A visit to La Bottega dei Mascareri, master mask maker in Venice

Dear Shaded Viewers,

As you know, if you follow me on instagram, @asvof …I was in Venice for the performance of Alexandra Mas. An important element in the performance was the mask that she wore which was made by the master artisan, Sergio Boldrin. Sergio and his brother Massimo Boldrin founded La Bottega dei Mascareri in 1984 where they design and make papier-mache masks according to the Venetian artisan tradition. Their masks have been protagonists of multiple events such as the Venice Carnival, important theatrical productions and museum exhibitions and international events. They created the masks that were used in the movie “Eyes Wide Shut” by Stanley Kubrick and in “Hotel” by Mike Figgis, among many other productions.

Sergio created the mask that Alexandra Mas wore and my first stop in Venice was to visit one of the two shops of La Bottega dei Mascareri. In fact I visited twice and on the second visit I could not resist trying on a few masks. Last night Alexandra gave me one of the masks, the first image above, as a present and so Venice is now living happily in Paris chez moi.