedia dell'arte to medieval performers called jongleurs and characters from medieval moral plays, such as Hellequin, who may have inspired Harlequin.
The first written records of commedia dell'arte performances date back to 1551 in Rome. These performances were done outdoors by professional actors who wore costumes and masks, unlike commedia erudita, which were written plays performed indoors by untrained actors without masks. Some records show that the Gelosi troupe performed works like Tasso’s Aminta at courts, not in the streets. By the mid-1500s, specific groups of commedia performers formed, and by 1568, the Gelosi became a separate company. Inspired by Italian Academies, the Gelosi used the two-faced Roman god Janus as their symbol. Janus represented the movement of the traveling troupe and the dual role of actors who portrayed others. The Gelosi performed in northern Italy and France, where they received support from the French king. By the late 1500s, the Gelosi had a standard group of ten performers: two older characters, four lovers (two male and two female), two Zanni, a captain, and a serving maid. Commedia dell'arte was performed in court halls and fixed theatres, such as Teatro Baldrucca in Florence. Flaminio Scala, a former member of the Gelosi, published detailed scripts of commedia dell'arte in the early 1600s to help preserve the tradition. These scripts were structured and focused on pairings of characters like Zanni, vecchi, and lovers.
In commedia dell'arte, women played female roles, with records showing this as early as the 1560s. Lucrezia Di Siena, named in a contract from 1564, is known as the first named Italian actress. Vincenza Armani and Barbara Flaminia were among the first well-documented female performers in Italy and Europe. However, English critics in the 1570s criticized these troupes for having women on stage, and some later called a female performer a "tumbling whore." By the late 1570s, Italian religious leaders tried to ban female performers, but by the end of the 1500s, women were common on Italian stages. Italian scholar Ferdinando Taviani collected church documents that opposed female performers, comparing them to courtesans who corrupted young men. Taviani’s term "negativa poetica" describes these practices and gives insight into commedia dell'arte performances.
By the early 1600s, Zanni comedies shifted from spontaneous street performances to more structured acts with defined characters. Three 17th-century books—Cecchini’s Fruti della moderne commedia (1628), Niccolò Barbieri’s La supplica (1634), and Perrucci’s Dell’arte rapresentativa (1699)—outlined rules for performing. Katritzky argues that these changes made commedia dell'arte more formulaic and less improvisational than it had been a century earlier. In France, during Louis XIV’s reign, the Comédie-Italienne created new plays, masks, and characters while removing some Italian influences like Pantalone. French playwrights, including Molière, borrowed from commedia dell'arte’s plots and masks. Molière performed alongside the Comédie-Italienne at Petit-Bourbon, and some of his techniques, like the tirade, were inspired by commedia’s tirata.
In the early 1600s, commedia dell'arte moved to fair theatres (théâtre de la foire) outside cities, evolving into a more pantomime-style performance. After Italian performers were sent out of France in 1697, commedia dell'arte changed in the 18th century as French genres like comédie larmoyante became popular, especially through the plays of Marivaux. Marivaux softened commedia dell'arte by adding more realistic emotions to performances. Harlequin became more famous during this time.
It is possible that this style of acting was passed down through Italian generations until the 1600s, when it was revived as a professional theatrical form. However, the term "commedia dell'arte" was first used in the mid-1700s.
Commedia dell'arte was equally popular in France, where it remained popular until 1697. In France, commedia dell'arte developed its own set of plays. Across Europe, each country adapted the form to fit its culture. For example, 18th-century pantomime was influenced by commedia dell'arte, especially Harlequin. Punch and Judy puppet shows in England today are based on the Pulcinella mask from Neapolitan versions of commedia dell'arte. In Italy, commedia masks and stories influenced opera buffa, including works by Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini.
During the Napoleonic occupation of Italy, people used Carnival masks to hide their identities while challenging French rule and criticizing the government. In 1797, Napoleon banned commedia dell'arte to stop its use as a platform for dissent. It was not revived in Venice until 1979.
Companies
Compagnie, or companies, were groups of actors, each with a specific job. Many actors had skills in areas other than theatre, such as being doctors, priests, or soldiers. They were drawn to theatre because it was popular in Italian society. Actors often moved between troupes, and companies sometimes worked together if they had the same patron or performed in the same area. Some actors left their troupes to start new ones, like the Ganassa and Gelosi troupes. These compagnie traveled across Europe, beginning with the Soldati, then the Ganassa, who went to Spain and were known for playing the guitar and singing. Later, famous troupes from the Golden Age (1580–1605) included the Gelosi, Confidenti, and Accessi. Their names were inspired by academies to give them more respectability. Each troupe had an impresse, like a symbol, to represent its identity. For example, the Gelosi used the two-headed face of the Roman god Janus to show their connection to Carnival season and the idea of actors wearing masks while staying true to themselves.
Magistrates and clergy sometimes opposed traveling troupes, especially during plague outbreaks. Their performances often included actors who removed most of their clothing, and stories included scenes with explicit sexual content. French Parliament officials criticized these performances, calling them harmful and promoting "lewdness and adultery." The term "vagabondi" was used to describe actors, and it remains a negative word today. This term reflected the troupes' nomadic lifestyle, which was partly due to being forced to move by religious groups, government officials, and rival theatre groups.
A troupe usually had ten performers, including both men and women, who played familiar masked and unmasked roles. Companies also hired carpenters, props makers, servants, nurses, and prompters to travel with them. They used large carts to carry supplies, making it easier to move from place to place. Their nomadic lifestyle was partly due to persecution but also because they needed new audiences to earn money. They performed at public fairs and celebrations in wealthy towns where they could earn more. High-ranking officials sometimes invited troupes to perform on their land in exchange for support. Companies avoided staying in one place too long to prevent their acts from becoming boring. They would leave while still popular, ensuring towns wanted them to return. Ticket prices were set by the troupes and depended on the wealth of the location, how long they stayed, and local rules about performances.
- Compagnia dei Fedeli: active 1601–1652, with Giambattista Andreini
- Compagnia degli Accesi: active 1590–1628
- Compagnia degli Uniti: active 1578–1640
- Compagnia dei Confidenti: active 1574–1599; reformed under Flaminio Scala, operated again 1611–1639
- I Dedosi: active 1581–1599
- I Gelosi: active 1568–1604
- Signora Violante and Her Troupe of Dancers: active 1729–1732
- Zan Ganassa: active 1568–1610
Characters
Commedia dell'arte was a type of theater that began in Italy during the Renaissance. The actors who performed in it came from different social classes and religious backgrounds. They performed in many places, such as streets, markets, and public squares. According to Castagno, the art of this theater used exaggerated features, distorted shapes, and masks to create characters. These characters often borrowed ideas from other art forms instead of being completely original. Theatre historian Martin Green said that the strong emotions shown during this time influenced how characters were created. In commedia dell'arte, each character represented a specific feeling, such as humor, sadness, or confusion.
In the 18th century, a London critic named Baretti wrote that commedia dell'arte had roles that were based on people from specific Italian towns or regions. These roles, called archetypes, included the way people spoke, using the dialect of their area. This meant that actors performed in their own regional language. Some roles were passed down through families, and in some cases, actors who played married characters were actually married in real life, such as Francesco and Isabella Andreini. This practice helped make performances feel more natural and strengthened the unity among the actors. Each character also wore a unique costume and mask that showed their role.
Commedia dell'arte had four main groups of characters:
1. Zanni: Servants and clowns, such as Arlecchino, Brighella, Scapino, Pulcinella, and Pedrolino.
2. Vecchi: Wealthy old men, such as Pantalone and il Dottore.
3. Innamorati: Young, upper-class lovers, such as Flavio and Isabella.
4. Il Capitano: Bragging captains, such as Scaramuccia. A female version of this character is called la Signora.
Characters who wore masks were called "maschere" in Italian. According to John Rudlin, the mask and the character were closely connected, meaning the mask’s features matched the character’s traits. Over time, the word "maschere" came to describe all characters in commedia dell'arte, whether they wore masks or not. Female characters, except for those in the "amorosi" group, usually did not wear masks. The female character in the "Vecchi" group was called Prima Donna and could also be a lover. Another female role was the Courtisane, who could also have a servant. Female servants wore bonnets and were often portrayed with clever or talkative behavior. The "amorosi" were often children of male characters in the "Vecchi" group but not of female characters in that group. Female characters in the "Vecchi" group were older than the "amorosi" but younger than the male "Vecchi."
Some well-known characters in commedia dell'arte include Pierrot, Pierrette, Pantalone, Gianduja, il Dottore, Brighella, il Capitano, Colombina, the innamorati, Pedrolino, Pulcinella, Arlecchino, Sandrone, Scaramuccia (also called Scaramouche), la Signora, and Tartaglia.
In the 17th century, commedia dell'arte became popular in France. There, characters like Pierrot, Columbine, and Harlequin were changed and became more closely associated with Paris, according to Green.
Costumes
Each character in commedia dell'arte wears a unique costume that helps the audience recognize their role.
Harlequin originally wore a long, tight jacket with matching trousers that had many patches of different shapes, often green, yellow, red, and brown. A bat and a wallet usually hung from his belt. His hat was a soft cap inspired by Charles IX or Henri II, and it often had a tail from a rabbit, hare, or fox, sometimes with a small tuft of feathers. In the 17th century, the patches became blue, red, and green triangles arranged in a balanced pattern. By the 18th century, Harlequin’s costume included diamond-shaped lozenges on his jacket, which became shorter, and his hat changed to a double-pointed style.
Il Dottore’s costume was based on the clothing worn by scholars in Bologna. He was almost always dressed completely in black. He wore a long, black gown or jacket that reached below his knees. Over this, a long, black robe extended to his heels, and he wore black shoes, stockings, and breeches. In 1653, Augustin Lolli, a famous actor who played Il Dottore, redesigned his costume. He added a large black hat, replaced the robe with a jacket similar to Louis XIV’s style, and included a flat ruff around his neck.
Il Capitano’s costume was also a satire, this time of military clothing from the time. His appearance changed depending on the era and location of the performance.
Pantalone’s costume is one of the most recognizable in commedia dell’arte. He typically wore a tight jacket with matching trousers and paired them with a large, black coat called a zimarra.
Women in commedia dell’arte, who often played servants or lovers, wore simpler costumes than the men. The innamorati wore clothing that matched the fashion of their time period. They usually did not wear masks but used heavy makeup to highlight their features.
Subjects
Traditional storylines often focused on themes like love, jealousy, and old age. Many of these story elements can be found in the Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence, which were based on older Greek plays from the 4th century BC. However, it is more likely that the comici used stories from contemporary novellas or traditional sources, and included events and news from their time. Not all stories were funny; some mixed comedy with tragedy. Shakespeare’s The Tempest was inspired by a story in the Scala collection, his character Polonius (from Hamlet) was based on Pantalone, and his clown characters honored the Zanni.
Comici performed written comedies at royal courts. Music and dance were common, and many innamorati were skilled at singing madrigals, a type of music with complex harmonies. Audiences came to watch the performances, often caring more about the acting than the story. Isabella Andreini was one of the most famous innamorati, and a medallion honoring her reads "eternal fame." Tristano Martinelli became internationally famous as the first great Harlequin and was honored by the Medici and the Queen of France. Performers used repeated jokes and physical comedy, called lazzi and concetti, as well as improvised jokes and tricks, known as burle, which often involved pranks.
Since performances were improvised, actors could change dialogue and actions to mock local scandals, current events, or regional preferences while still using old jokes. Characters were recognized by costumes, masks, and props, such as a baton called a slapstick. These characters included early versions of modern clowns, like Harlequin and the Zanni. Harlequin, in particular, could comment on current events during his performances.
A classic story involves innamorati who are in love and want to marry but face obstacles from one or more elders (vecchi). The lovers then seek help from Zanni, eccentric servants. The story usually ends with the lovers marrying and the elders forgiving their mistakes.
Although performances were not written in advance, they often followed scenarios that provided a general story structure. The Flaminio Scala scenarios, published in the early 17th century, are the most well-known collection and represent the work of the esteemed acting group I Gelosi.
Influence in visual art
The visual style of commedia dell'arte has been studied by scholars such as Erenstein, Castagno, Katritzky, Molinari, and others. In the early years, artists working at Fontainebleau created paintings that often showed the innamorata, a character frequently depicted with little clothing.
The influence of Flemish artists is well recorded, as commedia figures appeared in vanitas paintings, which warned about the dangers of lust, drinking, and a life focused on pleasure. Castagno wrote about the Flemish pittore vago, or "wandering painter," who worked in Italian art studios and sometimes adopted Italian names. One example was Lodewyk Toeput, who became known as Ludovico Pozzoserrato and became a famous painter in Italy's Veneto region. These wandering painters helped establish commedia dell'arte as a lasting style of painting.
Many images of commedia dell'arte were not based on real performances but were created in studios. For example, the Callot etchings of the Balli di Sfessania (1611) are considered imaginary scenes rather than accurate depictions of commedia dances or masks. Though often printed in large sizes, the original etchings were small, about 2×3 inches. In the 18th century, Watteau painted scenes showing commedia characters with aristocrats, often set in beautiful gardens or countryside settings.
In 1921, Pablo Picasso painted Three Musicians, which shows characters inspired by commedia dell'arte. Picasso also designed costumes for Stravinsky’s ballet Pulcinella (1920), which features commedia characters. Images of commedia figures appear on porcelain figurines, some of which are sold for thousands of dollars at auctions.
Influence in performance art
The expressive theatre influenced Molière's comedy and later ballet d'action, adding new ways to express emotions and move. An example of a commedia dell'arte character in literature is the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who is dressed like Harlequin.
Music and dance were important parts of commedia dell'arte performances, and most shows included both instrumental and vocal music. Brighella was often shown with a guitar, and many images of the commedia show singing innamorati or dancing figures. It was important for innamorati to be able to sing and know popular songs. Early accounts from the 1570s, such as those by Calmo and the buffoni of Venice, describe how actors could sing madrigals accurately and beautifully. The danzatrice may have traveled with the troupes and could have been part of the main cast. For more information about unusual instruments, see articles by Tom Heck, who has studied this area.
Many playwrights have written stories with characters inspired by or directly taken from commedia dell'arte. Examples include The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Les Fourberies de Scapin by Molière, The Servant of Two Masters (1743) by Carlo Goldoni, the Figaro plays by Pierre Beaumarchais, and The Love for Three Oranges, Turandot, and other fiabe by Carlo Gozzi. Influences from commedia also appear in the lodgers in Steven Berkoff's adaptation of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.
Through their connection to spoken theatre and playwrights, commedia characters have shaped many stock characters in opera. In Don Giovanni, Mozart includes a puppet show and comic servants like Leporello and Figaro, who have commedia roots. Soubrette characters, such as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Despina in Così fan tutte, are similar to Columbine and other commedia figures. The comic operas of Gaetano Donizetti, like L'elisir d'amore, use characters from commedia. Leoncavallo's Pagliacci shows a commedia troupe whose real lives mirror their stage performances. Commedia characters also appear in Richard Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos.
The piano piece Carnaval by Robert Schumann was imagined as a kind of masked ball that combined characters from commedia dell'arte with real people, such as Chopin, Paganini, and Clara Schumann, as well as characters from Schumann's imagination. The movements of the piece are named after commedia characters, including Pierrot, Harlequin, Pantalone, and Columbine.
Stock characters and situations from commedia also appear in ballet. Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka and Pulcinella directly reference the commedia tradition.
Commedia dell'arte is performed seasonally in Denmark at the Peacock Stage of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and at Dyrehavsbakken, north of Copenhagen. Tivoli has regular performances, while Bakken offers daily shows for children featuring Pierrot and a puppet version of Pulcinella similar to Punch and Judy.
Characters created by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, such as Ali G, Borat, and Bruno, have been compared to commedia dell'arte figures. Baron Cohen was trained by French clown Philippe Gaulier, who also teaches others about commedia.