Tartaglia (commedia dell'arte)

Common card · No. 425935

Tartaglia (lit. 'Stutterer') is a dainty character in the commedia dell'arte. He is farsighted and with a minor stutter (hence his name; cf. Spanish tartamudear), he is usually classed as one of the group of old characters (vecchio) who appears in many scenarios as one of the lovers (innamorati). His social status varies; he is sometimes a bailiff, lawyer, notary or chemist. Dramatist Carlo Gozzi turned him into a statesman, and so he remained thereafter. Tartaglia wears a large felt hat, an enormous cloak, oversized boots, a long sword, a giant moustache, and a cardboard nose. He usually represents the lower working class, but at times the middle or upper class in the commedia dell'arte. Tartaglia comes from the southern, or Neapolitan, quartet of masks, along with Coviello, Scaramouche, and Pulcinella. In France, this mask did not become popular. The Tartaglia mask appeared in Naples around 1610. Actors Ottavio Ferrarese and Beltrani da Verona became one of the first actors of it. The...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Maurice Sand (Sand, Maurice, 1823-1889), Public domain