Figure of Pantalone
manufacturer Mennecy Factory (French)
manufacturer Mennecy- Villeroy Factory (French)
c. 1755
- Medium
- soft-paste porcelain with enamel decoration
- Classification
- Ceramic
- Dimensions
- Overall: 20 x 7 x 9.9 cm (7 7/8 x 2 3/4 x 3 7/8 in.)
- Culture
- France, Mennecy, 18th century
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Decorative Art and Design
- Credit line
- Gift of Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc.
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
The commedia dell’arte, a form of Italian improvisational theater, became widely popular in 18th-century Europe. This figure, with his prominent beard and distinguishing black robe, represents the character of elderly Venetian merchant Pantalone. Depicted in paintings and porcelain, the popularity of these figures demonstrated the influence of the theater on the tastes of the wealthy.
