Trifaccia (14th of October 2009)

mask, venetia, mirror, vine, baroque

Trifaccia (three-faced mask) is a mask typical for Venetian carnival, but it seems that its history is much longer (at least since the 4th Century; there is a relief showing a Roman pantomime actor holding a mask with three faces [Staatliche Museum, Berlin]). It is interesting that most people find such a mask a bit repulsive, scarry, and uncomfortable to be around (I checked this with the image I produced also).

mask, venetia, godl, vine, baroque

The whole story on the three-faced mask is complex. Such a depiction has been considered "morally unacceptable and categorically harmful" in certain periods. A. David Napier in "Masks, transformation, and paradox", University of California Press, 1986 says:

Though the Janus, tricephalic, and other multi-visaged heads may be universal embodiments of evil, what distinguished medieval visual representations was the conviction that all ambiguous personifications save the Trinity were both morally unacceptable and categorically harmful.
mask, venetia, glass, vine, baroque

It is also interesting that the Trinity, characteristic for divine in christianity, has its parallel in demonic. The satan is often portrayed as having three faces, and one of the most famous of such depictions is an illustration that Gustave Dore made for Dante's "Divine Comedy" (following Dante's description, "... Upon his head three faces..."). Paul Carus in "The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil From the Earliest Times to the Present Day", NuVision Publications, LLC, 2008 says:

"The Trinity conception of Satan is as old as the Trinity conception of God. As we have Trinities among the Pagan deities, for instance among the Greeks, the three-headed Hecuba; so we have three-headed monsters as for instance, the three-headed Cerberus; and in the history of Christian art a similar parallelism obtains between God-representations and Devil-representations."
glass, gold, vine, baroque

In any case, the imagery I offer you on this page can be nicely combined with Vivaldi's version of "La Folia":

<< Mediterraneo Drinking coffee ... >>

Last updated on 14th of October 2009.