Mezetin

Etching and engraving, 1694, signed at lower margin "F. de Troy pinxit / C.Vermeulen Sculp" and inscribed with six verses on two columns: Icy de Mezetin et nouveau Protée/La figure est representée/ La Nature l’ayant pourveu// Des dons de la Metamorphose/ Qui ne le voit pas n’a rien veu/ Qui le void a Veu toute Chose” De La Fontaine.

Example in the third state, of three.

Magnificent example, printed on contemporary laid paper, trimmed close to platemark, in excellent condition.

Portrait of the actor Angelo Costantini (1654-1729) in the role of Mezetin in the Commedia dell'Arte, standing full-length in costume with his hand on a cartouche with a relief of Proteus being bound, after de Troy; lettered state after removal of the date 1694.

Mezzettino is one of the many Zanni figures, typically crafty and scheming, who are capable of a fascinating mixture of Brighella’s and Scapino’s tricks. His name appears to derive from “a half pint flacon”. Recorded as early as the first decades of the 17th century, it was performed by Ottavio Onorati of the Confidenti Company. The mask is found again in 1675 in an engraving by Gérard Jollain, where he is seen in his characteristic costume decorated with multicoloured stripes and diamonds. Still it was Angelo Costantini (1654-1729), an actor from Verona, who turned Mezzettino into a star role. Costantini had been invited to France by the Italian Troupe where Domenico Biancolelli was employed, and the two actors soon took it in turns to play Arlecchino. Later, though, Biancolelli’s rivalry caused Costantini to leave the company. He virtually invented the part of the crafty, clever servant, who regularly gets himself into scrapes but is equally capable of getting off Scot free. Costantini’s Mezzettino wore a red and white striped costume, without a mask. He usually had a guitar that he played magnificently.