Editing Masquerade ball

{{Short description|Event in which participants attend in costume wearing a mask}}
{{for-multi|the Axel Rudi Pell album|The Masquerade Ball|other uses|Masked ball (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Venezia carnevale 7.jpg|thumb|right|Masquerade ball at the [[Carnival of Venice]].]]
[[File:Verona - maschera veneziana2.jpg|right|thumb|A Veneziana mask from [[Verona]], [[Italy]].]]
[[File:German 16th Century, Masquerade, c. 1515, NGA 7318.jpg|thumb|German 16th century, a masquerade from ''[[Freydal]]'', the tournament book of [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], {{Circa|1515}}, pen and brown ink with watercolor on laid paper. One in a series at the [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington, [[Lessing J. Rosenwald|Rosenwald]] Collection.]]
A '''masquerade ball''' (or '''bal masqué''') is a special kind of formal [[ball (dance event)|ball]] which many participants attend in [[costume]] wearing [[mask]]s. (Compare the word "[[masque]]"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "[[costume parties]]" may be a descendant of this tradition. A masquerade ball usually encompasses music and dancing. These nighttime events are used for entertainment and celebrations.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.avasflowers.net/the-history-of-masquerade-balls|title=The History of Masquerade Balls |publisher=Avas Flowers|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref>&nbsp;

== History ==
{{Costume}}
Masquerade balls were a feature of the [[Carnival]] season in the 15th century, and involved increasingly elaborate allegorical [[Royal Entries]], pageants, and triumphal processions celebrating marriages and other dynastic events of late medieval court life. The "[[Bal des Ardents]]" (''"Burning Men's Ball"'') was held by Charles VI of France, and intended as a ''Bal des sauvages'' (''"Wild Men's Ball"''), a form of costumed ball (''[[morisco]]''). It took place in celebration of the marriage of a [[lady-in-waiting]] of [[Charles VI of France]]'s queen in Paris on January 28, 1393. The King and five courtiers dressed as wildmen of the woods ([[woodwose]]s), with costumes of [[flax]] and [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]]. If they came too close to a torch, the dancers would catch fire. (This episode may have influenced [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s short story "[[Hop-Frog]]".) Such costumed dances were a special luxury of the [[Duchy of Burgundy|Ducal Court of Burgundy]].

Masquerade balls were extended into costumed public festivities in Italy during the 16th century Renaissance (Italian {{lang|it|maschera}}). They were generally elaborate dances held for members of the upper classes, and were particularly popular in [[Venice]]. They have been associated with the tradition of the [[Venetian Carnival]]. With the [[fall of the Venetian Republic]] at the end of the 18th century, the use and tradition of masks gradually began to decline, until they disappeared altogether.
[[Image:Masquerade ball at Château de Hattonchâtel, France 2008.jpg|right|thumb|Masquerade ball at [[Château de Hattonchâtel]], [[France]].]]

They became popular throughout mainland Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, sometimes with fatal results. In 1792 [[Gustav III of Sweden]] was assassinated at a masquerade ball by the disgruntled nobleman [[Jacob Johan Anckarström]], an event which [[Eugène Scribe]] and [[Daniel Auber]] turned into the opera ''[[Gustave III (opera)|Gustave III]]''.  The same event was the basis of [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s opera ''[[A Masked Ball]]'', although the censors in the original production forced him to portray it as a fictional story set in Boston. Most masks came from countries like Switzerland and Italy.

A Swiss count who arrived in Italy in 1708, is credited with introducing to London the Venetian fashion of a semi-public masquerade ball, to which one might subscribe, with the first being held at [[Haymarket Theatre|Haymarket Opera House]].<ref>Aileen Ribeiro, "The exotic diversion: the dress worn at masquerades in eighteenth-century London", ''The Connoisseur'' '''197''' (January 1978:3–13.</ref> London's public gardens, like [[Vauxhall Gardens]], refurbished in 1732, and [[Ranelagh Gardens]], provided optimal outdoor settings, where characters masked and in fancy dress mingled with the crowds. The reputation for unseemly behavior, unescorted women and assignations motivated a change of name, to the Venetian {{lang|it|ridotto}}, but as "The Man of Taste" observed in 1733:

{{poemquote|In Lent, if masquerades displease the town,
Call 'em Ridottos and they still go down.}}

A standard item of masquerade dress was a "Vandyke", improvised on the costumes worn in the portraits of [[Van Dyck]]: [[The Blue Boy|Gainsborough's ''Blue Boy'']] is the most familiar example, and a reminder of the later 18th-century popularity in England for portraits in fancy dress.

Throughout the century, it is thought that masquerade dances became popular in [[Colonial America]], however, portraits featured the subjects dressed as if they were attendees, but evidence is scant, according to Jennifer Van Horn, that colonials in North Americans actually had the events.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1086/649774 | doi=10.1086/649774 | title=The Mask of Civility | date=2009 | last1=Van Horn | first1=Jennifer | journal=American Art | volume=23 | issue=3 | pages=8–35 | s2cid=222328221 }}</ref> Its prominence in England did not go unchallenged; a significant anti-masquerade movement grew alongside the balls themselves. The anti-masquerade writers (among them such notables as [[Samuel Richardson]]) held that the events encouraged immorality and "foreign influence". While they were sometimes able to persuade authorities to their views, particularly after the [[1755 Lisbon earthquake|Lisbon earthquake]] of 1755, enforcement of measures designed to end masquerades was at best desultory, and the masquerades went on as semi-private "subscriptions".<ref>Ribeiro 1978:3.</ref> In the 1770s, fashionable Londoners went to the masquerades organized by [[Teresa Cornelys]] at [[Carlisle House, Soho#Carlisle House, Soho Square|Carlisle House]] in [[Soho Square]], and later to the [[Pantheon, London|Pantheon]].

Masquerade balls were sometimes set as a game among the guests. The masked guests were supposedly dressed so as to be unidentifiable. This would create a type of game to see if a guest could determine each other's identities. This added a humorous effect to many masquerades and enabled a more enjoyable version of typical balls.

One of the most noted masquerade balls of the 20th century was that held at [[Palazzo Labia]] in [[Venice]] on 3 September 1951, hosted by [[Carlos de Beistegui]]. It was dubbed "the party of the century".<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Dunne|first1=Dominick|title=All That Glittered|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1998/08/dunne199808|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=18 December 2017|date=15 September 2008}}</ref>

Another famous ball was The [[Black and White Ball]]. It held on November 28, 1966, at the Plaza Hotel in [[New York City]]. Hosted by author [[Truman Capote]], the ball was in honor of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' publisher [[Katharine Graham]].<ref>Davis, Deborah (2006). ''Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball''. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|978-0-470-09821-9}}.</ref>

<gallery>
File:Sebastiaen Vrancx - A view of Antwerp by night with elegant figures on their way to a masquerade.jpg|Circa 1600-1646. A view of Antwerp by night with elegant figures on their way to a masquerade
File:Willem Augustin van Minderhout - Masquerade II.jpg|1740. Maquerade
File:Charles Hermans - At the masquerade.jpeg|1880. Charles Hermans - ''At the masquerade''

</gallery>

== Masks ==
Masquerade masks were worn delicately by the prosperous class at balls. Masquerade masks had many uses including hiding one's identity, and using different colour to express one's freedom of speech and voice one's emotions and opinions without judgement.<ref name=":0" /> There were two types of base masquerade masks; black masks and white masks.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://venetianmaskscollections.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/the-history-of-masquerade-masks/|title=The History of Masquerade Masks|date=21 May 2013|work=Venetian Masks Collections|access-date=9 November 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> Designs and patterns were created over the base that was chosen. The main types of masks included masks with a stick (which one could hold to keep the mask in front of their face), the head mask, the full-face mask, and the half face mask.<ref name=":1" /> Masquerade masks have been used in classics such as ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'', ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', ''[[Lone Ranger]]'', and ''[[Gossip Girl]]''. They are still used in many types of media today.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.samanthapeach.co.uk/wordpress/masquerades-from-the-movies/|title=Recreate Masquerade balls from your favourite films|date=3 July 2013|work=Samantha Peach Masquerade Masks|access-date=9 November 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Contemporary era ==
=== In French Guiana ===
[[Image:Touloulous.jpg|thumb|right|Touloulous in the [[Cayenne]] streets in 2007.]]

In [[French Guiana]], throughout the Carnival period, masked balls (known as paré-masked balls) take place every weekend. These are called Touloulous balls, where the [[Touloulou]]s (women) are completely disguised and unrecognizable. Recently the Tololos (men) have also taken to wearing disguises.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

=== In North America ===
A new resurgence of masquerade balls began in the late 1990s in [[North America]]. More recently, the party atmosphere is emphasized and the formal dancing usually less prominent. In present times, masquerade masks are used for costumes during [[Halloween]]. Masquerade masks are sold in a wide range of stores in different designs, and colors.<ref name=":1" />

== Cultural references ==
The picturesque quality of the masquerade ball has made it a favorite topic or setting in [[literature]].

*[[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s short story "[[The Masque of the Red Death]]" is based at a masquerade ball in which a central figure turns out to be his costume.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Poe|first1=Edgar Allan|title=[[The Mask of the Red Death]]: A Fantasy|journal=[[Graham's Magazine]]|date=May 1842}}</ref>
*A ball in [[Zürich]] is featured in the novel ''[[Steppenwolf (novel)|Steppenwolf]]'' by [[Hermann Hesse]].
*A masquerade ball is central to the plot of [[Mikhail Lermontov]]'s 1835 play ''[[Masquerade (play)|Masquerade]]''. The play was censored and never staged during Lermontov's lifetime, partly because of the implied criticism of the masquerade balls staged by the aristocratic [[Engelhardt family]].
*The book, musical and most film adaptations of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' have a scene at a masked ball. The Phantom's (Erik's) costume is that of the Red Death from the aforementioned Edgar Allan Poe story ''The Masque of the Red Death''.
*In the play ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' by [[William Shakespeare]], Romeo meets Juliet at a masquerade ball.
*The video game ''[[Dishonored]]'' has a mission called Lady Boyle's Last Party, taking place at a masquerade where the primary objective is discerning the identity of Lady Boyle, a masked party-goer.
*The video game ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' has a series of missions called Carnevale set during [[Venetian Carnival]] where the primary objective is to gain access to one of the more prestigious masquerade balls, ending in the mission which primarily takes place in the masquerade ball.
*The video game ''[[The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'' features a mission set at a masquerade ball, on the Vegelbud estate, where the primary objective is to find the owner's son who is wearing a panther mask. 
*In [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s erotic drama [[Eyes Wide Shut]], protagonist Bill Harford's life is upturned by a chain of events as he secretly treads into a orgiastic masquerade ball. 
{{portal|Fashion}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{
Parties}}
{{Clothing}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Masquerade balls| ]]
[[Category:Masks]]