Magic, Power, Intrigue

Images of Masks and Masquerade from the Permanent Collection

October 29, 2004–January 9, 2005

Louis-Emile Durandelle

Masks for the Fireplaces in the Management Area, New Paris Opera

1865, albumen print (Collection of the Troob Family Foundation)

Masks serve on festive occasions to hide or alter one’s identity, to ease interactions in courting, persuasion, debate. This installation presented thirteen images of masks—at the carnival, the theater, or as caricatures—made between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries. Each one sheds light on the role of the mask in transforming our perceptions of both figures and places. Among the artists features in this installation were Doré, Toulouse-Lautrec, Ensor, and Beckman.