Musicians and Dancers – characters from the Commedia Dell'Arte, 1690–1730

This tapestry shows musicians and dancers based on characters from the Commedia Dell'Arte. This form of Italian burlesque theater featured usually well-known stock characters and was performed by troupes travelling all over Europe. The performers would act out standard plots with improvised dialogue in the street.

Musicians and Dancers, 1690–1730, tapestry, wool and silk, 316.9 × 522 cm, artist/maker: Beauvais Manufactory, design: by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1636–1699), border design: Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer / Guy-Louis Vernansal (1648–1729); source: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003.4, digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.