1-154-108 - Art Media/Heritage Images

'Mezzetin' (half-measure),1718-1720. Mezzetin, a stock character of the commedia dell'arte, the improvisational theater form of Italian origin, was an amorous valet who frequently engaged in the pursuit of unrequited love. Here he is shown playing the guitar before a garden in which a young woman - perhaps a statue, perhaps the painting of a statue on a stage set - stands with her back turned, presumably rejecting his romantic entreaties. From the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S.A.