The mask that was mandatory, not festive

Here's the bit about Venetian masks that surprised me most. The bauta, the striking white mask with the sharp, squared jaw that lets you eat and talk without ever revealing your face, wasn't just carnival fancy dress. For long stretches of Venetian history, it was legally required civic clothing.

Worn with a black cloak and a tricorn hat, the bauta let citizens vote and take part in political life completely anonymously, so rank and reputation couldn't influence the outcome. That same anonymity made it the required uniform at the Ridotto, Venice's famous gambling house, where nobles could sit down at the card table and lose a fortune without a single family member recognising them across the room. A disguise that started as equality between citizens ended up covering for some fairly serious gambling debts.

I painted a mask in watercolour and ink, all that gold leaf and shadow. There's a poster with a letter home and a postcard if you'd like one.

Shop the poster here: A Carnival Mask, Venice · Travel Poster