Venice: City of Pictures

Delightful online lecture from ARTscapades looking at the city and art of Venice.

The author Martin Gayford, wo has written a book of the same title as the talk, started with a photograph of the interior of San Zaccaria, which I know well, and set up the idea of it showing layers of time, the time it look to paint the walls and the great Bellini altarpiece, the time since, the time we take to look at it and the time it took to take the picture and that the city is like this too.   It was a novel way of looking at the art of the city.

He had wonderful photos and mainly covered familiar paintings but he added a layer of thinking about the city itself and its architecture as a picture too. He also pointed out that a lot of histories of the city end with Napoleon whereas the city has continued to inspire artists and how with the Biennale it has become a centre of interchange for the contemporary art world.

I can’t wait to read the book before the next trip to the city and have also bought it as a birthday present for the friend I always go with.

 

 

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