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I. Jacobean Court Masque
Jacobean Court Masque theatre is an elaborate form of theatre that is derived from
a general form of a ‘masque’. A masque is a type of play with poetry, music, dance and
songs that was popular in the 16th and 17th centuries (Masque). This original form of a
masque began in the early 16th century in Europe, and eventually became popular in
England in the first half of the 17th century (Mickel). Initially the Tudor and Stuart courts
adopted the masque technique that had the royalty themselves become the actors, and
once the masque had entered these wealthy royal abodes, the luxurious feel of the masque
became even more heightened (Ravelhofer). As the popularity of masques spread into
these courts, different styles of masques began developing, including the Jacobean Court
Masque which was initiated under the Jacobean Court with the support of James I and
Anne of Denmark. The characters in the masques represented “pastoral or mythological
figures” (Columbia Encyclopedia), as seen in a majority of Ben Jonson’s works. Ben
Jonson was the most well known playwright for masques during his time, which were
often performed in the Jacobean Court. Some of his better known productions include
The Masque of Beauty, The Masque of Queens, and The Masque of Blackness. These
productions, especially The Masque of Blackness, provided great examples of costuming
traditions in Jacobean Theatre. With this in mind, under the world theatre tradition of the
Jacobean Court Masque, what would the costume and makeup requirements be for Ben
Jonson’s The Masque of Blackness?
II. The Masque of Blackness
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The Masque of Blackness was originally written by Ben Jonson in 1605 and
performed first at the Court at Whitehall. The masque was written at the request of Anne
and James I of the Jacobean Court, whom wished to see the masquers, in other words the
actors in the production, as Africans. This shocked a majority of people, as during this
time having a Queen degrade her status was unheard of. The production featured a
stormy sea, with merman on seahorses and Oceanus nymphs, as the ladies of Anne rode
in on large seashells. This entire spectacle was to follow the idea of the ladies being
cleansed by James I. Yet this was unable to be done during the time period, so to
compensate, this production was followed by The Masque of Beauty, which continued to
follow the idea of the Daughters of Niger cleansing their sins and leaving behind the
black that had covered their skin previously. Supposedly, the black skin was meant to
show the audience of equality instead of emphasizing race differences (Murray). A quote
cited by Murray shows Anne of Denmark relaying her wish for this to Jonson himself,
“To have [the masquers] Black-mores at first” (Murray). This wish for the masquers to be
portrayed as Africans is what initially introduces idea as to what the costuming and
makeup will feature in this production of The Masque of Blackness.
II. Costuming and Makeup
To further understand the extent the effect costuming had on aspects of the play,
the following image represents a ‘common’ costume for a masquer to wear during a
Jacobean performance in James the First’s Court:
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This picture represents a common costume for a woman masquer during the reign of James I.
http://www.folger.edu/imgcolldtl.cfm?imageid=643
This sketch depicts a costume which highlights some fashionable trends for the time. The
woman in the image shows highly layered pieces of clothing, and ruffles around the neck
and the wrists, revealing the fashionable and elaborate side of Jacobean Court costuming.
Ben Jonson’s The Masque of Blackness was to be performed for the first time in James I
court. To help Jonson with the set and costuming, Inigo Jones, a famous stage designer
during the Jacobean Court Masque period, interpreted Jonson’s texts and made them
come to life in the royal courts. In The Masque of Blackness, critics provide many
interpretations concerning makeup and costuming in the masque, especially in the
Jacobean Court.
As Inigo Jones began staging and creating Jonson’s masterpiece for the first time,
the variety of interpretations for costumes and makeup become evident. The dialogue
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from The Masque of Blackness clearly hints that the masquers are African in the
directions given by Jonson himself in the opening song to celebrate Niger;
With all his beauteous race,
Who, though but black in the face,
Yet they are bright,
And full of life and light,
To prove that beauty best
Which not the colour but the feature
Assures unto the creature
(Jonson, 81-87)
This passage displays that Jonson intended for the incorporation of black makeup or a
black mask, yet there is no direct comment towards the necessity for it (Ravelhofer, 128).
The text doesn’t dictate exactly how the masque should be set and staged is a theory that
led to infamous argument that occurred between Jonson and Jones. According to Jones
costuming and music and set choices were things that made up a production, while
Jonson believed that the text is what set the stage for semi specific design choices
(Norbrook 97-98). Despite this disagreement, it is apparent from the resulting costuming
and makeup choices in the masque production that Jones and Jonson both were advocates
for the statement of equality that was made by the women being painted black in the
court’s performance of The Masque of Blackness.
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One of the major makeup choices seen in the Jacobean Court’s production of The
Masque of Blackness is Anne and Jones’ decision to have the skin of Anne and her ladies
in waiting are painted black to show the color of the skin (Hampton-reeves). This is
extremely controversial, especially as during this time period men of the court would play
the speaking roles as well as the roles of the dancers in the background (Lewalski). The
Jacobean Court’s production of this masque though is not only featured women as major
roles in the production, but also went against political traditions and put out the
controversy of race during the time. This is said by Lewalski’s “Milton's Comus and the
Politics of Masquing.", to have had such a great affect on society as a whole since the
masques were a common way to show political beliefs. On top of this controversial topic,
the costumes worn in the court’s production of The Masque of Blackness also began
breaking societal and fashion norms of the era. A typical masque costume of the time
would consist of fashionable clothes, lavish material, and elaborate makeup that would
highlight the actor’s face in an attractive sense (Ravelhofer). The following image shows
these qualities, but also provides an easily visible symbol as to how typical masque
costumes would deviate from the fashion in society as well:
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This is an image from Berkeley that depicts what the supposed costuming and makeup done by
Jones in the performance would have looked like. The woman is painted black, and wears
expensive materials.
http://shakespeare.berkeley.edu/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18393
As this image shows, the woman is wearing very elaborate, expensive materials, even
incorporating the common headpiece of the time. Lesley Mickel states, “Headdresses
were extravagantly plumed helmets or crowns, fusing baroque and classical styles” (93).
Jones employed much creativity and meaning into these costumes worn by Anne and her
ladies. The following description is taken from Samuel Daniel, a person who viewed the
masque in person when it was performed:
First their head-tire was composed of shells and coral…. Their upper garments had the
bodies of sky-coloured taffetas for lightness… then they had a kind of half-skirts of cloth
of silver embroidered with gold, all the group work cut out for lightness…. The skirt was
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wrought with lace, waved round about like a river, and on the banks sedge and seaweeds
of all gold.
(Ravelhofer, 125).
In comparison to Mickel’s quote above, it is now easy to see one example as to how the
fashion in The Masque of Blackness followed and encompassed the typical costumes. The
head attire as stated above was “composed of shells and coral”, relating to what Mickel
says common costumes required, “an extravagantly plumed helmet or crown”, which is
similar to what Anne and the ladies wore in the masque. Ravelhofer references the
intended symbol of the costumes, saying “they represented at the same time a convenient
solution for performers and a dazzling emblematic of a sea power” (Ravelhofer, 125).
Here it is seen that the major importance costume played in the Jacobean Court
production of The Masque of Blackness was the heavy symbolism it played. This could
be traced to Anne’s drive towards statements, as well as Jones’ relatively interpretive
design decisions he was known for.
III. Conclusion
Critics analyzing the costume and makeup choices in this Jacobean production
appear to feel as though these choices were helpful to the play as a whole, or weren’t as
‘shocking’ as some people during the time appeared to believe. Yet some, like Carleton
(a person who viewed the masque first hand), felt as though the women were making
themselves appear whorish and were blatantly, almost jokingly, going away from the
general masque guidelines (Murray). This gives a good insight into how the costume and
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the black makeup affected the perception of the audience at that time due to the straying
from the common masque traditions. This idea should not allow someone to believe that
the entire audience viewed Anne’s performance and Jones’ costume/makeup choices
negatively as Carleton did. Some, like the Venetian Ambassador, Nicolo Molin, believed
the masque to have been “very beautiful and sumptuous” (Mickel), taken from the letter
between John Chamberlin and Dudley Carleton. This perception hints at a deeper
meaning to the outfits and the makeup- perhaps these were tools of Anne to heighten her
‘appeal’ to the court while at the same time breaking social standards. Some critics also
believe that Anne dressed as she did not only for attention, but to relate to political
negotiations of power at the time, as well as the effect of neo-imperialism. The problem
with this outlook is the lack of research and evidence to suggest this sort of underlying
meaning behind the total look of Anne in The Masque of Blackness.
The Masque of Blackness written by Ben Jonson really appeared to alter Jacobean
Court Masques. Following the somewhat controversial production, a few more risqué
masques followed, including the Masque of Beauty. Eventually masques all over began to
adopt the same sort of fashion and style as seen in the Blackness costumes. This
production did in fact set the bar for future Jacobean fashion, and in a way promoted
feminism. Had the costumes in The Masque of Blackness been more conservative or
traditional, then Jacobean Court Masques would never have broken the mold society set
as to what a masque should be.