Theater masks

Judging by the discoveries of the late XIX century , it can be assumed that masks were used for the same purpose since ancient times in Egypt and India, but accurate information has not been received about them. In Europe, the first masks appeared in Greece, during the Bacchus festivities. Suidas attributes this invention to the poet Haril , a contemporary of Thespius ; he also says that Frinikh first introduced the use of female masks on stage, and Neofon Sikionsky came up with a characteristic mask for reproducing a slave teacher. Horace puts the invention of theater masks on Aeschylus . Aristotle in his Poetics (chapter V) argues that in his time the tradition of introducing masks into the theater was lost in the darkness of a long time ago.

The masks pursued a twofold goal: firstly, they gave a certain physiognomy to each role, and secondly, they enhanced the sound of the voice, and this was extremely important when performing at extensive amphitheaters, in the open air, in the face of a crowd of thousands. The play of physiognomy was completely unthinkable on a stage of this size. The mouths of the masks were parted, the eye sockets deepened sharply, all the most characteristic features of this type were emphasized, and the colors were brightly applied. Initially, masks were made from lubok, later - from leather and wax. At the mouth, masks were usually trimmed with metal, and sometimes they were completely lined with copper or silver on the inside to enhance resonance, and a mouthpiece was placed in the mouth of the mask (therefore, the Romans designated the mask with the word persona , from personare - “sound”).

Masks were divided into a number of unchanged categories: 1) old people, 2) young people, 3) slaves and 4) women, of very many types. Regardless of the masks for the roles of mere mortals, there were also masks for heroes, deities, and the like, with conditional attributes ( Acteon , for example, had antlers, Argus had one hundred eyes, Diana had a crescent, Eumenides- 3 snakes, and so on). Special names were masks that reproduced shadows, visions and the like - Gorgoneia, Mormolucheia and the like. Along with the masks of deities, historical masks - prosopeia ; they depicted the traits of famous personalities, dead and alive, and served mainly for tragedies and comedies from modern life, such as the “Clouds” of Aristophanes or the “Capture of Miletus” by Frinich; for the comedy Riders, however, the craftsmen refused to make masks depicting Cleon . Satirical masks were used to reproduce mythological monsters, cyclops, satyrs, fauns, and so on. There were also orchestral masks - they were worn by dancers, and since the latter were placed on the stage closest to the audience, the masks for them were written out less sharply and finished more carefully. To reproduce characters whose mood changed dramatically during the action, masks were introduced, on one profile expressing, for example, grief, horror and the like, while the other profile indicated joy, satisfaction; the actor turned to the audience with one or the other side of the mask.

From Greece, masks went to the Roman theater and stayed on stage until the fall of the Roman Empire. According to Cicero , the famous actor Roscius played without a mask, and with complete success, but this example almost did not find imitators. If the actor aroused the displeasure of the audience, he was forced to take off the mask on the stage and, throwing apples, figs and nuts, was driven off the stage.

The use of masks was not limited to one theater. The archiminine took part in the funeral ceremonies of the Romans, who, putting on a mask that reproduces the features of the deceased, played both the good and evil deeds of the deceased, presenting mimically something like a grave word. Soldiers sometimes staged comic parades under masks, as if surrounding a fictitious triumphal chariot in a mockery of the hated military leaders.

The use of theatrical masks passed to Italy for theatrical pantomimes and the so-called Italian comedy (Comedia dell'Arte). So, the open sign is very ancient and originates from the Atlantean games; bells were originally attached to it at the corners of the mouth. Since the XVI century, this mask, modified, goes to France, along with characteristic masks, denoting the types of matamor, footmen and so on.

In France, in the Middle Ages - for example, during the procession procession at the Fox festival - masks were used, and even Philippe the Beautiful did not disdain such dressing. At annual festivities in honor of the jesters that took place in the churches, masks were used that were ugly; The Rouen synod, which rejected this fun in 1445, mentions the faces of monsters and animal hara.

In the field of private life, the use of masks arose in Venice and was practiced during the carnival; in France it took place at the entry of Isabella of Bavaria to Paris and the festivities about her marriage to Charles VI (1385). Under Francis I, the fashion for venetian masks (loup) of black velvet or silk was so grafted that the mask was almost necessary for the toilet. The outrages that occurred under the cover of masks prompted Francis I, Charles IX and Henry III to restrict their use. In 1535, all masks were confiscated from the merchants by parliamentary edict and their further preparation was prohibited; in 1626, two commoners were even executed for wearing masks during the carnival ; in a noble environment, however, masks did not go out of use until the Great French Revolution .

Since in his youth, Louis XIV willingly took part in court ballets, but in order to avoid etiquette, was masked, this custom also extended to ballet dancers in general, who parted with masks only in 1772. In Italy, in the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, everyone was disguised, not excluding the clergy, who, under the cover of masks, were active participants in the carnival and diligent visitors to theaters and concerts. Members of the Council of Ten , officials of the Inquisition Tribunals, carbonarians and members of secret societies throughout Europe used masks for obvious reasons; in the same way, sometimes the executioner also put on a mask in the performance of his duties. Charles I of England was beheaded by a disguised executioner. In Rome, some monastic orders at burials were clothed in a strange masked costume.

At all times and in all countries, a mask worn at public festivities enjoyed immunity and gave the right to intolerance under other conditions familiar speech. In France, people allowed to attend a masked ball were allowed to invite unmasked people to dance, even if they were members of a reigning house. So, for example, at one of the court balls at Louis XIV, disguised as a paralytic and wrapped in a blanket hanging with ugly rags and soaked in camphor, she invited the Duchess of Burgundy to dance - and, not considering it possible to break the custom, she went to dance with a disgusting stranger.

By the end of the 19th century, masks in the West were used almost exclusively during the carnival. In France, this custom was regulated by the ordinance of 1835. Disguised were forbidden to carry weapons and sticks, to dress in indecent suits, to insult passers-by or to hold defiant and obscene speeches; at the invitation of the police, the masked immediately had to go to the nearest police station for identification, and lawbreakers were sent to the police prefecture. The commission of misconduct and crimes under masks was prosecuted in the usual manner, but the very fact of disguise was considered here as a circumstance enhancing guilt.

Despite the fact that in Europe masks began to go out of use already in the 17th century, they were rarely used in theater productions of the 20th century.

Theater masks were also common in traditional Asian theaters ( Rilila and Ramlila in India, Topeng Theater in Indonesia, No Theater in Japan). By the 20th century, it is often replaced by mask-like makeup ( Kathakali in India, Kabuki in Japan).

Theatrical masks // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• Theater masks - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .