Pantomime as Pantalone; and "zanni" (servants) such as Arlecchino, Colombina, Scaramouche and Pierrot. Italian masque performances in the 17th century sometimes included the Harlequin character. In the 17th century, adaptations of the commedia characters became familiar in English entertainments. From these, the standard English harlequinade developed, depicting the eloping lovers Harlequin and Columbine, pursued by the girl's father Pantaloon and his comic servants Clown and Pierrot. In English versions, by the 18th century, Harlequin became the central figure and romantic lead. The basic plot of the harlequinade remained essentially the same for more than 150 years, except that a bumbling policeman
Pierrot The Naturalists—Émile Zola especially, who wrote glowingly of them—were captivated by their art. Edmond de Goncourt modeled his acrobat-mimes in his "The Zemganno Brothers" (1879) upon them; J.-K. Huysmans (whose "Against Nature" [1884] would become Dorian Gray's bible) and his friend Léon Hennique wrote their pantomime "" (1881) after seeing them perform at the Folies Bergère. (And, in turn, Jules Laforgue wrote his pantomime "Pierrot the Cut-Up" ["Pierrot fumiste", 1882] after reading the scenario by Huysmans and Hennique.) It was in part through the enthusiasm that they excited, coupled with the Impressionists’ taste for popular entertainment, like the circus and