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La Serenissima - An Homage to Venice
La Serenissima - An Homage to Venice
Venice through the eyes of painters, writers, composers, and film makers
Venice through the eyes of painters, writers, composers, and film makers
William Turner, "Bridge of Sighs, Ducal Palace, and Customs House", 1833
POSTED SEPTEMBER 28, 2018
Venice is my favorite city. There is no other like it. The ever-changing light, the canals and bridges, the churches and palaces, the history, the timeless cultural works, the sheer engineering marvel that it is...all combine to make Venice the most intriguing as well as the most beautiful city of all.
Venice is my favorite city. There is no other like it. The ever-changing light, the canals and bridges, the churches and palaces, the history, the timeless cultural works, the sheer engineering marvel that it is...all combine to make Venice the most intriguing as well as the most beautiful city of all.
Venice existed as a sovereign state for a millennium between the 8th and 18th centuries. During a time when most of the world was ruled by kings, tsars, and emperors, Venice was a republic. Notable artistic achievements during this period include the paintings of the Venetian school (15th to 18th century) and the development of the opera form of entertainment (17th century).
Venice existed as a sovereign state for a millennium between the 8th and 18th centuries. During a time when most of the world was ruled by kings, tsars, and emperors, Venice was a republic. Notable artistic achievements during this period include the paintings of the Venetian school (15th to 18th century) and the development of the opera form of entertainment (17th century).
The outstanding characteristic of Venetian painting through the centuries has been "a love of light and colour." Gombrich writes of the beginnings of the Venetian school in "The Story of Art": "The atmosphere of the lagoons, which seems to blur the sharp outlines of objects and to blend their colors in a radiant light, may have taught the painters of this city to use color in a more deliberate and observant way than other painters in Italy had done so far." Bellini, Giorgione, Titian and Tintoretto are some of the most renowned Venetian painters.
The outstanding characteristic of Venetian painting through the centuries has been "a love of light and colour." Gombrich writes of the beginnings of the Venetian school in "The Story of Art": "The atmosphere of the lagoons, which seems to blur the sharp outlines of objects and to blend their colors in a radiant light, may have taught the painters of this city to use color in a more deliberate and observant way than other painters in Italy had done so far." Bellini, Giorgione, Titian and Tintoretto are some of the most renowned Venetian painters.
Opera took a new direction when it reached the republic of Venice. The success of the first public opera house, which opened in 1637, moved opera away from aristocratic patronage and into the commercial world. In Venice, musical drama was no longer aimed at an elite of aristocrats and intellectuals and acquired the character of entertainment. Monteverdi, Scarlatti and Vivaldi are among the most renowned Venetian composers of the time.
Opera took a new direction when it reached the republic of Venice. The success of the first public opera house, which opened in 1637, moved opera away from aristocratic patronage and into the commercial world. In Venice, musical drama was no longer aimed at an elite of aristocrats and intellectuals and acquired the character of entertainment. Monteverdi, Scarlatti and Vivaldi are among the most renowned Venetian composers of the time.
Venice has inspired writers through the ages, and many have been drawn to ‘this most improbable of cities,’ amongst them Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Browning, Ruskin, Proust and Thomas Mann to name just a few. The Word Travels website suggests that "each of the cities described by Italo Calvino’s exquisite Invisible Cities ('Le Città Invisibili,' 1972) is a description of a different facet of this one city." Mystery writers Donna Leon and Michael Dibdin have long-running series featuring Venetian detectives - Leon's Commisario Guido Brunetti and Dibdin's Aurelio Zen.
Venice has inspired writers through the ages, and many have been drawn to ‘this most improbable of cities,’ amongst them Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Browning, Ruskin, Proust and Thomas Mann to name just a few. The Word Travels website suggests that "each of the cities described by Italo Calvino’s exquisite Invisible Cities ('Le Città Invisibili,' 1972) is a description of a different facet of this one city." Mystery writers Donna Leon and Michael Dibdin have long-running series featuring Venetian detectives - Leon's Commisario Guido Brunetti and Dibdin's Aurelio Zen.
Venice is uniquely cinematic. Among the acclaimed movies filmed almost entirely in "la serenissima" are "Bread and Tulips" (1999), "Death in Venice" (1971), "Summertime" (1955), "The Wings of the Dove" (1997) and "The Merchant of Venice" (2004). Dozens of other movies have used Venice as a location - including "The Italian Job" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".
Venice is uniquely cinematic. Among the acclaimed movies filmed almost entirely in "la serenissima" are "Bread and Tulips" (1999), "Death in Venice" (1971), "Summertime" (1955), "The Wings of the Dove" (1997) and "The Merchant of Venice" (2004). Dozens of other movies have used Venice as a location - including "The Italian Job" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".
Overcrowded with tourists during the high season and endangered as never before by rising waters, Venice remains a must-see city. Following is a gallery of images and thoughts from creative artists over the centuries.
Overcrowded with tourists during the high season and endangered as never before by rising waters, Venice remains a must-see city. Following is a gallery of images and thoughts from creative artists over the centuries.
The Venetian School
The Venetian School
Above: The most important painter of the 16th century Venetian school was Titian, and his altarpiece "The Assumption" in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is the best painting in the city.
Right: Giorgione, The Tempest, c. 1508
Tintoretto, The Last Supper, 1592-4
Visions of Venice
Visions of Venice
Canaletto, The Entrance to the Grand Canal, c. 1730
Canaletto, Piazza San Marco, 1742-44
Turner, Venice from the Porch of Madonna della Salute, c. 1835
Manet, The Grand Canal of Venice, 1875
Monet, Le Grand Canal, 1908
Travellers and Writers: Venice in Words
Travellers and Writers: Venice in Words
“Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased," Polo said. "Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little.” Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
“Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased," Polo said. "Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little.” Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
“There is something so different in Venice from any other place in the world that you leave at once all accustomed habits and everyday sights to enter an enchanted garden.” Mary Shelley
“There is something so different in Venice from any other place in the world that you leave at once all accustomed habits and everyday sights to enter an enchanted garden.” Mary Shelley
“To build a city where it is impossible to build a city is madness in itself, but to build there one of the most elegant and grandest of cities is the madness of genius.” Alexander Herzen
“To build a city where it is impossible to build a city is madness in itself, but to build there one of the most elegant and grandest of cities is the madness of genius.” Alexander Herzen
“When I went to Venice, I discovered that my dream had become- incredibly, but quite simply- my address.” Marcel Proust
“When I went to Venice, I discovered that my dream had become- incredibly, but quite simply- my address.” Marcel Proust
“When I seek another word for ‘music’, I never find any other word than ‘Venice’.” Friedrich Nietzsche
“When I seek another word for ‘music’, I never find any other word than ‘Venice’.” Friedrich Nietzsche
“Venice, it's temples and palaces did seem like fabrics of enchantment piled to heaven.” Percy Bysshe Shelley
“Venice, it's temples and palaces did seem like fabrics of enchantment piled to heaven.” Percy Bysshe Shelley
“Beauty of surface, of tone, of detail, of things near enough to touch and kneel upon and lean against.” Henry James
“Beauty of surface, of tone, of detail, of things near enough to touch and kneel upon and lean against.” Henry James
“In winter you wake up in this city, especially on Sundays, to the chiming of its innumerable bells, as though behind your gauze curtains a gigantic china tea set were vibrating on a silver tray in the pearl-gray sky. You fling the window open and the room is instantly flooded with this outer, pearl-laden haze, which is part damp oxygen, part coffee and prayers." - Joseph Brodsky
“In winter you wake up in this city, especially on Sundays, to the chiming of its innumerable bells, as though behind your gauze curtains a gigantic china tea set were vibrating on a silver tray in the pearl-gray sky. You fling the window open and the room is instantly flooded with this outer, pearl-laden haze, which is part damp oxygen, part coffee and prayers." - Joseph Brodsky
“I’m an old fan of the Veneto region and it’s here that I’ll let my heart.” Ernest Hemingway
“I’m an old fan of the Veneto region and it’s here that I’ll let my heart.” Ernest Hemingway
“If I were not King of France, I would choose to be a citizen of Venice.” Henry III
“If I were not King of France, I would choose to be a citizen of Venice.” Henry III
“Streets flooded. Please advise.” Robert Benchley
“Streets flooded. Please advise.” Robert Benchley
Music and Film
Music and Film
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