The Salone Badoer of the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista welcomes, from February 1st to 15th, the exhibition of Leather Masks by Master mask maker De Marchi. Several creations in leather by De Marchi tell the story and importance of the “theatrical mask,” whose origins date back to prehistory but whose affirmation is indissolubly linked to the Commedia dell’Arte.
“The material used for the masks is leather – specifically untreated raw cowhide – which is soaked in hot water, washed, and after about a couple of hours, laid on the wooden mold or “mother”, fixed with nails, and left to rest. Slowly the wood, that is, the mold, begins to dry the leather: it is in this phase that it is beaten and smoothed for the first time, then the lines of the mask are sought, and subsequently the second beating and smoothing are done. In a way, it is the wood, that is, the mold, that rules! It takes about a week to remove the mask from the mold and start the trimming work and above all the creation of the anatomy; in the end, the edges are finished and the openings are made, namely the eye, which is the actor’s second sight. It is very important for masks connected to the actor that the correct anatomy of the eye is there, because the actor must not have problems with this fake face. There is a rule that actors know well: when the mask is placed on the face, it must not be touched anymore because the moment the actor touches or rejects it, somehow it leaves the body! I was very young – as Master De Marchi told us in an interview – when the passion for masks was born in me, I worked first with paper, but the material didn’t give me the satisfaction that leather can provide. It is a living material, the skin reincarnates, it brings back to life the animal that has been sacrificed, this is very important. I have dedicated this last period to the relationship between body and mask: the mask left there is an orphan, it can be a fascinating object, but it waits for a body because it is not made to be abandoned. The mask is voracious and above all has no graveyard; masks and puppets survive those who wore them and always wait for a new body!”
