Harlequin on the moon
Subtitle: commedia dell'arte and the visual arts
By: Lynne Lawner.
Publisher: H.N. Abrams
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 208
Subjects: Commedia dell'arte -- History and criticism; Commedia dell'arte in art
Description: Commedia dell'arte is the first modern theater - inspiration to Shakespeare, Moliere, Goldoni, Mozart, and Balanchine and forerunner of the modern stage comedy. This book traces the history of commedia from its beginnings through many transformations to its rediscovery in the experimental theater of today.

The depiction of commedia in the visual arts has a rich history. From Tiepolo and Watteau to Beardsley, Picasso, Hockney, and other modern masters, painters have found great resonance and meaning in the clowns and lovers of commedia.

Lynne Lawner traces all these threads, unearthing rare texts of commedia plays, discovering myriad versions of the ever-fascinating Harlequin, Pierrot, Columbine, and Pulcinella, relating the gossip of courts and theaters, and revealing the ways in which these figures and their classic stories - the sly servant, the foolish soldier, the clever maid, the quack doctor - have arisen again and again in art.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 200-202) and index.