Commedia Gallery

Commedia dell'arte Characters

Four Characters from Commedia dell'arte, an improvised kind of popular comedy in Italian theatres in the 16th18th centuries, based on stock characters. Actors adapted their comic dialogue and action according to a few basic plots (commonly love intrigues) and to topical issues. Date: circa 18th century

The Divine Comedy. Dante and Virgil in Hell. Folio 25 r. 148

The Divine Comedy. Poem by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). Miniature depicting Dante and Virgil in Hell. The meeting of Dante with Farinata degli Uberti and Cavalcante de Cavalcanti. Folio 25 r. 1480-1482. Painted by Guglielmo Giraldi (active 1445-1490). Vatican Apostolic Library. Vatican City.

© Thaliastock / Mary Evans

13th, 1480, 1482, 14th, 15th, Ages, Alighieri, Apostolic, Art, Cavalcante, Cavalcanti, Century, Chant, City, Comedy, Commedia, Dante, De, Degli, Detail, Divina, Divine, Farinata, Ferraria, Folio, Giraldi, Guglielmo, Gulielmus, Hell, Illuminated, Image, Italian, Italy, Letters, Library, Literature, Man, Manuscript, Medieval, Men, Middle, Miniature, Page, Painting, Poem, Poetry, Renaissance, The, Tomb, Uberti, Vatican

Clown with food and drink on a Christmas and New Year card

Clown with food and drink on a Christmas and New Year card, with Harlequin and Columbine on either side of him (they are stealing from Pantalone's table on the other side of the windows). (1 of 2) Date: circa 1890s

© The David Pearson Collection/Mary Evans Picture Library

1890s, Alcohol, Arte, Blue, Bottles, Card, Cards, Chair, Christmas, Circus, Clown, Columbine, Comic, Commedia, Costume, Dell, Drink, Drinking, Drunk, Enjoyment, Entertainer, Entertainment, Face, Food, Fun, Happy, Harlequin, Historical, History, Humour, Late, Meat, New, Painted, Performer, Plate, Red, Sitting, Standing, Stealing, Victorian, White, Window, Windows, Xmas, Year