Harlequin
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Harlequin is the best-known of the comic servant characters from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the
The classical appearance of the Harlequin stock character in the commedia dell'arte of the 1670s, complete with batte or "slapstick", a magic wand used by the character to change the scenery of the play (Maurice Sand, 1860)
A scene from the commedia dell'arte played in France before a noble audience in 1571 or 1572 (Museum of Bayeux). Pantalone is front and center, while just to the right and slightly behind is Harlequin in motley costume, "the oldest known version of Harlequin's costume".
Tristano Martinelli's Harlequin costume as depicted in his Compositions de rhétorique, 1601
Harlequin at the Pantomime Theatre in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark
Columbine (stock character)
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Columbine is a stock character in the commedia dell'arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and love interest of Pierrot. Rudlin and Crick use the Italian spe
Harlequin
…His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble, and astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest, Columbine, with wit and resourcefulness, often competing with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot. He later develops into a prototype of the romantic hero…
1862 depiction of a Columbine set in 1683
Harlequin dancing with Columbine
Pierrot, Columbine, and Harlequin (painting by Pierre-Antoine Quillard, c. 1733)
The cover of the newspaper Röpke Lapok by Richard Geiger featuring Pierrot and Columbine