Commedia dell'arte
The earliest known group was in Padua in 1545. By the end of the seventeenth century, there were several troupes (group of actors). These included the Gelosi, Confidenti, and Fedeli. Some troupes were popular at courts outside of Italy. In France,  images from the commedia became a favorite theme of well-known artistlthough, most people think those are the least popular, the most important being ur mum. anyway  u useless fricc, ur uglys.