SOLD – Grand Theater Drawing by Dolores Puthold, France, 1987

A grand drawing in charcoal and pastel on paper, mounted on board, in original frame, by the famed artist, Dolores Puthold. A frequent painter of the performing arts, and labeled with La Salle Gerard Philipe, this is likely a preparatory work for a painting depicting a performance at this theater. Puthold, born in 1934 in Milan, was a member of La Scala and collaborated with Picasso, Nikolai Benois, and Alberto Savinio, and is the subject of a 2014 film. Signed and dated by the artist, May 25, 1987. The 15th-century Renaissance in Italy witnessed the rise of a theatrical phenomenon that spread rapidly to France, to Germany, and to England, where it maintained its popularity into the 18th century. Comedies improvised from scenarios based upon the domestic dramas of the ancient Roman comic playwrights Plautus (c. 254–184 BCE) and Terence (c. 195–c. 159 BCE) and upon situations drawn from anonymous ancient Roman mimes flourished under the title of commedia dell’arte. Adopting the Roman stock figures and situations to their own usages, the players of the commedia were usually masked. Sometimes the masking was grotesque and fanciful, but generally a heavy leather mask, full or half face, disguised the commedia player. Excellent pictorial records of both commedia costumes and masks exist; some sketches show the characters of Harlequin and Columbine wearing black masks covering merely the eyes, from which the later masquerade mask is certainly a development.

Dimensions: H 5′ x L 10′ x D 2.75″

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