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| Greek Theatre mask |
Mainly the masks were designed in honour of Dionysus and left near his altar after performances. However, the masks have been used since the times of Aeschylus who lived in 5th century BC and is considered as one of the symbols of traditional Greek theatre.
People who made the masks used to be called skeuopoios. Normally, the masks were size of a helmet which took over the face and head leaving just few holes for eyes and mouth.
Also there was a small hole to put on a wig if needed. The masks were light weight and usually made of stiffened linen, leather, wood or cork with a wig of human or animal hair.
The main function of masks in Greek theatre was to bring the face closer to the audience due to the large size of Greek theatres. The face emotions on the masks were over exaggerated so the audience could easier what`s going on, especially those people who were seating at the back of a theatre.
Noh Theatre
Believed, before the masks became popular to use in theatre there were only about 60 styles of them. However nowadays there are over 200. The origins of the Noh masks started during the Muromachi period (1392-1573). Before the Muromachi period the masks had stronger religious meaning. Nevertheless, the religious side of it began to fade when the Muromachi period came. People started to think about using the masks in yugen (mysterious beauty), they thought it would be better to hide the ugly part of their faces and to show more beauty of Noh masks.
The material meaning of Noh masks is completely different to Greek theatre masks. Noh masks is made of a strong material and can stay nice for ages. It is quite small and does not cover the whole actors face, most of the time some part of jaw or chin pops out. The eye`s holes are very small therefore the performer has a limited vision view.
There are quite few types of Noh masks:
- Okina (Old man masks)
- Jo (elders masks)
- Onna-men (woman mask)
- Otoko-men (man mask)
- Kishin (demons)
- Onryo (ghosts and spirits)
Carnival
As my chosen area of performance masks I decided to do Carnival masks because it is the most beautiful and memorable masks of all. Once I went to a masquerade ball wearing dark blue, sparkly mask it was unforgettable experience. I have always had a passion for carnival masks. If I entered into a shop and there were carnival masks it would have always brought my attention to it.
The origins of carnival masks started in Venice, Italy. Moreover, known as the world`s biggest carnival The Carnival of Venice, where all people dress up like in 18th century and cover their faces with masks. The word carnival itself has a very interesting meaning. Translated from Latin carne + valle means `farewell to meat` which was originated from Roman Catholic festival of Lent. That means, the season of sorrowful absence of fruit, eggs, meat and dairy products. The first mentioning of masks is found in about 13th century of masked-men throwing eggs at ladies. However, the wear of masks are actually started in 18th century. Nowadays, carnival happens to be organized in February.
The use of carnival vary from hiding the face/identity/social status to celebrating the carnival of Venice. It let the wearer act more easily in social situations without giving away their identity where he or she wanted. For instance, hiding the identity could be closely related with criminals, personal stuff or romantic secrets that not everyone should know about.
The Venetian masks revolutioned from Commedia dell`arte as those were are perfect and beautiful way to hide the identity during the carnival. The carnival masks themselves are very beautiful and eye-catching. It is decorated with dominant colours such as silver or gold and has got baroque style in it. They are made of an application of gesso, a white paint mixture, and gold leaf. Most of the times they are hand-made and hand-painted. In addition, masks makers add some feathers or sparkles to make the mask stand out.
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| Bauta |
- Bauta. This is one of the first Venetian masks. Features of this mask is very simple it is always white. Agreed, that it should be worn with the black hat. I believe this mask is used in well known West End shows Phantom of the Opera. Also back then, women would be not allowed to go to a theatre without wearing bauta.
- Moretta (meaning servant mute lady). Believed, the origins of this mask started in France but it was quickly adopted by Venetians, especially women as it highlighted their ladylike traits. However, it was mainly worn by women attending convents to keep themselves quite as there was a special space to clench their teeth.
- Volto. Also known as a larva mask. Translated from Latin means `ghost`. It is a plain, white mask. It is very similar to Bauta but it does not have very sharp features such as square jaw line or no mouth. It is easy to wear and allowed the wearer to drink and eat easily.
Volto - Culmbina. Also known as a traditional Venetian mask. This mask covers only half a face and the story how it was discovered is very fascinating. As mentioned above Venetian masks were taken from Commedia Dell`arte so one famous actress decided that her face was to beautiful
to be fully covered with a mask so she asked to make a mash that covers only half a face. People fell in love with it instantly and it became popular within days. Most of times it is decorated with silver, gold, feathers and crystals, To make it more attractive people have to options to wear it either tied back with laces or held up to the face by a baton.
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| Moretta |
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| Columbina |
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| Plague Doctor |
- Medico Della Paste (Plague Doctor). This mask has a very strong meaning as ,originally, it was discovered in France in 17th century by physician Charles De Lorme and was special made for plague doctors to protect them from breathing in dangerous diseases. It`s got a quite shocking shape which reminds of long beaked bird.
