Commedia Clown

myth:commedia_clown

The commedia dell'arte gave Europe its masks: the nimble servant Harlequin, the greedy old Pantalone, the boastful Captain, improvised on the public square — and out of them came Punch, the white-faced Pierrot, the circus clown, and at last the silent-film tramp. The clown, a single lineage handed down in greasepaint and motley. — theatre history