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Cat Bauer has lived in Venice since 1998. She was a regular contributor to the "International Herald Tribune's" Italian supplement, "Italy Daily," and is the author of the novels "Harley, Like a Person" and "Harley's Ninth," published by Knopf.
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(Venice, Italy) My Pretty Venice was created by three pretty smart ladies: Isabella Campagnol, Elisabeth Rainer and Beatrice Campagnol. Classy and sassy, My Pretty Venice is published in three languages with three different subtitles -- La Venise exclusive des Vénitiennes, La venezia vera delle veneziane and A Girl's Guide to True Venice -- for out-of-towners of any gender who want to know where real Venetian women get their goodies. The book was launched in the top-floor bookstore/exhibition/cultural Espace at Louis Vuitton Maison, which, to me, is like a little oasis off Piazza San Marco.
Isabella Campagnol is part of a rare breed: a scholar who can communicate with earthlings. She's Venetian, a historian specializing in textiles and fashion, who lectures throughout the land. I first met Isabella at Palazzo Papadopoli aka Aman Canal Grande where she entertained us with the research she had compiled about the risque habits of Venetian nuns that resulted in a book called, Forbidden Fashions - Invisible Luxuries in Early Venetian Convents.
Now, together with her sister Beatrice, who did the very-cool illustrations, and communications whiz Elisabeth Rainer (who is actually from Merano, which rivals Venice for my heart's affections), Isabella has turned her talents to guiding travelers where to find the good stuff in Venice -- clothes, food, perfume, art, everything -- in My Pretty Venice. Sprinkled throughout the shops and restaurants are tasty bits of history and information that, amazingly, has not been gathered together before.
Merry Jesters by Henri Rousseau (1906) Philadelphia Museum of Art
(Venice, Italy) Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) never traveled to the lush jungles of Mexico except in his own mind, although he claimed he had fought during the French invasion of Mexico under Napoleon III in 1863. Rousseau was called Le Douanier, which means customs officer, although he was not a customs officer -- for nearly 22 years he was a lowly municipal toll collector on goods that came into Paris. Wilhelm Uhde, the art collector and critic who would become a significant figure in Rousseau's career said, “Rousseau had been next to worthless in the service. ...His job had been to hang around the quai like a watchman, keeping an eye on the barges.”
Girl with a Doll by Henri Rousseau (1904-05) Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris
Henri Rousseau was an ordinary man who had Walter Mitty dreams of becoming an famous artist. He had a wife, Clemence, whom he adored, and six children, only one of whom survived childhood. After nearly 20 years of marriage, Clemence, too, died of tuberculosis. During Rousseau's lifetime, he was mocked by the critics, and shunned by the establishment, but finally embraced by Picasso and the avant-garde the way young people adopt an eccentric old man, like a pet -- his naive ignorance made them laugh. Unlike most critics, real artists look at the world through the eyes of heaven, and the young avant-garde appreciated the primitive spirituality that radiated from Rousseau's work.
The Snake Charmer by Henri Rousseau (1907) Musée d'Orsay, Paris
What Henri Rousseau had was an obsessive belief in his own great talent. He once told the young Picasso: "You and I are the two most important artists of the age - you in the Egyptian style, and I in the modern one." He never achieved the success he craved during his lifetime, but after viewing Henri Rousseau - Archaic Naivety at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, home to Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, his astounding declaration of assurance rings true.
Black Spot by Wassily Kandinsky (1912) Hermitage, St. Petersburgh
It was only after he died that Rousseau became the leader of a school of art, his "Archaic Candor," paving the way for magic realism. The mostly self-taught artist became known for his naive, childlike depiction of reality. It was not possible to stick a label on him and file him into a category -- there was no one like him. Wassily Kandinsky, the influential Russian painter and art theorist, whose work is represented in the exhibition Henri Rousseau - Il Candore Arcaico thought that Rousseau's spiritual greatness and strength derived precisely from his formal limitations. Kandinsky bought Rousseau's The Poultry Yard and exhibited it in the first Blaue Reiter show in Munich in 1911, after Rousseau was dead.
The Poultry Yard (1896-98) Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris
I have been pondering for days who Rousseau reminds me of, and it finally hit me: the angel, Clarence, in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. Clarence is an Angel, Second Class who has been passed over for his wings for more than 200 years. Clarence's boss, Joseph, says to the head angel, Franklin, that Clarence has "the I.Q. of a rabbit," and Franklin replies, "Yes, but he's got the faith of a child -- simple." To me, the enormous faith that Henri Rousseau had in his own artistic ability made him an Angel, Second Class; his paintbrush earned him wings. Even though he claimed to have fought in the Aztec jungles, in reality he found his inspiration at the botanical gardens in Paris, the stuffed wild animals at the natural museum, pictures in magazines and the zoo.
Myself, Portrait-Landscape (1889-90) Prague National Gallery
Although Rousseau excelled at art and music as a young boy, he started painting later in life, quitting his government job as a toll collector at the age of 49 to devote his life to art. He was born in Laval on May 21, 1844, a medieval town with a castle, lush woods and rivers, the first boy in a middle-class family of two girls and two boys. Rousseau's father ran a hardware store, as did his grandfather; his mother's grandfather was a major in the Marching Regiment with Napoleon in Spain, and was later knighted; his mother's father was a captain in the Third Battalion. His father had lifelong financial problems, and lost their home when Rousseau was eight-years-old.
The Carriage of Father Junier (1908) Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris
At age 18, Rousseau worked for a lawyer in Angers, where he had moved with his parents, a town about 45 miles away from Laval. Together with two younger friends, he was caught stealing 15 or 20 francs and some stamps from his employer. He joined the army, hoping to avoid a jail sentence, but still ended up behind bars for a month. (We can imagine that even back then young men who got into trouble were urged to join the army, especially if their grandparents had been in the military.) Two battalions of his regiment did go to Mexico under Napoleon III to set up Maximilian as the Emperor, but Rousseau never left France. The stories of the returning soldiers set his imagination on fire, but he led an ordinary life, playing the saxophone in an infantry band. When he was 23-years-old, his father died. Rousseau left the army and moved to Paris; his widowed mother was still in Angers. He found a job as a bailiff's assistant.
In 1869, Rousseau married his landlady's 19-year-old daughter, Clemence, whose father, too, had recently died after gambling all his money away; her mother was a seamstress. When Prussia invaded France in 1870, he signed up to be a simple soldier, but was soon exempted. His first child died in infancy during the Siege of Paris in 1871when people were starving; in fact, only one of his six children would survive childhood.
The War - The Ride of Discord (1894) Musée d'Orsy, Paris
The devastation of Paris and the effects of war left a deep impression on Rousseau which would later be expressed in his paintings. In February 1872, at age 27, Rousseau began working for the customs office, collecting tolls on goods that came into Paris, a government job he would keep for almost 22 years. About that time he started painting in his spare time, certain he had the talent to become an academic painter without studying at an academy. He tried to enter a painting in the official Salon in the Palace of the Louvre, but was rejected. In 1884, his friend and neighbor, Auguste Clement, got him a permit to study and copy in museums like the Louvre, and Rousseau taught himself to become an artist.
Carnival Evening by Rousseau (1886) Philadelphia Museum of Art
In July 1884, in response to the rigid control and requirements the government exercised over the official Salon, a group of artists, including Georges Seurt and Paul Signac, whose work is represented in Henri Rousseau - Il Candore Arcaico, created the Salon des Indépendants -- the motto was: "No juries, No prizes." Any artist could enter their paintings -- it cost 10 francs to show four works. After trying in vain to be accepted by the official Salon, in 1886, Rousseau exhibited four paintings at the Salon des Indépendants, including Carnival Evening.
Rousseau then became an annual fixture at the Salon des Indépendants despite receiving cruel reviews from the critics who called it the work of a "10-year-old child" and "the scribblings of a 6-year-old whose mother left him with colors." For the 4th Salon des Indépendants in 1888, he entered five paintings and five drawings. That same year, Vincent van Gogh, who had moved to Paris in 1886, entered three. Four days after the 4th Salon des Indépendants closed, Rousseau's beloved wife, Clemence, died on May 7, 1888 of tuberculosis.
Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised) by Henri Rousseau (1891) National Gallery London
In 1891, Rousseau exhibited his first jungle painting at the 7th Salon Indépendants Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised) (which is not part of the current exhibition) supposedly inspired by his combat adventures in the Aztec jungle under Napoleon III, but actually drawn from the Parisian botanical gardens and the zoo. Again, the critics laughed -- it had become a popular pastime to laugh at Rousseau -- however one young artist, Felix Vallaton, recently arrived from Switzerland, did not. He wrote:
“Monsieur Rousseau becomes more and more astonishing each year, but he commands attention and, in any event, is earning a nice little reputation and having his share of success: people flock around his submissions and one can hear the sound of laughter. In addition he is a terrible neighbor, as he crushes everything else. His tiger surprising its prey ought not to be missed; it is the alpha and omega of painting . . . . As a matter of fact, not everyone laughs, and some who begin to do so are quickly brought up short. There is always something beautiful about seeing a faith, any faith, so pitilessly expressed. For my part, I have a sincere esteem for such efforts, and I would a hundred times rather them than the deplorable mistakes nearby."
The Salon Wars continued in Paris. In 1903, Felix Vallaton was part of group that created yet another new Salon, the Salon d'Automne in opposition to all other Parisian exhibitions, which caused all sorts of uproar in the art world. Henri Rousseau was sucked into the vortex of the Salon d'Automne, and in 1905, the 61-year-old struggling artist found himself in the same room as the 35-year-old Henri Matisse and 25-year-old André Derain along with his Hungry Lion -- and Fauvism was born.
The Hungry Lion by Rousseau (1905) Beyeler Foundation, Basel
Rousseau was not a Fauve, which is French for wild beast, but his Hungry Lion probably inspired the term "Fauvism" after the art critic Louis Vauxcelle saw a classical statue in the same room as the works of the avant-garde artists at the 1905 Salon d'Automne and decried: "Donatello chez les fauves" (Donatello among the wild beasts)." Rousseau wrote a long subtitle for his painting:
The lion, being hungry, throws itself on the antelope, [and] devours it. The panther anxiously awaits the moment when it too can claim its share. Birds of prey have each torn a piece of flesh from the top of the poor animal which sheds a tear. The sun sets.
Horse Attacked by a Jaguar (1910) State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
The Hungry Lion is not here in Venice, but a similar painting is, which is called Horse Attacked by a Jaguar. To me, the poor horse looks more like a bewildered unicorn.
Now Guillaume Apollinaire, writer, poet, art critic and guru of the avant-garde asked to meet Rousseau. Apollinaire then introduced Rousseau to Pablo Picasso, who had bought Rousseau's Portrait of a Woman on sale for five francs from a Paris junk shop, which was selling it for the canvas. In 1908, the 27-year-old Picasso held the famous banquet to "celebrate" Henri Rousseau, then 64, a lavish artisty kind of prank to play. Guillaume Apollinaire composed a satirical poem, praising Rousseau's adventures in the Aztec jungle, poking fun of Rousseau's long subtitles for his paintings. Also at the banquet were Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, who recorded the event in her autobiography.
The images you paint you saw in Mexico, A red sun lit the banana treetops, And you, courageous soldier, have swapped your tunic For the blue jacket of the brave douanier.
Even though the banquet began in jest, it morphed into a genuine celebration, a drunken chorus of the avant-garde shouting "Viva, viva Rousseau!"
Portrait of a Woman by Henri Rousseau (1895) Musée Picasso, Pari
The focus of Henri Rousseau - Il Candore Arcaico in the Doge's Apartments at the Palazzo Ducale is that "the artist was a point of reference for the great exponents of the historical avant-garde movements, for intellectuals like Apollinaire and Jarry, for great collectors like Wilhelm Uhde, and for many painters who preceded and went beyond the Cubist and Futurist movements. Artists such as Céanne and Gauguin, Redon and Seurat, Marc, Klee, Morandi, Carrà, Frido Kahlo and Diego Rivera, not to mention Kandinsky and Picasso. All these artists are present in the show." The Grand Exhibit Henri Rousseau - Archaic Naivety runs from March 6 to July 5, 2015. Please go to the PALAZZO DUCALE for further information.
(Venice, Italy) Elsa Schiaparelli, the cosmic fashion designer who created the color Shocking Pink, was born into an aristocratic, intellectual family in Palazzo Corsini in Rome in 1890 -- her great-uncle, Giovanni Schiaparelli, discovered the canals on Mars; her father was a professor of Oriental literature; her mother was descended from the Medicis. Elsa Schiaparelli - Fashion Artist was the topic of today's inaugural conference of Incontri a Palazzo or "Meetings at the Palace," a series of lectures held in the piano nobile of Palazzo Mocenigo, Venice's Museum of Fabric and Costumes.
Miley Cyrus in Schiaparelli jumpsuit at Oscar parties Feb 22, 2015
Elsa Schiaparelli was a wild child. She liked to be called Schiap, not Elsa. Schiap ran away from home at the age of six and was found three days later marching at the front of a local parade. Criticized by her mother for her homely looks, she spent a lot of time with Uncle Giovanni, the astronomer, gazing at the nighttime sky through a telescope. In 1911, while at the University of Rome, Schiap published an mystical, overtly sensual poem, and her horrified parents sent her to a convent in Switzerland. Schiap went on a hunger strike and got out of the convent, then ran off to England and became a nanny. While attending a theosophical conference, she fell in love with the lecturer, Wilhelm Wendt de Kerlor, who claimed to be a Polish count, theosophist and spiritualist, whom she promptly married. They spent several seasons in Nice, then went to NewYork in 1916 on an ocean liner where Schiap became friends with Gabrielle Picabia, the wife of the avant-garde artist Francis Picabia, who would tug her into their circle of famous friends like Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp.
Elsa Schiaparelli - Photo: Man Ray
The couple produced a daughter whom they called Gogo, who contracted polio. But Count de Kerlor turned out to be a con man and a womanizer, and when he had an affair with Isadora Duncan, Schiap asked for a divorce, and in 1922, took Gogo to Paris.
Schiaparelli trompe l'oeil Bow Tie Sweater
Schiap quickly became part of the Paris scene, encountering fashion icon Paul Poiret, who supported her fresh ideas. Schiap considered herself an artist who channeled her creative energies into fashion, and since she was touched by the cosmos, there was an element of other-worldliness to her designs. Her rise to fame was due to a simple hand-knitted black pullover with a white trompe l'oeil bow tie that Vogue declared a masterpiece and was a huge hit in the US.
Marlene Dietrich wearing Schiaparelli
According to Bio.com: "For Schiaparelli, fashion was as much about making art as it was about making clothes. In 1932, Janet Flanner of The New Yorker wrote: "A frock from Schiaparelli ranks like a modern canvas." Not surprisingly, Schiaparelli connected with popular artists of the era; one of her friends was painter Salvador Dali, whom she hired to design fabric for her fashion house."
Shocking de Schiaparelli Perfume
Schiap became a success on the Place Vendôme, counting Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo among her clientele. She invented culottes, the evening gown, the built-in bra and dared to expose zippers. In 1937 she launched a fragrance, "Shocking," its pink glass torso bottle based on Mae West's body. She began collaborating with the Surrealists, especially Salvador Dali, with whom she created a lobster dress which was worn by Wallis Simpson.
Wallis Simpson in Schiaparelli lobster dress
Schiap closed her business in 1954, and published her autobiography Shocking Life. She died in her sleep in Paris in 1973.
Kate Blanchett in Schiaparelli
In 2007, Diego Della Valle, CEO and President of Tod's, acquired the brand Schiaparelli. In addition to Miley Cyrus wearing the brand to the after-Oscars parties, Schiaparelli has been recently worn by such celebs as Kate Blanchett and Lorde.
Lorde in Schiaparelli
Like many originals, Elsa Schiaparelli's spirit continues on long after her body was laid to rest.
Giusy Versace - Flight of the Eagle - Venice Carnival 2015
(Venice, Italy) Giusy Versace soared over Piazza San Marco during the Flight of the Eagle on Sunday, February 15, 2015, the personification of courage, determination and joy. The dynamic young woman with the famous last name lost both her legs in a horrific car accident in 2005. Did that stop Giusy Versace? (Giusy is pronounced "JOO-see;" there is no "J" in the Italian alphabet; "Gi" makes the same sound.)
A year and a half later Giusy was walking, then driving and then, astonishingly, running on her super-duper carbon prostheses, becoming a top Paralympic sport competitor, as well as a Save the Dream Ambassador, inspiring people all over the globe with her sunshine. And now Giusy Versace can fly.
Another young woman who took flight at the 2015 Carnevale di Venezia was Marianna Sereni, winner of last year's Festa delle Marie, a contest which I have described many times before -- in fact, in 2007 I was the first straniera on the jury which selects the twelve most beautiful, or virtuous young women in the Veneto.
Marie 2015
La Festa delle Marie originated from a pirate raid in 943 a.d., according to Venetian legend. In ancient times, Venetians married on only one day each year. A water procession from the Arsenale on the canal “delle Vergini” started the festivities. All the brides-to-be were rowed across the lagoon in decorated boats brimming with dowries, while their future husbands waited at the Church of San Nicolò at the Lido.
That year, pirates raided the procession, kidnapping the brides and the booty. An enraged Venetian rescue party executed the pirates and brought the brides back to the ceremony.
Marianna Sereni- Flight of the Angel 2015
To commemorate the victory in the past, every year twelve patriarchal families would present twelve virtuous young women from poor Venetian families with a dowry, and the designation “le Marie,” or “The Marys.”
Irene Rizzi, "Maria 2015," Marco Polo and the Doge
This year's winning Maria was Irene Rizzi, who was costumed in the style of the Orient when the Twelve Marie made their final appearance on the Grand Stage in Piazza San Marco, yesterday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Martedi Grasso. So next year Irene will leap off the bell tower and soar over Piazza San Marco during the Flight of the Angel.
Flag of San Marco in Piazza San Marco
The Venice Carnival 2015 closed with the Twelve Marie releasing an enormous flag of San Marco with its winged lion over Piazza San Marco. The Venetian flag fluttered slowly up to the top of the Campanile as the Gondoliers sang the Venetian anthem, and the sun gently set on Carnevale di Venezia 2015.
(Venice, Italy) There are many Carnival parties in palaces in Venice, but there is only one party in a tower -- the Porta Nuova Tower deep down inside Arsenale, where Venice once cranked out her ships. The tower was actually not built by the Venetian Republic. It was built in 1810 when Venice was under the domination of Napoleon, who used the Arsenale for the naval base of the imperial French fleet in the Adriatic.
But the Tower is now under the domination of City of Venice after having been restored by funds from the Republic of Italy, the Veneto Region, the Comune of Venice, and the European Union. The night I went to the Temptations Dinner Show there was an enormous Venetian flag projected on the side of the Tower.
The show itself was excellent, sultry and seductive, performed by Nu Art, a company from Verona whose members slink around in astonishingly beautiful bodies and not much else. There was a blonde... maybe two blondes... we weren't sure... whose acrobatic feats on a lamppost... and a birdcage...and swinging from strands of silk... were, literally, breathtaking.
The dinner itself was fine and plentiful, but not hot enough, though I imagine it was difficult to get the food from wherever it was being cooked to up inside the Tower. My party had been split into two tables; I was seated at a table in the center at the stage and was physically comfortable throughout the evening, but people closer to the walls of the Tower said they were cold. My personal quibble was that while I liked the idea of all the guests wearing the same simple mask -- black for men, burgundy for women -- that they were made out of plastic in a city famous for the quality of its masks was, to me, scandalous.
The price of the evening is €200 per person, including wine, and I thought it was under-priced. Even if all the kinks have not yet been worked out, it is a unique experience. Splurge on a boat taxi, and dress warmly.
The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin at Ca' Pesaro
(Venice, Italy) The French city of Calais is on the English Channel, less than 25 miles away from England. When people swim the English Channel, they usually swim from around Dover, England to Calais, France. The English Channel is the water that separates Great Britain from continental Europe. It has caused all sorts of havoc over the centuries since, physically, Great Britain is not part of Europe -- although the British have certainly tried to bridge that gap on more than one occasion.
The Hundred Years' War between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France began in 1337 as a war between two cousins -- Edward III of England and Philip VI of France -- for the French throne, and ended in 1453. An important early battle was at Calais, which is so close to England that the port makes an excellent trading center for English goods. English Edward not only wanted Calais, he also thought he should be king of France, not French Philip. (I won't get into all the haggling over bloodlines, but they both had legitimate claims to the crown.) But the French aristocracy certainly did not want to be ruled by the King of England!
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Washington II, C-print by Candida Hofer
In 1346, English Edward attacked the city of Calais. French Philip told the citizens not to surrender no matter what. The people of Calais were besieged by Edward's soldiers for a long time -- some sources say 11 months; some say over a year -- but they finally surrendered. English Edward was so furious that it took so long to conquer the city that he said he was going to kill every inhabitant in Calais. Then English Edward changed his mind -- he said that if six prominent citizens surrendered, and walked out wearing nooses around their necks, carrying the keys to the city and the castle, he would spare the townspeople. Six noblemen volunteered to be beheaded, one of them the mayor, Eustache de Saint Pierre, who lead the five other men to the city gates. It is this moment that Auguste Rodin chose to capture in his dynamic sculpture, The Burghers of Calais.
Musée Rodin Paris III C-print by Candida Hofer
However, Edward was married to Queen Philippa, who was kind and compassionate and beloved by the people of England for her good nature. When the queen found out that her husband was planning to behead the Burghers of Calais, she convinced Edward to spare their lives. So the story has a happy ending!
More than 500 years later, in 1884, the city of Calais commissioned the French sculptor Auguste Rodin to create a monument celebrating the act of heroism and identity of the city. The moment Rodin chose to depict was controversial, the public expecting something more classically glorious and heroic. Rodin insisted he had captured the heroism of self-sacrifice.
Place de L'Hotel de Ville Calais I, C-print by Candida Hofer
"PARADOXES" is a series of unusual encounters in the new Spazio Dom Pérignon inside Ca' Pesaro, Venice's International Gallery of Modern Art. The encounters in PARADOXES are between young artists and works from the museum's historic collection, which Dom Pérignon helps restore. The German photographer Candida Hofer is the contemporary star of PARADOXES, and the Auguste Rodin sculpture is part of Ca' Pesaro's historic collection.
Kunstmuseum Basel II, C-print by Candida Hofer
Ca' Pesaro owns a plaster mold of Rodin's Les Bourgeois de Calais, which it bought in 1901. However, there are only 12 existing bronze casts of the Burghers of Calais located around the world, and Candida Hofer, one of the most influential photographers on the international scene, was commissioned by the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Calais to photograph all twelve. Selections from Douze-Twelve, Hofer's 2001 work are here in the Spazio Dom Pérignon at Ca' Pesaro from January 31 to March 29, 2015.
(Venice, Italy) The theme of the 2015 Carnival of Venice is, in Italian: La Festa più golosa del mondo! Which translates to: The Most Golosa Festival in the World! because there just is not an English word that means "golosa." If you ask Google to translate it, or if you look in an Italian-English dictionary, you will find it means "gluttony" or "greed." I have translated it to "tastiest;" the Carnevale site translates it to "most delicious." But golosa is more than that.
Carnival poster 2015 by Giorgio Cavazzano
I love Gorgonzola cheese, which also doesn't really exist in English; it is called "blue cheese" and is a distant cousin from genuine Gongonzola. In Italy, Gorgonzola is protected and can only be produced in certain regions according to certain methods. The result is something divine; an oozy center that is almost liquid, and a distinct taste... if you gob some Gorgonzola onto fresh warm bread... and sip some white wine... AH. It is something I cannot stop eating. If I buy two etti... (a unit of measure that also doesn't exist in English; there are about 4.5 etti in a pound:) I eat the entire two etti; it is impossible for me to control myself. I am GOLOSA for Gorgonzola. If I were male, I would be GOLOSO for Gorgonzola. Some people have this craving when it comes to chocolate. Or Girl Scout cookies. Or Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream. It is something you crave, usually something decadent and delicious. So, the Venice Carnival is the most golosa festival in the world, and there will be plenty of goloso food to tempt you.
There is a new spirit of cooperation and comradery in the city (someone joked it's because we are still without a mayor, so politics are not involved). While Piazza San Marco will still be the center of the action when it comes to parading in costumes, in the evening the party moves down to Arsenale on February 7 and 8, and then again on February 12 through Fat Tuesday, February 17, complete with nightly fireworks.
This year, many local foundations and organizations are contributing to the Carnival, with some dynamic collaborations. Women in Love or Shakespeare's Women written and directed by the Teatro Goldoni's own Giuseppe Emiliani will be performed inside two impressive Venetian palaces that are now part of Venice's Civic Museums -- Ca' Rezzonico and Palazzo Mocenigo -- with costumes by the renowned Venetian atelier, Stefano Nicolao.
The Civic Museums are highlighting The Art of Food, featuring cultural and social influences on traditional Venetian cuisine through the ages, keeping with the theme of EXPO 2015 in Milan: "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life." Also, on Fat Thursday, February 12 there will be a theatrical and musical marathon at Palazzo Ducale, Museo Correr, Ca' Rezzonico, Palazzo Mocenigo and Casa Goldoni -- for example, at Palazzo Mocenigo, Venice's museum dedicated to fabric, costumes and perfume, there will be a 10-15 minute performance entitled, "THE GOLOSO LIBERTINE," about the appetites and tastes of the infamous Venetian lover, Giacomo Casanova (now that you know what "goloso" means, you can imagine the show!).
There is so much going on that it would take me days to tell you everything. Luckily, the Official Carnival Site is well organized this year, once you understand how it works. At the very top of the Home page, up on the right, you will see five categories: Home, Events list, Parties, Venice Info, Multimedia and Language. Click the Events list. There you can search by day, or venue, or what type of event you would like to see: Traditional, Live Concert, Food, etc. You can see everything that is going on in Piazza San Marco, or everything that is happening on Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, the last day of Carnival.
The Most Golosa Festival in the World, the Venice Carnival, runs from today, January 31 to February 15, 2015.
(Venice, Italy) For the first time, the Venice Kid's Carnival will be held inside the Arsenale in the artfully restored Sale d'Armi. Previous editions of the Carnevale dei Ragazzi were down at Giardini, but this year Paolo Baratta, the President of La Biennale, has declared "Quest'anno si va all'Arsenale!" allowing kids and their grownups to romp around the enormous space that once contained the largest industrial complex in the world.
The press conference was held in the Sale d'Armi, which means "Weapons Rooms." The word "Arsenale" is a Venetian word, morphed from the Arabic dar-as-sina, which means "house of construction." During the Republic, the Venetians enjoyed showing off their impressive Arsenal, which could whip out an entire ship in a single day. The efficient Venetian production lines made Venice the shipbuilding center of the world, and allowed Venice to control trade in the Mediterranean, which was the foundation of her great wealth.
Arsenale - Jacopo de' Barbari, 1500s
Around the year 1110, according to John Julius Norwich in Venice, The Rise to Empire: "An ambitious new shipbuilding programme was called for, and it was now that Doge Ordelafo made his most enduring contribution to the Republic. Hitherto the shipwrights of Venice had been scattered about all over the lagoon, many if not all of them running small private businesses of their own. Under his aegis shipbuilding became a nationalized industry. For its centre he chose two marshy little islands known as the Zemelle -- 'the twins' in Venetian dialect -- at the far end of the Riva to the east of the city; and here, over the next half-century, there grew up that mighty complex of dockyards, foundries, magazines and workshops for carpenters, sailmakers, ropemakers and blacksmiths that Dante described in the Inferno and that gave a new word to the English language and many others besides -- the Arsenal."
Arsenale today
Nowadays the Arsenale is shared by several powerful organziations, one of which is La Biennale. The Sale d'Armi houses several new national pavilions such as Argentina, South Africa and the Vatican with long-term rental agreements; each nation restored the space with genuine affection -- neither La Biennale, nor Italy, nor Venice spent a penny. The wooden beams that criss-cross the ceiling are original, as are the bricks that make up the walls. It is like an enormous SoHo loft, centuries before Manhattan existed, converted from industry to art.
Escalator - Sale d'Armi - Arsenale, Venice
Paolo Baratta joked that the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas was jealous of the escalator outside the Sale d'Armi. Koolhaas was the Director of the 2014 International Architecture Biennale, and is presently turning the Fondaco dei Tedeschi at the foot of the Rialto Bridge into a shopping center for Benetton, who now owns the building. All hell broke loose a couple years ago when Koolhaas revealed his original plans, which included escalators, and outraged local preservation groups. The scandalous escalators inside the Fondaco dei Tedeschi were the Talk of the Town; the only thing worse was the proposed roof terrace. Koolhaas has since redesigned the plans, which no longer include an escalator in the center atrium. Baratta said that the escalator at the Sale d'Armi just happened to fit without altering the existing structure; as you can see, it is not part of the structure at all:)
So, Arsenale is the venue for the 2015 Kid's Carnival, one of my favorite events during Carnevale. Workshops and laboratories are open to everyone, and they are free. This year, students from 150 schools from all over the Veneto will participate in an international event designed to encourage creativity and original thought. Can you imagine what a fantastic class trip that will be?
THE BIENNALE LION MAKES MUSIC AT THE ARSENAL DURING CARNIVAL .
So, making music and song is the theme, and there will be laboratories and spaces to inspire the kids scattered around Arsenale. The Biennale Music section will be here, as well as the Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello, the United Nations and Unicef. Young musicians who have composed their own music will perform their creations. There will be a treasure hunt, and the Gran Atelier di Sartoria will help kids create their own Carnival costumes and masks with fabric from Rubelli(!).
Five countries will participate in Kid's Carnival this year. Poland's event is called, Plastik is Fantastic! where kids will transform plastic materials into musical instruments, and also focus on creative ways to recycle. Theater Gong from Sibiu in Romania will bring a puppet show "The Almost Famous Cricket" inspired by a fable by the French writer Jean de La Fontaine. The German offering is MY STYLE, MY FASHION SHOW: PLAY WITH FASHION! The kids will design and create their own fashions, including eyewear, and then get their own cover of a magazine. The United States will present Intoniamo... i rumori?? -- Painting with sound, noise and smells -- and will present poetry and narration with those trilly alliteration sounds that kids love to make. Kecskemét is a city of art and culture in Hungary, made famous by its native son, Zoltan Kodaly, best known for the "Kodaly Method," a concept for teaching music education in the classroom, which the Hungarians will share during Carnival for Kids.
That the world's first military industrial complex has transformed into a World of Art with pavilions that flow into one another and where borders are invisible is a wonderful thing. I think it's terrific that the Kid's Carnival has moved over to Arsenale; it feels right.
JE SUIS CHARLIE banner - Rialto Bridge - Venice, Italy
(Venice, Italy) Venice has draped a JE SUIS CHARLIE banner at the top of the Rialto Bridge as show of solidarity with the people of France, and all people in the civilized world, in defiance of terrorism and support for freedom of expression.
(Venice, Italy) I often have the good fortune to view art exhibitions here in Venice with the curators themselves, and witness their passion for their subjects. Whether it is contemporary or ancient art, an exhibition comes alive through their eyes and energy.
One of my favorite curators is Luca Massimo Barbero, who has a gem of a show on right now called AZIMUT/H - Continuity and Newness over at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and was the host of the conversation with Heinz Mack on September 19, 2014, which I wrote about here:
Luca Massimo Barbero is one of the instructors at the Summer School in Curatorial Studies this year, which will take place during the 56th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition. The School sent over a press release, which will give you all the information you need if you follow the links, or you can go to their website. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2015, and the price for the course is €3,900.
At the 56th Venice Art Biennale: Open Call for the Summer School in Curatorial Studies
Open call
8th June – 30th September 2015
The School for Curatorial Studies is an ambitious and challenging project promoted since 2004 and conceived as a school committed to experimentation and interdisciplinary thinking. The main goals are to spread the knowledge in the field of visual arts and to introduce the students to the professions related to the art world, focusing on contemporary curatorial theory and practice and contemporary museology.
The School’s activities are meant for all those interested and passionate in art, graduated students or professionals who want to deepen their knowledge and improve their practical skills.
The School’s teaching staff is formed by Italian and international professionals, scholars, historians and art critics of recognized experience. Among them: Agnes Kohlmeyer (curator), Angela Vettese (art critic), Luca Massimo Barbero (Peggy Guggenheim Collection), Francesca Colasante (Foundation Pinault), Andrea Goffo (Found. Prada), Tommaso Speretta.
(Venice, Italy) The Basilica of San Marco is one of the most stunning places of worship in the world; to me, it is the most beautiful and awe-inspiring. The gold mosaics that enhance the enormous interior sparkle with celestial light. The image of Jesus Christ in the center is one of kindness, compassion and wisdom. Many stories are emblazoned across the walls and ceilings of the Basilica; you can tumble into another world just gazing at the images. Angels in the alcoves seem almost real; the air is wispy with the scent and smoke of incense.
On the high holy days, the majestic golden panel, the Pala d'Oro, is turned toward the congregation. I have had the great honor and privilege to kneel directly in front of the Pala d'Oro, and I can tell you what it feels like... it feels as if I am in front of one of the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey, only more divine because it is gold and studded with precious gems... As if it was created with high intelligence and omniscience... I come away pulsing with star dust.
The Pala d'Oro feels as if it was designed according to a sacred plan. As I wrote for Gems of Venice, "According to Mons. Antonio Niero, author of La Pala d'Oro e il Tesoro di San Marco, 'the use and arrangement of the gems and precious stones suggest that the 13th century restorers followed the 21st chapter of the Book of Revelations, which speaks of 12 precious stones when describing the new Jerusalem; some of the stones used in the pala are identical to those described in that chapter.'"
Last year I wrote about the magical feeling of Christmas in Venice, which you can read here:
For two thousand years Christians have been celebrating the birth of a Jew from Galilee whose profound, simple message rocked humanity, which comes down to us in the words of Mark, who wrote the first Gospel, and is the patron saint of Venice: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
(Venice, Italy) It was only a matter of time before someone like Jane Gleeson-White wrote a book subtitled "How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance." If you live in Venice long enough, you start to feel the echoes of ancient Venice reverberating throughout history straight up to the present day in nearly every aspect of life. Once the financial center of Europe, the center of international trade, and the capital of the publishing industry, Venice was the New York City of its day.
Double Entry is an engaging book about a seemingly boring topic: Accounting, and how the double-entry bookkeeping system rocked the world. The year was 1494, right around the time Christopher Columbus set his sights on America -- inspired, by the way, by the Venetian explorer, Marco Polo; a copy of The Travels of Marco Polo with handwritten annotations was found in Columbus' possessions. In Venice in 1494, a man named Luca Pacioli published a mathematical encyclopedia called Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportione et proportionalità, introducing Hindu-Arabic numbers to a wide audience in Italy for the first time thanks to new technology called the printing press. In Pacioli's encyclopedia was a treatise about the Venetian double entry system of accounting. Pacioli wrote in the vernacular, not Latin, and encouraged merchants to switch over from using Roman numerals and old arithmetic to the new system.
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (1494-98)
Gleeson-White describes Luca Pacioli as a "Renaissance mathematician, monk, magician and constant companion of Leonardo da Vinci." After Pacioli's Summa was published, it became a bestseller and he became famous. Leonardo da Vinci read it in Milan and asked Ludovico Sforza, the ruler of the realm, to summon Pacioli to his Court. So, off Pacioli went to Milan and met da Vinci, who was working on the Last Supper. The two men were obsessed with geometry and arithmetic. Pacioli's next book was called De divina proportione about the "divine proportion," or the golden ratio known as phi, with 60 drawings by his pal Leonardo.
In 1499, the army of Louis XII of France invaded Milan and destroyed Pacioli's mathematical models, believing they were the work of the devil. Pacioli and da Vinci escaped to Mantua where Isabella d'Este was taking refugees. Pacioli dedicated a book to Isabella called De viribus quantitatis ("On the Power of Numbers") which, to this day, has never been published and is in the Bologna University Library. Next, Luca and Leonardo went to Florence, where they shared a house.
Pacioli claimed to have written another book called De Ludo Scacchorum, the first book about chess. It was called "Mad Queen's Chess," because it made the queen the most powerful piece on the board. In 2006, after missing for five centuries, Pacioli's surviving manuscript was discovered in Gorizia in the 22,000-volume library of Count Guglielmo Coronini, who said he had bought it in 1963 from a "Venetian poet and bibliophile". It is believed that da Vinci could have done the drawings because Isabella d'Este was a known chess player, and, as we can see, the boys were quite an item at the time.
With these mystical, magical beginnings, how did we arrive to a place in the world where corporate greed and corruption has managed to warp a formula that began as a way to keep merchants honest? Jane Gleeson-White takes us on a fascinating journey through the centuries with a compelling style that entertains even the number-challenged among us. When we grasp the concept of the Gross National Product and how it can be manipulated, today's world of Enrons and Big Banks and Wall Street clicks into place.
What was new to me is the term "Natural Capital," something that is slowly being taking into account at meetings around the globe. It means that Nature is finally going to be worth something. Right now, Nature is not worth anything in terms of profit and loss. Look at it this way: a friend of mine owns some property in the country. On her property is a small forest full of trees. Those trees are not worth anything unless she chops them down and sells the wood, or uproots them. My friend wanted more trees closer to the house and bought three new trees, which cost her €1,000. With Natural Capital, those old, majestic trees growing in her small forest would add value to the property that is not being taken into account today.
Or what about the value of waters of the Venice lagoon versus the exploitation by the cruise ships? Has the "Natural Capital" of the Venetian lagoon and all the riches it provides been tallied into the equation? On her Bookishgirl blog, Jane Gleeson-White says, "The problem with our current accounting systems – both national and corporate – is that they don’t account for natural capital, they don’t value living nature, and so it is invisible."
Gleeson-White starts her book with a speech that Bobby Kennedy made on March 18, 1964 at Kansas State University, three months before he was assassinated:
"Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion a year, but that Gross National Product... does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."
The Palace; white and pink (1879/80) by James McNeil Whistler
(Venice, Italy) Andrew Robison, the effervescent curator of The Poetry of Light from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. has finally achieved his dream of the past two decades: to present a great exhibition of Venetian drawings in Venice. The finest Venetian drawings that the National Gallery possesses are now on show at the Museo Correr until the Ides of March, 2015. More than 130 works are hung in elaborate frames chosen especially for each drawing in La Poesia della Luce: Disegni veneziani dalla National Gallery of Art di Washington.
Punchinello released from prison (1798-1802) by Giandomenico Tiepolo
Robison said most exhibitions about Venetian art stop around 1800 with Giandomenico Tiepolo, the last great artist from Venice before the collapse of the Republic after the Napoleonic invasion. However, Venice still continues today; the culture continues, and artists continue to be inspired by Venice. When Venice transformed from a state to a myth, it drew artists from all over the world who added another element to her image. Venice has always been an international city, so included in the exhibition are not only Venetian artists, but artists from abroad who traveled to Venice and were touched by the light -- which means artists such as the German Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and Americans James Whistler (1834-1903) and John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) are represented. In addition, the Gallery considers all unprinted works of art on paper to be drawings, including watercolors and pastels, and considers not only the city of Venice in the term "Venetian," but all drawings made in the Veneto, not only by Venetians, but also by artists born and trained elsewhere.
An Oriental Ruler Seated on His Throne (1495) by Albrecht Darer
In 1937, Andrew Mellon donated his private art collection plus $10 million for construction to create the National Gallery of Art for the people of the United States, which is free of charge. He believed that the United States should have a national art gallery equal to those of other great nations. Mellon insisted that the museum not bear his name to encourage other collectors to donate their treasures. His foresight worked. Before the Gallery opened, other major donors were already giving their collections. To read more about the National Gallery of Art, click HERE.
If I tallied correctly, there are works by 74 artists on show: Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini and Vittore Carpaccio are there. Lorenzo Lotto and Titian. Jacopo Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese and Palma il Giovane. No less than twelve works by Giambattista Tiepolo. The number and quality of artists inspired by Venice is astonishing. The National Gallery has been building its collection of Venetian drawings since before it opened its doors to the public on March 17, 1941, starting with the "ravishing" Rosalba Carriera pastel given by Samuel H. Kress in 1939.
Giovedi Grasso Festival Before the Ducal Palace (1765/77) by Canaletto
"�the striking effects of light in Venice, the absence of any total darkness, soft light diffused by humidity in the atmosphere, brilliant light from penetrating sunshine, dancing light and shadow reflected from constantly moving waterways, and scintillating light shimmering off the water make the varieties and movement of light a special feature of the city, which deeply affected her artists and let to their feeling for the poetry of light."
---Andrew Robison
Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings,
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Portrait of a boy in profile, 1440s by Giovanni Badile
The Poetry of Light is in chronological order beginning with Giovanni Badile's Portrait of a boy in profile, 1440s, one of the earliest examples of an actual portrait of a specific individual -- not a ruler -- and ending with three of John Singer Sargent's brilliant watercolors from the early 1900s. Perhaps the most fascinating room is dedicated to the wild imagination of Giambattista Piranesi, who is represented by ten pieces of work. Piranesi said, "I need great ideas and I think that if someone were to commission me with the project for a new universe, I'd be mad enough to accept."
A Magnificent Palatial Interior (1748/52) by Giambattista Piranesi
Robison praised Gabriella Belli, the Director of Venice's Civic Museums for a "magnificent collaboration," and said that her energy and enthusiasm allowed the exhibition to become reality. During the viewing, I had the opportunity to speak with Gabriella Belli, and told her what a great difference there was in the Musei Civici under her leadership. Venice is collaborating with some of the most prestigious museums in the world. Nations that are at odds politically are still able to communicate through culture. Belli said that she "believes in culture, and the effect it has on humanity," and that she wanted to do something "for the people."
I also spoke with Andrew Robison, whose passion for culture is contagious. I told him how thrilled I was that the United States had brought such an exhibition to Venice, and what a pleasure it was to meet like-minded Americans. Robison said that it was important to show that the US does not only lead when it comes to the military, but that we can also be leaders in culture.
Gondola Moorings on the Grand Canal (1904s/1907s) by John Singer Sargent
To make the exhibition the finest it could possibly be, Robison said that the Gallery gave everything; they didn't hold back anything. "It's not everything we own, but it is the best. We have given the best, our all." He said that after the show was over in March, it wasn't going to Paris, Berlin or London, the works were going back to the States. "Not for Paris, Berlin or London would we do this, but for Venice, yes."
Intrigue. Romance. Splendor. Seduction. The Carnival of Venice tempts travelers from all over the globe to don a mask, slip into a costume, and step through the door to a different time. The mysterious grandeur of the Gothic Palazzo Ca' Pesaro Papafava is the sumptuous setting for some of the most charming galas of the season.
The Grand Balls take place in the piano nobile of Palazzo Ca' Pesaro Papafava, a genuine 14th Century palace with an exclusive water entrance and Gothic windows overlooking the magical Misericordia canal. Gondoliers serenade guests upon arrival, along with a welcome cocktail. During the gala dinners, flickering candlelight and classical music illuminate the ancient rooms, whisking guests back to a time of enchantment. Traditional Venetian food is served, and wine is included. For dessert, a chocolate fountain oozes decadent delights, accompanied by traditional Carnival sweets. Live entertainment starts at 11:00PM, featuring something for every taste: arias from operas, burlesque and cabaret, minuets and gavottes -- and, of course, love songs on St. Valentine's Day. At midnight, it's time to hit the dance floor and rock the night away.
For those colorful couples who prefer to arrive after dinner, Palazzo Ca' Pesaro Papafava also offers entrance to the live entertainment at 11:00PM, together with a bottle of Prosecco, the sparkling wine of the Veneto, and a bottle of Bellini, the Venetian cocktail made with Prosecco and peach nectar. Indulge at the dessert buffet, and dance to live music after the show.
Have a look below to find the ball that tempts you…
THE SERENISSIMA GRAND BALL
Saturday, February 7, 2015 THE SERENISSIMA GRAND BALL
"The Barber of Seville" and Homage to Gioachino Rossini
Gala dinner & live entertainment
Figaro! Arias from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," one of the most beloved operas of all time, is the entertainment for the first Saturday night of Carnival. A captive maiden, a salacious guardian, a handsome noble suitor, and Figaro, the barber, are the feisty ingredients for comic chaos.
21:15: Welcome cocktail with gondoliers and traditional Venetian music
21:45: Seated candlelight gala dinner with Venetian cuisine, wine included Chocolate fountain and traditional Carnival sweets
23:00: Arias from Gioachino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville"
Midnight: Live music and dancing; cash bar
Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening gown with mask
Cost: €365 per person
After Dinner Arrivals Bottles of Prosecco & Bellini, "Barber of Seville," dessert bar, live music and dancing; cash bar Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask Cost: €125 per person
THE THREE TENORS GRAND BALL
Sunday, February 8, 2015
THE THREE TENORS GRAND BALL An homage to Placid Domingo, José Carreras & Luciano Pavarotti Gala dinner & live entertainment Years ago, The Three Tenors, Plàcido Domingo, José Carreras & Luciano Pavarotti, created a world-wide phenomenon as they toured the globe. As an homage, the Three Tenors at Palazzo Ca' Pesaro Papafava perform favorite arias, Broadway hits and traditional Neapolitan songs.
21:15: Welcome cocktail with gondoliers and traditional Venetian music
21:45: Seated candlelight gala dinner with Venetian cuisine, wine included Chocolate fountain and traditional Carnival sweets
23:00: Arias, Broadway hits and Neapolitan songs with the Three Tenors
Midnight: Live music and dancing; cash bar
Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask
Cost: €320 per person
After Dinner Arrivals Bottles of Prosecco & Bellini, the Three Tenors, dessert bar, live music and dancing; cash bar Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask Cost: €125 per person
LA DOLCE VITA GRAND BALL
Thursday, February 12, 2015 LA DOLCE VITA GRAND BALL Burlesque & Caffè-Concerto Gala dinner and live entertainment
For the fourth year, La Dolce Vita Grand Ball dazzles with a naughty new burlesque extravaganza. Frolic at the caffé-concerto and enjoy the gaiety of the Belle Époque!
21:15: Welcome cocktail with gondoliers and traditional Venetian music
21:45: Seated candlelight gala dinner with Venetian cuisine, wine included Chocolate fountain and traditional Carnival sweets
23:00: Burlesque show and caffé-concerto
Midnight: Live music and dancing; cash bar
Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask
Cost: €325 per person
After Dinner Arrivals Bottles of Prosecco & Bellini, burlesque show, dessert bar, live music and dancing; cash bar Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask Cost: €125 per person
THE DOGARESSA VALENTINE'S DAY GRAND BALL
Saturday, February 14, 2015 THE DOGARESSA GRAND BALL Arias of love on St. Valentine's Day Gala dinner and live entertainment
On Saint Valentine's Day, The Dogaressa Grand Ball features arias of love from the Bel Canto repertoire sung by the Three Sopranos, promising an evening full of romance, elegance and passion. There's poetry in the air!
21:15: Welcome cocktail with gondoliers and traditional Venetian music
21:45: Seated candlelight gala dinner with Venetian cuisine, wine included Chocolate fountain and traditional Carnival sweets
23:00: Arias of love sung by the Three Sopranos
Midnight: Live music and dancing; cash bar
Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask
Cost: €365 per person
After Dinner Arrivals Bottles of Prosecco & Bellini, arias of love, dessert bar, live music and dancing; cash bar Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask Cost: €125 per person
SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY CONTINUES WITH AFTERNOON CHOCOLATE
Sunday, February 15, 2015 AFTERNOON CHOCOLATE St. Valentine's Day Continues Chocolate fountain and live entertainment
Saint Valentine's Day continues with the Pomeriggio Cioccolata or Afternoon Chocolate, in the Sansovino salonof Palazzo Ca' Pesaro Papafava. The Pomeriggio Cioccolata is an ancient custom of the Venetian nobility, dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A chocolate fountain surrounded by a buffet of deliciously decadent Carnival sweets is the centerpiece, accompanied by hot chocolate and the Venetian bubbly Proseccowhile a soprano sings arias of love.Dance masters and ballerinas introduce guests to dances of the Baroque period, offering instructions on how to dance the Minuet, Gavotte and Jigs in the ballroom of the ancient palace.
16:00: Elegant cocktail with traditional hot chocolate and typical Venetian buffet of pastries Arias of love performed by the Soprano Masters of dance offer Baroque period dance instructions
Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Gown with Mask
Cost: €95 per person
GRAND BALL IN HOMAGE TO GIOVAN BATTISTA PERGOLESI
Sunday, February 15, 2015
GRAND BALL IN HOMAGE TO GIOVAN BATTISTA PERGOLESI "La Serva Padrona" Gala dinner & live entertainment The homage to Pergolesi highlights his comic operetta "La Serva Padrona," or "The Servant Turned Mistress" featuring the wily maid Serpina who plots to marry her aging master.
21:15: Welcome cocktail with gondoliers and traditional Venetian music
21:45: Seated candlelight gala dinner with Venetian cuisine, wine included Chocolate fountain and traditional Carnival sweets
23:00: Arias from "La Serva Padrona" by Giovan Battista Pergolesi Midnight: Live music and dancing; cash bar
Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask
Cost: €320 per person
After Dinner Arrivals Bottles of Prosecco & Bellini, "La Serva Padrona," dessert bar, live music and dancing; cash bar Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask Cost: €125 per person
THE MINUET GRAND BALL
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
THE MINUET GRAND BALL Martedi Grasso or Fat Tuesday - The Last Dance Gala dinner & live entertainment The Minuet Grand Ball on Mardi Gras, the last night of Carnival, takes place in the piano nobile of Palazzo Ca' Pesaro Papafava. The elegant Minuet was the favorite dance of European aristocrats. The masters of dance introduce guests to the Minuet, Gavotte and Jigs, and offer instruction in the ballrooms of the ancient palace. Join hands and dance the open-chain farandole throughout the palazzo -- a perfect way to end Carnival.
21:15: Welcome cocktail with gondoliers and traditional Venetian music
21:45: Seated candlelight gala dinner with Venetian cuisine, wine included Chocolate fountain and traditional Carnival sweets
23:00: Minuet, Gavotte and Jig lessons by dance masters Midnight: Live music and dancing; cash bar
Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask
Cost: €295 per person
After Dinner Arrivals Bottles of Prosecco & Bellini, dance masters, dessert bar, live music and dancing; cash bar Dress code: Costume and Mask, or Tuxedo and Evening Gown with Mask Cost: €125 per person
The Palace is a 5-minute walk from the Ca D'Oro vaporetto stop, or can be reached by its water door entrance which faces the Church of the Misericordia, allowing guests to arrive by gondola or taxi boat.
Worker on the Empire State Building (1931) - Photo by Lewis Hine
(Venice, Italy) Lewis Hine (1874-1940) was one of the first American photographers to use his camera to impact society. His revealing photos of children toiling in mills in the early 1900s were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the United States. He captured the frank expressions of bewildered immigrants arriving on Ellis Island, and the blackened faces of workers in the coal mines. His dramatic images of death-defying workers dancing like acrobats across steel girders during construction of the Empire State Building were awe-inspiring. By using photography to capture the human beings who were the engines of the industrial machine, Lewis Hine was a knight armed with a camera.
Addie Card, 12-year-old spinner (1910) - Photo: Lewis Whine
Nina Rosenblum grew up with the photographs of Lewis Hine, which she used to stick on the wall with a thumb tack because back then nobody thought they were worth anything. The Academy Award-nominated documentary film director is the daughter of the photographer, Walter Rosenblum, and the photographic historian, Naomi Rosenblum. Nina was here in Venice with her husband, Daniel Allentuck, who is the son of Maureen Stapleton. They are partners in life and work, founding Daedalus Productions, a non-profit film and television production company in 1980. On Friday, November 28, 2014, they screened their 1984 family-affair documentary, "America and Lewis Hine," at Casa Dei Tre Oci here in Venice, where Lewis Hine's photos are on show until December 8.
Lewis Hine was an early faculty member of the prestigious Ethical Culture Fieldston School, a private independent school in New York City whose core value is the respect for human dignity, and which has produced such diverse members of society as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Barbara Walters and Jeffrey Katzenberg. In the early 1900s, Hine took his students to Ellis Island and encouraged them to use photography as an educational medium. He documented the masses of immigrants fleeing an impoverished Europe, hoping for a better future in an America that was booming.
Ellis Island (1905) Photo: Lewis Hine
Hines then worked as a staff photographer for the newly-established Russell Sage Foundation, one of America's oldest foundations, whose mission is for the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States. In 1907, Hines documented living conditions in Pittsburgh, which was then the prototype of an industrial city, helping to influence public opinion about the harmful effects industry was having on society and the environment.
Child labor (1908) Photo: Lewis Hine
He next worked for National Child Labor Committee, using different guises to gain entry to mills, mines and factories to document the savage effects the grueling labor was having on America's children. He documented the efforts of the American Red Cross in Europe during and after WWI, and was the official photographer for the construction of the Empire State Building, recording the fearless men who worked at dizzying heights without safety harnesses.
Empire State Building (1931) Photo: Lewis Hine
Walter Rosenblum, Nina's father, who was interviewed during the film, met Lewis Hine when Rosemblum was 17-years-old and Hine was in his 60s. By then, Hine had lost his governmental and corporate contracts, as well as his house. Rosenblum was instrumental in preserving Hine's photos, and followed in his path. Walter Rosenblum recorded the D-Day landing at Normandy in 1944, was the first Allied photographer to enter the liberated Dachau concentration camp, and was a Purple Heart recipient.
By coincidence, I happen to be reading "Waterworks" by E.L. Doctorow, historical fiction set in New York City in 1871. From the back cover:
"In a city where every form of crime and vice flourishes, corruption is king, fabulous wealth stands on the shoulders of unspeakable want, and there are no limits to larceny."
Photo: Lewis Hine (1916)
The film reminded me that the current inequalities and extreme greed the planet is experiencing is nothing new under the sun, and it gave me hope: there are genuine photographers and filmmakers such as Nina Rosenblum and Daniel Allentuck who follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, recording social conditions in order to bring these issues into the public awareness and effect change. We have made progress since children in the United States were no better than slaves, and miners labored under horrific conditions in the coal mines. Lewis Hine fought with his camera to improve conditions for the working-class human beings that were the heart and soul of the industrial machine, allowing those with disposable income to spend it on Black Friday today.
(Venice, Italy) I was astonished to learn that Antonio Canova, the renowned sculptor from the Veneto, had been commissioned to create a sculpture of George Washington by the North Carolina General Assembly back in 1816 for their State House when the Carolinians were feeling euphoric after the War of 1812. Thomas Jefferson himself urged that Canova, whom he considered the greatest sculptor in the world, create the neoclassical statue, which was brought to the United States on a war vessel, and arrived in Raleigh on December 24, 1821. Canova's depiction of Washington as an enlightened Roman general became "the pride and glory" of North Carolina, attracting visitors from near and far to their state capitol, including Washington's close friend, Lafayette.
Canova had never met George Washington, so he was sent a bust and a full-length portrait; the portrait never arrived, so Washington's body was left to Canova's imagination. Canova's instructions were that the style should be Roman, the size somewhat larger than life, and the attitude to be left to the artist. According to North Carolina Digital History, Countess Albrizzi described the statue in "The Works of Antonio Canova:"
If to this great man a worthy cause was not wanting, or the means of acquiring the truest and most lasting glory, neither has he been less fortunate after death, when, by the genius of so sublime an artist, he appears again among his admiring countrymen in this dear and venerated form; not as a soldier, though not inferior to the greatest generals, but in his loftier and more benevolent character of the virtuous citizen and enlightened lawgiver.
Unfortunately, the original statue was destroyed in a fire in the State House on June 21, 1831. North Carolina tried to replace it, to no avail. Then, in 1908, it was discovered that the original plaster model that Canova used to create the Cararra marble statue was in excellent condition in the Museum and Gipsoteca Antonio Canova in Canova's hometown of Possagno, a village in the former Republic of Venice, not far from Asolo in the foothills of the Venetian Alps. Diplomatic inquiries were made to see if a copy could be made from the original cast. On March 5, 1908, the Mayor of Possagno replied:
As a special favor, and making an exception to the rule
that forbids the reproduction, the Administration of this
town has decided to permit the copy of the statue of
George Washington by Canova, of which a very fine
original model exists in this museum. Such concession has
been made with a view to paying a tribute of homage to
the great man who was the first President of the United
States, and to increase the admiration for the genius of
the celebrated artist who is a glory to our country.
The Italian government itself then got involved, and decided that the King of Italy would present the replica to the North Carolina Historical Commission as a gift. The replica of the original cast arrived in Raleigh in January, 1910, almost 100 years after the General Assembly decided to commission a statue of the Father of our Country. But it was not until 1970 that a marble replica by the Italian artist Romano Vio was completed, which is what stands in the rotunda of the capitol building in Raleigh, North Carolina today.
An interesting historical note: when the statue was first commissioned back in 1821, the Veneto was part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, a separate part of the Austrian Empire. However, Canova was then based in Rome, which was part of the Kingdom of Italy. Napoleon had conquered the Veneto in 1805-1806 and made it part of the Kingdom of Italy. But the Veneto refused to live under French-Italian rule, and revolted. The Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 gave the Veneto to the Austrian Empire. Venice then revolted against Austria in 1848, briefly establishing the Republic of San Marco until it surrendered to the Austrian Empire after 17 months. Finally, after the battle of Vittorio Veneto in 1918 during World War I, the Veneto became part of the Kingdom of Italy. So, there was a lot of diplomacy required to get the statue in the first place, and then again to acquire the plaster cast almost a century later.
I called the Museum and Gipsoteca Antonio Canova to see if the original model is still there. I spoke to Giancarlo Cunial of the Fondazione Canova, and he assured me that not only was the original model there, they also had three smaller plaster molds that Canova had created, one of which was George Washington in the nude! Mr. Cunial informed me that although Canova had created the Washington statue while in Rome, the original models were now in Possagno, and since the marble statues were created from the original models, what they had in their museum was most precious of all.
Which brings us to SUBLIME CANOVA, a work in progress. On November 18, 2014, there was a press conference at the Museo Correr to announce the collaboration between the Civic Museums of Venice Foundation, the Venice Foundation, the American Friends of Venice Foundation and the French Committee to Safeguard Venice to shine the spotlight on Antonio Canova, considered to be the greatest neoclassical European artist who ever lived. SUBLIME CANOVA is part of an overall project to transform the Correr Museum in Piazza San Marco into the Great Correr. The works of Canova will be restored, and the rooms of the museum arranged to highlight the celebrated sculptor from the Veneto, who died in Venice in 1822, just shy of his 65th birthday.
The Comité Français pour la Savegarde de Venise has been around for years; they are responsible for restoring the Salla da Ballo inside the Correr, and the fine restoration of the apartments of my favorite empress, the feisty Elisbeth "Sissi"of Austria, who lived here in Venice when it was under Austrian rule -- as well as many other projects. And the prestigious Venice International Foundation was founded way back in 1966, after Venice's great flood, and is responsible for the restoration and preservation of a long list of works. It is headed by the universally-respected Franca Coin, who was here on behalf of the organization. But I was not aware of the American Friends of Venice, which is new, founded in 2012, and is the New York base of the Venice International Foundation. According to their website, their mission is:
Friends of Venice Italy is a non-profit organization that operates to raise funds for Venice. Founded in 2012, it selects and supports some of the charitable activities proposed by The Venice International Foundation, with particular reference to the Civic Museums Foundation of Venice in its work to preserve and enhance the art of Venice and its cultural heritage. As stated in a declaration signed by the president of the Civic Museums Foundation of Venice, Friends of Venice Italy is in charge of representing and promoting its cultural activities in the United States of America.
Friends of Venice Italy aims to preserve and enhance Venice’s identity, respecting the social and environmental sustainability of the city in order to guarantee the link between past present and future, to promote cultural exchanges, to communicate and share ideas and knowledge, to offer new opportunities for research and cultural production, and to attract new talent and resources.
After learning about Canova's statue of George Washington, it is fitting that the American Friends of Venice focus their efforts on SUBLIME CANOVA. They've got some distinguished people on the Advisory Committee, including Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Bobby Kennedy's oldest daughter and JFK's niece, which makes the project an interesting circle between the Veneto, France and the US.
Psyché Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Canova
Antonio Canova's work is in nearly every important museum on the planet, from the Louvre to the Hermitage, the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Kunsthistorisches. Even though he was based in Rome, Canova's heart remained in the Veneto; he returned every year to his beloved village of Possagno. He died in Venice in 1822. He is buried in the Temple of Canova in Possagno, but his heart, literally, is here in Venice, in the monument based on the design Canova created for the great Venetian artist, Titian, inside the Frari.
The original plaster model for the Washington statue which is preserved in the Gipsoteca Canova in Possagno bears this inscription: "Giorgio Washington al Popolo degli Stati Uniti 1796: Amici e concittadini…" which translates to "George Washington to the People of the United States 1796: Friends and fellow citizens…" Apparently that inscription was not on the marble statue that arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina on Christmas Eve December 24, 1821. I wonder what George Washington would say to the People of the United States of America today. Ciao from Venezia, Cat Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
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(Venice, Italy) That is what the grave of poet Ezra Pound and violinist Olga Rudge looks like on the Isola di San Michele, Venice's cemetery island. Nearly every time I go out there, someone asks me where the grave is, and even when I indicate the general direction, they still can't find it. That photo is from All Saints Day, so normally that many roses and other flowers aren't there. According to their wishes, the grave is embellished only with greenery. Perhaps people are expecting something more flashy and need to look down, not up, to find it.
Grave of Ezra Pound
By serendipity, I have run into Mary de Rachewiltz, the daughter of Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge, on All Saints Day before, and this year was no exception. Mary lives in Brunnenburg Castle up in South Tyrol, and comes down to visit her parent's tomb. I have had the good fortune to visit the castle a few times where Mary continues her father's work in her own elegant fashion. The woman is 89-years-old, and still radiates grace and charm.
Grave of Olga Rudge
Olga Rudge stood by Ezra Pound when he was arrested for being a traitor by the United States government during World War II, declared criminally insane and institutionalized in 1945 in St. Elizabeth's Hospital for more than twelve years. When Ezra Pound was finally released in 1958, he joined Olga here in Venice, where he died on November 1, 1972, All Saints Day. Two weeks before he died, at a reading he clarified his position:
"re USURY / I was out of focus, taking a symptom for a cause. / The cause is AVARICE."
We can also thank Olga Rudge's advocacy of Antonio Vivaldi for much of his popularity today. I have written about Vivaldi before; here's a post from April 18, 2009:
Another grave I am often asked about is that of the Russian poet, Joseph Brodsky, who was also institutionalized by his government, the Soviet Union. (An amusing aside: After I, myself, had been institutionalized back in 2010 by an over-funded rogue section of the US government here in Italy, the sculptress, Joan Fitzgerald, who carved the headstones of Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge, comforted me: "All great writers have been institutionalized," to which I replied, "Well, I'd better write something great. They seem to be taking precautionary measures.")
The Barque of Dante by Georgy Frangulyan Photo: Alloggi Barbaria
Ezra Pound, Olga Rudge and Joseph Brodsky are buried among the cypress trees in the Evangelico section of San Michele, which looks like a graveyard right out of an Irving Washington story -- Ichabod Crane could be buried there. If you stand in the center with your back facing the entrance, turn left. About halfway to the end of the aisle, head into the section there on the left, and you will find Pound and Rudge. If you walk to the end of the aisle, on the right, you will find Brodsky.
I have written about All Saints Day and All Souls Day many times before. But for those of you who missed it, you might enjoy the post about when the Biennale Contemporary Music Festival ended on the Island of San Michele:
(Venice, Italy) The Aman Canal Grande, where George and Amal Clooney were married, would like you to know that you are very welcome to come in for lunch, drinks or dinner. I had heard some local gossip -- that Palazzo Papadopoli was only open to guests of the hotel; that the food was not up to par, etc. That was not the situation when I had visited in August of last year when I featured the Aman Canal Grande in CNN Travel. So when a friend recently expressed an interest in seeing the fabulous palace, I made arrangements for a tour and lunch on Monday so I could see firsthand what the situation was. I am pleased to report that the food was exceptional -- fresh, delicious and reasonably priced, and the palace was as welcoming as I remembered, elegant and homey.
At the close of the 19th century, Vera Papadopoli Aldobrandini married Count Giberto Arrivabene, with Palazzo Papadopoli as part of her dowry. Today, the palazzo is owned by her grandson, Count Giberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga; he and his wife, Bianca di Savoia Aosta, and kids still live on the top floor.
We were graciously showed around the palace, which was originally built in 1550 by the architect and follower of Sansovino, Gian Giacomo de Grigi, as commissioned by the Coccina Family. The palazzo was sold to the Tiepolo family in 1718 after the death of Francesco Coccina, the last descendant. The Tiepolos were avid art collectors, and also employed the painter Giambattista Tiepolo to decorate rooms with frescoes, which still remain to this day. (Of course, I had to know if the Clooneys had stayed in the famous Tiepolo Suite, which is complete with a genuine Giambattista Tiepolo ceiling, and the answer was: Yes, they did.)
There are two piano nobile floors, and one rumor could have started because the fourth level of the palazzo is reserved only for hotel guests. But the public is absolutely welcome to enjoy the dining rooms and bar in the first piano nobile with stunning views of the Grand Canal. Also, there is a new chef from the oldest Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy, so any kitchen concerns have been addressed. My friend and I each ordered the most expensive thing on the menu (€35), grilled fish -- a sea bass and a sole -- which were grilled to perfection and shared for us at the table, and accompanied by a generous assortment of grilled vegetables. There are not many places in Venice on the San Polo side of town where you can have a reasonably-priced lunch in such magnificent surroundings, so don't be shy -- just ring the bell and go on in!
Francesco Loredan, doge di Venezia, rilascia la commissionea Giovanni Domenico Almorò Tiepolo, eletto ambasciatore ordinario a Luigi XV re di Francia.
There is an incredible exhibition over at Palazzo Ducale entitled FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE - The Long Walk from the Peace of Bologna to the Declaration of Human Rights (1530-1789). Dario Franceschini, the Italian Minister of Culture, and Gianpaolo Scarante, the Italian Ambassador to Turkey, were among the luminaries present at the inauguration on October 25th. On show are about 70 documents that illustrate that the quest for peace is the supreme value of European culture.
I have known Alessandra Schiavon of the Archivio di Stato di Venezia for about 15 years, back from the time I first visited the immense Archives next to the Frari when I was writing for the International Herald Tribune's Italy Daily. It was deeply moving to see how hard she had worked to gather such pivotal documents together to illustrate the value Europe places on peace. Schiavon said it used to be that wars had beginnings, and wars had ends, and wars had specific territories -- not like today when we find ourselves constantly at war with enemies who have no borders, in wars against a concept like "terror," in wars that stretch on without limits. Ambassadors and diplomats worked hard for peace -- that was their occupation. (That image above is a March 15, 1760 document issued by Francesco Loredan, the Doge of Venice, commissioning one of those wealthy Tiepolos -- Giovanni Domenico Almorò Tiepolo -- to be the ambassador to Louis XV, King of France.)
1641, 24 gennaio-2 febbraio. Costantinopoli.
Capitolationi rinovate sotto sultan Ibraim, re al presente degli Ottomani.
Archivio di Stato di Venezia
The documents and names involved are riveting, and the captions have been translated into English. Some examples: January 5, 1530: "Emperor Charles V solemly ratifies the peace treaty concluded during the Congress of Bolona with the Pope and the rulers of Europe." March 5, 1684: "The plenipotentiary ministers of Pope Innocent XI, the Hapsburg Emperor Leopold I, King of Poland, John III Sobieski, Doge of Venice, Marc Antonio Giustinian sign a defense treaty." February 8, 1697, "Peter the Great, the Czar of Russia, Leopold I, the Hapsburg Emperor, Frederick Augustus II of Saxony and Silvestro Valier, Doge of Venice stipulate a reciprocal non-aggression and peace accord."
1755, marzo 14. Vienna.
Maria Teresa imperatrice e Francesco Loredan doge di Venezia stipulano accordi in materia di confini e servizio postale.
Archivio di Stato di Venezia
Wars over territories. Wars between religions. One side groups up against another side, changes sides, changes back again. After viewing all those documents inside the Doge's Palace, and the many powers behind those documents, and the very serious disagreements and battles that had been hammered into compromises to achieve peace, it really made me wonder why we are having such a difficult time today just getting a moment to catch our breath.
Per il bene della Pace Il lungo cammino verso l’Europa dalla pace di Bologna alla Dichiarazione dei diritti dell’uomo (1530-1789) Venezia, Palazzo Ducale, Sala dello Scrutinio 25 ottobre 2014 – 12 gennaio 2015
Alesandro Marchetti - winner Premio Venezia
One of my favorite annual events is the PREMIO VENEZIA, a national pianist competition held by the Fondazione Amici Della Fenice at La Fenice. Every year, young pianists throughout Italy compete for the top prize, which includes substantial sums of money to continue their studies, as well as concerts in prestigious venues. The Premio Venezia is funded entirely with private money, and is one of the most important events of the season, always drawing a full-house invitation-only crowd. This year the Premio Venezia was won by Alessandro Marchetti, who was born in Pavia, Italy in 1998, the year I arrived in Venice, which makes him, astonishingly, only 16-years-old. Adrian Nicodim, who was born in Galati, Romania in 1992, won second place, which also includes a good chunk of money and concerts. Both young men exhibited composure, grace and talent, and performed admirably.
In a planet filled with chaos and strife, it is an honor to have the privilege of living in La Serenissima, a city that still focuses on the highest principles the civilized world has to offer.
(Venice, Italy) The directors of some of the most prestigious museums in the world met at Palazzo Ducale, the former headquarters of the Venetian Republic, on Monday, October 13, 2014 to compare notes about how they ran their institutions -- how they are funded, where their focus lies, and the responsibilities of museums in today's changing world -- in a conference entitled, CULTURAL HERITAGE: INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND THE CHALLENGE FOR ITALY. All agreed that museums belonged to the people, places where visitors come looking for answers. In addition to our own Gabriella Belli, the Director of the Fondazione Musei Civici here in Venice, present were Michail Piotrovskij, Director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia; Martin Roth, Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, UK; Gabriele Finaldi, Associate Director of the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Spain, and Paolo Baratta, the President of Fondazione La Biennale in Venice. It was fascinating to learn how museums are organized in different parts of the world, and how tangled the bureaucracy can become.
Up from Rome was Dario Franceschini, the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage himself, who recently changed a bunch of laws about how State museums in Italy are run -- for example, they are now free the first Sunday of each month; the major museums are open until 10:00PM on Friday nights; you can now take photos; people over 65 now must pay; there are new tax credits, and more.
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
Museums around the world have acquired their treasures by different means. Russian Empress Catherine the Great laid the foundation for the State Hermitage Museum, purchasing a huge amount of Western European works of art in 1764, seeking to bridge the gap between Russia and the West. The Victoria & Albert Museum had its origins in the first World Expo, "The Great Exhibition of 1851" in London, an idea of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. The beginnings of Prado in Madrid were due to Queen Maria Isabel's passion for art; she died in 1818, a year before Museo Nacianal del Prado opened. And when it comes to Italy... well, Italy was not even a united kingdom until 1861, and Venice itself was not annexed into the Kingdom of Italy until 1866, and add to that the Vatican... so Italy, as usual, is complicated.
Back in the days when I wrote for the International Herald Tribune's Italian supplement, Italy Daily, about 15 years ago, I had to navigate between the different museums and cultural centers here in Venice, and sometimes it was baffling. Back then, each museum had its own bureaucracy, and just finding the person who had the power to streamline my mission was a labyrinth. However, in 2008, a foundation was created called Fondazione Musei Civici with just one founding member, the Comune of Venice, which has made an unbelievable difference in the ability of the immense artistic wealth of Venice to become more accessible.
According to their site: "The Foundation manages and promotes a museum system that is detailed, complex, but rich and financially sound; it enjoys total administrative and managerial independence – under the control of the Steering Commitee – thus allowing operational and planning agility, considerable transparent entrepreneurial motivation, an efficient and rational corporate structure, and the ability to unite and recruit resources."
I think Gabriella Belli, the Director of the Musei Civici, is terrific. She seems to be everywhere all the time, with an energy that is indefatigable. Venice has a whopping 11 civic museums, each with their own unique treasures and personalities: the Palazzo Ducale, the Correr, Ca' Pesaro, Palazzo Mocenigo, Palazzo Fortuny, Ca' Rezzonico, the Clock Tower, Carlo Goldoni's House, the Natural History Museum, the Glass Museum on Murano, and the Lace Museum on Burano. Overseeing all those institutions takes an enormous effort, and Belli does it with grace and efficiency. In addition, Venice has private foundations and museums with its own collections, as well as museums run by the State and the Church, and after a period of adjustment, most of the cultural institutions in the city now have a genuine spirit of cooperation and comradeship.
The conference opened with greetings from Walter Hartsarich, the President of the Fondazione Musei Civici. He spoke about how it was a crucial time for cultural heritage in Italy, and how courage was necessary to meet the new pace, and new needs. Next up was Vittorio Zappalorto, who was appointed Special Commissioner to Venice after our mayor was arrested for corruption. Zappalorto said that now that the division of labor between the comune, province, region and state is clear, there are no more excuses to perform badly, and that Venice wants to provide an example to the world for sustainable tourism.
Doge's Palace - Venice
Gabriella Belli said that Venice is really different from any other city. Its very beauty is caused by its frailty. There are more than 500,000 works of art in its collection, a huge concentration in a small area. Belli said that they wanted to get away from the approach that exhibitions are the same for years -- Venice's visitors are visitors of the world, and they compare Venice to museums all over the world. Venice now has the capability to change its headline exhibitions quickly, and has reorganized the permanent collections. Belli stressed that the Civic Museums belonged to Venetians; that it was their heritage, and they were encouraging more visits from residents in Venice and the mainland.
The Winter Palace - State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
Michail Piotrovskij, the Director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg in Russia spoke next. Venice is the new headquarters for "Ermitage Italy" located right in Piazza San Marco, the result of a cultural exchange between State Hermitage and Italy. Piotrovskij said he was glad they were in Venice. He said, "We are in St. Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great. We are not in the center of Europe, but we are part of European culture."
We should remember that St. Petersburg was the imperial capital from 1713-1728 and again from 1732-1918, created by Peter the Great beginning in 1703 on barren marshland (much like Venice) to integrate Russia into Western Europe and seize a Baltic port, his "Window on the West." So, for more than 200 years St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia, until the communist revolution. Then, the Bolsheviks, lead by Vladimir Lenin, stormed the Winter Palace -- which is now part of the State Hermitage Museum -- during the October Revolution of 1917, moved the capital to Moscow, and changed the name of the city to Leningrad after Lenin's death in 1924. It was not until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 that Leningrad changed back to St. Petersburg, which is still recognized as the cultural capital of Russia.
Piotrovskij said he was concerned that there was a new Iron Curtain being erected between Russia and other countries. He said that museums need to be defended from conflicts, and they were building bridges even if all other bridges are destroyed. They have a good relationship with Venice, and he wished that the UK and France would follow suit -- that we needed to maintain bridges of friendship. He said, "The government tells me, 'You can't live in a museum.'" Piotrovskij replied, "Better to live in a museum than a shipyard." He said he loved living in a museum. "Living in a museum is beautiful."
Museo Nacional del Prado - Madrid, Spain
The Museo Nacional de Prado is Spain's national art museum, and has spent the last 15 years in transformation, expanding its structure and the number of employees, according to Gabriele Finaldi, the Associate Director. In the early half of the 1990s it was the "Inferno of Europe," and now is a sleeping lion ready to wake up. It contains the royal collection -- Titian's works purchased by the Spanish crown are housed there, in addition to the finest collection of Spanish art on the planet. In the mid 1990s it changed its legal status; all its officers became direct employees, and it now can participate in business, similar to the Bank of Spain. Finaldi said that 60% of foreigners visit the permanent collection as opposed to 40% locals, whereas a temporary exhibit attracts 60% locals and 40% foreigners. He said it is also a contemporary museum. "Goya was still alive when his work was put into the museum."
Victoria & Albert Museum - London, UK
Martin Roth, the Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, declared, "I believe in museums." He said a museum is never the same, and changes with the culture and politics. He said the V&A was a brilliant idea by Prince Albert, an ongoing World's Fair, and that a museum is an open institution for everyone; it belongs to us all -- from the taxi drivers, to the Queen, to the green grocer. Since the UK has had such a huge influx of refugees, they have created exhibits to reflect those cultures -- "If you are a refugee, come to the V&A." He said their Board of Trustees is completely independent, and he didn't like the US system where you buy yourself onto the Board. He said he had a friend in the US who was going to retire from a Board because it was "too dangerous." Roth said, "It's not supposed to be that way!" He said the V&A was a local museum for a global audience, and that it attacted a lot of young people who came just to hang out. All museums in the UK are free. He said, "A museum is never a business, but you can run it business-like."
La Biennale - Venice, Italy
Paolo Baratta, the President of La Biennale, Venice's Contemporary Art Festival, said "No monarch left me a legacy." He said that Italy's history was completely different. Italy was once composed of many city-states, and the various monarchs collected art. When the small states fell, there was widespread pillage. Unlike the V& A and the Hermitage, which were aimed at creating museums, in Italy, the goal was to keep the objects safe.The government appointed superintendents who had prefecture-like powers. They protected assets owned by third parties, and the focus was on the monetary value of the work.
The Venice Biennale was the first Biennale in the world, created by a group of farsighted thinkers in 1893. There are now 157 Biennales worldwide. The focus is on research and discovery, and the relationship with the past -- to read the present with historical depth. Baratta calls La Biennale a "Wind Machine," a machine of desire whose primary urge is to give form to the curtain that has been thrown over us. The focus is not on the monetary value of the work, but on cultural research.
Dario Franceschini is the Minister of Cultural Heritage under Italy's newest, and youngest, Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, who is set on making sweeping changes to a country wracked with corruption and stifled by bureaucracy. Former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was forced to resign over numerous scandals in 2011; his Minister of Culture, Giancarlo Galan, was just sentenced yesterday, October 16, to 34 months in prison and a €2.6 million fine for charges of corruption linked to MOSES, Venice's flood barrier.
Franceschini said there needs to be a central role for culture, which, at the present, does not exist. He said there must be a common European identity that can only take place through culture. He said we must build a union, an institute for dialogue, when politics can't talk and borders are difficult. He said we must convince the decision makers that investment in creative institutions can overcome the crisis. Art collections are closely linked to territory, and investments need to be made in their unique nature.
He said we should adopt sustainable tourism, and that we are temporary owners of a heritage that belongs to humanity. He said that before businesses had no incentives to invest in art and museums -- now they do.
The conference continued all afternoon with speakers on the local level. Pierpaolo Forte, the President of the Museum of Contemporary Art Donnaregina in Madre, Naples summed it up: "We are dwarfs on the shoulders of giants. There is a danger to worship our history more than our future."
As it has throughout the centuries, Europe needs to stand firmly and courageously on its rich cultural heritage as the foundation in moving toward the future. The future is now.
John Galliano for Christian Dior - Ball gown - Tribute to Luisa Casati
(Venice, Italy) A video of John Galliano's 1998 tribute to Marchesa Luisa Casati for Christian Dior rocks as you enter the ground floor of Palazzo Fortuny. Kohl-eyed fashion models vamp down marble stairs, draped in divine creations that were inspired by a woman who was born more than a century before. A green ball gown dominates the center of Palazzo Fortuny, the large crystal image of Marchesa Casati by Anne-Karin Furunes pensive in the background. Welcome to the world of The Divine Marchesa - Art and life of Luisa Casati from the Belle Epoque to the spree years. It's Autumn at Fortuny.
John Galliano for Christian Dior - Tribute to Luisa Casati
The Divine Marchesa, Luisa Casati, proclaimed: "I want to be a living work of art!" and succeeded in her goal. Born in 1881 into one of the wealthiest families in Italy, she was electric, outrageous and eccentric, ahead of her time. For the first three decades of the 1900s, she was Europe's most astonishing celebrity, a muse and inspiration to some of the most important artists, fashion designers and thinkers of the era. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founder of Futurism, called her, "The greatest Futurist in the world."
Bronze of Marchesa Casati with Greyhound by Paolo Troubetzkoy, 1914
Luisa Amman was born in Milan on January 23, 1881 to an aristocratic family; her father, Count Alberto Amman was of Austrian descent and made his fortune in cotton; her mother, Lucia Bressi was Austrian and Italian; her older sister, Francesca, had been born almost exactly one year earlier on January 22, 1880. Early photos reveal a perfectly proper aristocratic family, spending their time doing perfectly proper aristocratic things. Then, on April 15, 1894, Luisa's mother died (I have yet to uncover the reason how) when Luisa was just 13-years-old, and then, on July 11, 1896, her father died when she was 15-years-old, making Luisa and Francesca the richest orphans in Italy -- at impressionable ages.
In 1900, Luisa continued her proper aristocratic life by duly marrying Marchese Camillo Casati Stampa, and producing her only child, Cristina, the next year. Then, in 1903, Luisa met the flamboyant writer, poet and playwright, Gabriele D'Annunzio at a fox hunt; he was 18 years her senior and lover to Eleanora Duse. Luisa became his lover, and started her transformation into a living work of art.
Luisa Casati as Empress Theodora
The English-speaking world first met Luisa Casati in a 1906 gushy travel memoir called Glimpses of Italian Court Life - Happy Days in Italia Adorata written by a wealthy Bostonian socialite with the heavy handle of Tryphosa Bates-Batcheller, who fancied herself a singer. Tryphosa published a series of letters dated December 26, 1904 through April 20, 1905 that she wrote to her mother, father and an "intimate friend" while on holiday in Italy. In the introduction, Tryphosa explains to her fellow Americans why European titles should be paid attention, even though the young country has done away with them.
"I venture to add a few lines of introduction, as it seems to me there exists among a certain class of people, particularly in America, a misapprehension as to the value and meaning of titles. True it is, that in a democratic country like our own, there is little place for the consideration of this subject; but democratic as we Americans are theoretically, practically it is well known that we all respect a foreign title without any definitely expressed reason to ourselves. ...Had George Washington been made an emperor, the signers of the Declaration of Independence might have been made dukes or princes; but our forefathers began with other names: hero, patriot, statesman are the titles of the New World, for we are a New World and a young country."
Tryphosa was a well-connected Catholic, even scoring an audience with Pope Pius X and an invitation to meet Her Majesty, Queen Elena of Italy, complete with instructions on what to wear ("visiting dress with hat" and, for her husband, "morning dress, frock coat"). Her memoir flits from visits to the estates of this countess or that princess, interspersed with an occasional visit to an historic site. She first sets eyes on Luisa Casati at a Bal de Têtes at the Grand Hotel in Rome.
Luisa Casati as Empress Theodora
On March 2, 1905, Tryphosa writes: "It was supposed to be a ball characterized by the fancy dressing of the head and hair, but, as a matter of fact, most of the women came in elaborate and beautiful costumes. Far and away the most elegant and most beautiful costume was worn by the Marchesa Camillo Casati, of the famous Casati family of Milan. She was dressed as the Empress Theodora, in a perfect fitting princesse gown of cloth of silver heavily embroidered in gold. The costume was an exact reproduction of one worn in Paris by Sarah Bernhardt a short time ago. The Marchesa wore on her head a crown formed of eagles, and had some of her diamonds set up in a large diamond eagle, which was her only corsage ornament. Two or three ropes of her wonderful and famous pearls hung loosely about her beautiful neck, and altogether she was quite the most stunning persona at the ball. She is a handsome woman, tall and slight, with a beautiful figure and splendid carriage. Her hair is a light chestnut color, and she is always pale, though her paleness is of that attractive sort that does not indicate ill-health. She is said to be one of the best dressed women in Rome on all occasion."
Our American socialite runs into Luisa Casati again on March 23, 1905, writing: "We have just come in from the last hunt of the season, and a very pretty and brilliant sight it was, too. ...You remember about my speaking of the Marchesa Casati with her lovely gowns and jewels, but I forgot to say then, that she is one of the finest horsewomen in Italy. I am sending you a little picture that shows her in her long leopard-skin coat, just as she rode out in her carriage to the meet before mounting."
You can read Tryphosa's exuberant tome, Glimpses of Italian Court Life, online here.
La marchesa Casati by Lorraine Brooks, circa 1920
That stodgy aristocratic world would soon be either shocked or delighted by Luisa Casati's antics. By hooking up with D'Annunzio as a lover and a father figure, things were bound to get freaky, and they did. The "light chestnut" hair described by Tryphosa became flaming red locks. Luisa darkened her eyes with black kohl, dilated her pupils with belladonna and wore lives snakes around her neck for jewellery. She began a whirlwind existence between Paris, Venice, Saint-Moritz and Rome.
Marchesa Casati with Giovanni Boldini and a man in masquerade at Ca' Venier dei Leoni, Sept 1913
In 1910, she rented Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal in Venice (the next dynamic diva to move in would be Peggy Guggenheim) and threw outrageous parties where the guests smoked opium as she carried on openly with D'Annunzio -- who said she was the only woman who astonished him. She walked her pet cheetahs with diamond-studded collars around Piazza San Marco, completely naked underneath her furs.That same year, D'Annunzio published his novel Forse che si forse che no (Maybe Yes, Maybe No), basing the character Isabella Inghirami on Luisa Casati.
La marchesa Casati by Augustus Edwin John, 1919
Was the Marchesa Luisa Casati simply a spoiled heiress, a Madonna or Lady Gaga-type who lived a century ago, all style and no substance? The exhibition suggests that The Divine Marchesa was, in actuality, a performance artist ahead of her time:
"But she was not only bizarre and over the top, theatrical and chameleonic, megalomaniac and narcissistic: new studies published for the first time in the exhibition catalogue duly recognize a more consciously “artistic” aspect by tracing her activity as a collector and acknowledging the aesthetic scope of her actions and masquerades, which anticipated performance and body art."
La marches Casati by Man Ray, 1922
In the circles Luisa was keeping, populated by some of the most fascinating artists, writers and thinkers of her day, perhaps using her wealth to outfit herself with costumes by people such as the great Russian scenic and costume designer Léon Bakst of the Ballets Russes, the French fashion designer Paul Poiret, and, of course, Fortuny himself, allowed her to pal around with the avant-garde.
Luisa Casati wearing Paul Poiret, 1913
One of the most fascinating things at the exhibition was a book of photos entitled LUISA'S PRIVATE ALBUM compiled by Daniela Ferretti, the Director of Palazzo Fortuny, from the archives of The Casati Archives, overseen by Scot Ryersson and Michael Yaccarino, authors of two books about Luisa, Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of the Marchesa Casati,and the family-authorized The Marchesa Casati: Portraits of a Muse.LUISA'S PRIVATE ALBUM gives an intimate look at the Marchesa's life through personal photos. The chapter headings are: "Childhood Fantasy," "Wife and Mother," "Luisa Alone," "Dream Houses," "Friends and Lovers," "Fur, Fang and Snakeskin," "Role of a Lifetime," "Media Darling," and, finally, "Last Act in London." The album is the most revealing thing about a woman who seemed bold and outrageous in public, but in private moments appears timid and shy. LUISA'S PRIVATE ALBUM is upstairs on the second floor on the long table.
Serpent Necklace by Cartier - yellow gold, white gold, diamonds and turquoise
Luisa blew her entire fortune transforming herself into a "Living Work of Art," and died poor in 1957 in London at age 76, with only a few friends. However, if a work of art is something that last through the ages, The Divine Marchesa still inspires artists, performers and fashion designers today, from Cartier's line of jewels, to John Galliano's fashions for Christian Dior -- the high-end Marchesa fashion line by Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig is a direct homage to her -- and many, many others.
Luisa Casati, The Divine Marchesa, was a comet that collided with Earth, then orbited out into the Solar System, leaving behind a trail of cosmic dust that reverberates today.
The Divine Marchesa Art and life of Luisa Casati from the Belle Époque to the spree years From October 4th, 2014 to March 8th, 2015 Palazzo Fortuny, Venice CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION
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All you need is love All you need is love All you need is love, love Love is all you need
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(Venice, Italy) Venice was truly the City of Love this weekend as George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin married at the Aman Canal Grande. Photos of the wedding were tightly controlled, so the only opportunities for the paparazzi and the public to snap a shot were as the couple traveled by water-taxi, or entered and exited venues. People lined the Grand Canal for hours hoping for a glimpse of the couple, cheering and waving whenever they appeared. The sunlight sparkled on the water, liquid diamonds that set the backdrop for a long weekend of glamour and romance.
Palazzo Papadopoli - Clooney wedding night
I think it is terrific that the power couple married in Venice; it is the kind of energy that spotlights Venice at her best. George Clooney comes regularly to the Venice Film Festival, so I've had the good fortune to see him at press conferences, and think he is an honorable, intelligent man with a great sense of humor and charm. I've also written about the Aman Canal Grande for CNN Travel, and think it was the perfect spot for the wedding -- Palazzo Papadopoli is more like an impressive home rather than a hotel; in fact, the family who owns the palace still lives on the top floor.
UNLOCK YOUR LOVE crew at the foot of the Accademia Bridge
As the Clooneys celebrated their new life together, Venice also was busy starting anew. In support of NATIONAL CLEANING DAY 2014, a day that civic-minded groups throughout Italy come together to tidy up the country, citizens in Venice spent Sunday painting over graffiti, cleaning the trash from the waters of the canals and chopping off the unattractive "love" padlocks that couples have clamped onto bridges throughout the city.
Venetian writer Alberto Toso Fei cutting off a "love" lock
I was part of the UNLOCK YOUR LOVE group, coordinated by Alberto Alberti, and spearheaded by the Venetian writer, Alberto Toso Fei, who also seems very adept with a pair of bolt-cutters.
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
We began at the Accademia Bridge, which has been covered with unsightly padlocks for years (a personable photographer who was waiting for an exclusive shot of the Clooney wedding party was perched at the top with a very long lens). As a portion of the UNLOCK YOUR LOVE group sliced off the padlocks with gusto, and another part explained what we were doing and handed out flyers, I asked couples from all over the world to express their love with photos instead of locks. People were happy to oblige as I snapped away with my very old cell phone.
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
The larger group that coordinated Venice's CLEANING DAY activities is called the Associazione Masegni & Nizioleti Onlus, which is headed by the divine Cecilia Tonon. "Masegni" are the paving stones you walk on when you come to Venice, and "nizioleti" are the black and white rectangular street signs you see all over the city that indicate the names of the squares and streets.
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
This is what the Associazione Magesni & Nizioleti Onlus group does:
"We are a group of citizens who care for Venice, its cleanliness, its livability."
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
"We keep an eye on our streets and intervene where there is graffiti, padlocks (lovelocks), evidence of lack of respect for Venice and for those who live in this city and love her."
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
"We gather together those of us who love Venice and want to improve her."
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
"We have removed padlocks from the bridges, and we have pushed the City Council to take action against this anti-ecological fad."
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
"We remove graffiti tags and degrading treatments from the walls and the Istrian stone."
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
"We promote the restoration of chipped and damaged nizioleti."
#UnlockYourLove in Venice
To find out more information about the group, go to their website, or find them on Facebook HERE or HERE.
And when you come to Venice, be sure to express your love with a photo, instead of a padlock. Upload the photo to the internet, and it will last forever. But the padlock will be cut off. As one visitor said, "It's bad karma."
Severed "love" locks in the trash
I rarely have a reason to interact with the visitors who come to Venice, so it was a lot of fun to talk to people from all around the world. Most people were pleasant, and seemed to genuinely be having a good time. With the sun dazzling the waters, and the Clooney wedding playing in the background, it was another magical moment in Venice, the City of Amore.
George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin after civil ceremony
Luca Massimo Barbera, Philip Rylands & Heinz Mack on rooftop terrace at Peggy Guggenheim Collection
(Venice, Italy) Six rooms at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection contain chunks of a creative earthquake that happened in Milan between September 1959 and July 1960. Back then, two young artists, Enrico Castellani and Piero Manzoni, joined forces to create the Azimut Gallery, together with an art review called Azimuth. The result rocked the art world on its axis; the aftershocks are still felt today. In AZIMUTH/H - CONTINUITY AND NEWNESS, Curator Luca Massimo Barbera inserts that creative earthquake into the artistic graph, providing a road map for young artists to navigate their way through the galaxy - what came before, and how the world of art arrived at the point where it is today.
I am a Saint by Lucio Fontana (1958)
Even though Azimut/h only existed for eleven months, from September 1959 to July 1960, as the world pivoted into the new decade, it connected post-war neo-avantgarde thinkers not only in Italy, but on an international scale. It was a new concept of art itself. The first room at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection contains works by Italians Lucio Fontana and Albert Burri, French Yves Klein, Swiss-French Jean Tinguely, and Americans Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Azimuth featured Rauschenberg and Johns before most of the world knew they existed.
Artist's Shit by Piero Manzoni (1961)
Adding to the mystic of Azimut/h was the death of Piero Manzoni (1933-1963), who died young of a heart attack at the age of 29. He created 90 cans of "Artist's Shit" or "Merde d'artista," which have never been opened because it would devalue the work -- an irony since they were created as a parody of consumerism -- the cans were priced by weight based on the value of gold. The most recent can sold in 2008 for £97,250, about $150,000 or €124,000. (Do you think Manzoni is chuckling in the Afterword?)
White Surface by Enrico Castellani (1959)
Enrico Castellani (1930-) was the more conservative and intellectual of the two artists. He said, “In the cultural climate of that time, and despite the fierce polemics existing between groups of diverse cultural extraction, it wasn’t at all uncommon to exchange the documents of our reciprocal experiences. This is how the first issue of the review came about, in the spring of ’59, and it is an anthology of what was valid and what could be criticized at the time, albeit with glaring omissions that were to some extent remedied by the activity of the gallery [...]. In our work we took a dialectical position with a ‘partial’ synthesis of the historical avantgarde. The second issue of Azimuth and the resulting gallery exhibitions are a product of this stance. They both come from a discrimination and from a co-option. The discrimination is based on everything that we feel is compromised about the historical avantgarde; in light of this differentiation one co-opts the results of the experiences held to be valid.”
The Joy of Calvin by Heinz Mack (1963)
Castellani went on to become part of the ZERO movement, founded by the Germans Heinz Mack and Otto Piene in 1957, and joined by Gunther Eucker in 1961, whose aspiration was to transform and redefine art after World War II. It has since morphed into an international network of like-minded artists from Europe, Japan and the Americas, and will have its "first large scale historical survey in the United States" opening on October 10, 2014 at the Guggenheim in New York City entitled: ZERO - COUNTDOWN TO TOMORROW, 1950s-60s.
Luca Massimo Barbera and Heinz Mack (with interpreter)
Heinz Mack's first Italian solo exhibition was at the Galleria Azimut in March, 1960. He said: “[Manzoni] brought a dozen girls, one more beautiful than the other, and they all wore sunglasses, something that was certainly crazy at the time, since they were not yet in fashion. Some sunglasses seemed as if they were made by hand. Then the girls said in front of the television audience: yes, so much light is emanating from Mack’s work that wearing sunglasses is necessary. Today one would call this a trendy joke.”
Heinz Mack spoke at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on September 19th, and it was riveting. He spoke in German, and it was interpreted in Italian, so let's hope I got most of it right:) He said that what happened back then was a real phenomenon. There was no way to communicate like there is today, and yet all these artists in different parts of the world were working on the same wavelength. After the war there was a vacuum that needed to be filled and artists had an obligation to fill it. After such devastation, without spirituality, with enormous suffering, the artists were optimistic.
He said it was not a "team work" like today, but that they worked alone, yet with friends. To experience the reality that you are absolutely alone in this world, and then to meet like-minded artists gave them a sense of security. It confirmed the Light.
Light is extremely important to Heinz Mack. Light is like the heart; miraculous; happiness. It is a metaphysical phenomenon. It is immaterial, a miracle of this world. After World War II, the artists wanted to defend the concept of Light.
The Sky Over Nine Columns by Heinz Mack
Those words moved me deeply, as had Mack's The Sky Over Nine Columns that I saw on June 4, 2014 on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore. I thought that if all these artists could still see the Light after growing up during the horrors of World War II, surely we can still see the Light today. I spoke to Heinz Mack after the discussion (and some of the best fried prawns I have ever eaten -- the delicate batter was like biting into a bird's nest) and told him that he had saved my life with the Light reflected on those golden columns, after all the darkness we had been experiencing here in Venice -- it was the same day that the mayor had been arrested for corruption. Heinz Mack asked if I were an artist, and I said I was a writer. I told him that his columns had moved me to tears, they were so filled with joy. He said, "It means a lot to me to hear that."
Heinz Mack said, "If we don't see the light anymore, then we are dead." This time, we were speaking in English, so I know exactly what he said.
The Goddess with the Head of a Sacred Donkey and her Sweet Daughter, the Spring of Thebes
by Fernanda Facciolli
(Venice, Italy) The artist Fernanda Facciolli is convinced that our planet Earth once worshiped mother goddesses and the elements of nature. The moon, mountains, trees and waters were deities to be revered. Before the Classical Greek priests of Zeus of deliberately rewrote the story in about 480-323 BC and gave us the gods on Mount Olympus, there existed a different group of gods adulated by the Archaic Greeks, centuries before. The Sphinx was an actual mountain, Cadmus, grandson of Poseidon and the founder of Thebes, was really a subterranean torrent, and Semele, the mother of Dionysus, was the personification of the moon.
Before the Olympic gods, the Archaic Greeks worshiped a matriarchal religion, inspired by the beauty of nature they saw around them. Shepherds gazed upon mountains and saw animals and sleeping goddesses, giving them distinct names. Waterways were gods and goddesses that gave life -- rushing rivers were masculine; gentle springs were feminine; two rivers of equal size that flowed together in a common bed were man and wife.
Jocasta, Oedipus and the Dragon of Thespiae or
The Main River of Thebes floods his Mother the Spring during a terrible tempest at Thespiae by Emmet
When Classical Antiquity came along, the patriarchal society repressed the Archaic goddesses and rewrote the myths, transforming Hera into the shrewish, jealous wife of the almighty god Zeus, who originally was simply Hera's husband. Demeter, Zeus's older sister, was reduced to obeying her brother's will. Zeus' wine-loving son, Dionysus, was originally the female Dionysa. Even though the name was changed from feminine to masculine, Dionysus kept the clothes that Dionysa wore, and her long, flowing hair. This radical transformation of the Archaic, matriarchal vision of the world into the Classical, patriarchal point of view emerged in Greek philosophy, art, and literature, providing the basis for European civilization that still exists to the present day.
Fueled by her determination to uncover clues to back-up her conviction, Fernanda and her husband, who uses the nom de plume "Emmet" as an artist, traveled to Greece in 2012 guided by Periegesis, the ancient text of Pausaias (110-180 AD), who, in turn, had made a similar journey influenced by the even more archaic writings of Hesiod (750-650 BC). Using scholarly research, original theories and their artistic abilities, the two artists present a new way of examining what lies under the foundation of our civilization.
CON PAUSANIA SULLE TRACCE DI ESIODO
Quando gli Eroi erano ancora fiumi, i Giganti erano ancora montagne e le Ninfe erano ancora fonti
FOLLOWING PAUSANIAS IN SEARCH OF HESIOD
When Heroes were rivers, Giants were mountains, and Nymphs were watersprings
What the couple discovered in Thebes and Boeotia inspired a series of paintings, accompanied by a text published in three languages -- Italian, English and Greek -- by Marcianum Press, with a preface by Paolo Leoncini, the distinguished former Professor of Italian literature at Ca' Foscari University, Venice.
The Island of Ogygia or
When the City of Thebes was an Island in a Lake and her Name was Ogygia, the Ancient by Emmet
For those of us who need to brush up on our Greek history, just who were Pausanias and Hesiod, and where is Thebes and Boeotia?
In ancient Greece, Thebes was the largest city in the region of Boeotia, as well as a major rival of Athens and Sparta. According to Fernanda and Emmet, Boeotia -- the region that gave us the mighty Hercules -- wasthe real birthplace of most of the original Greek myths and legends -- stories that were later rewritten..
Even in ancient times, there were travel writers, and Pausanias was one whose words have come down to us today. Also a geographer, he was from Lydia, an area of Greece that is now part of Turkey, and lived around 900 years ago, about 110-180 AD. Before he traveled to Boeotia, Pausanias had been to visit the pyramids in Egypt, to Jerusalem and to Rome, among many other places. He not only wrote about the people and sights he saw, he was also fascinated by the myths and history that had created the cultures he was visiting. He wrote a ten-volume set entitled Hellados Periegesi(Description of Greece), and focused on ancient Greece and its holy relics, gods and sacred objects in their local context, rather than the contemporary Greece under Roman rule he was visiting. Even though he was a follower of Zeus, he was open-minded about cultures that followed different gods.
Hesiod was thought to be a Greek poet who lived around 750-650 BC in Boeotia, around 800 or 900 years earlier than Pausanias, or about 1800 years ago. Like any good travel writer, Pausanias used the writings of the local poet Hesiod, among others, as part of his research to uncover the ancient past of the area he was visiting when he went to Boeotia.
Menestratus, Cleostratus and the Dragon of Thespiae or
Mother-Moon, Daughter-Spring and the Terrible Storm that Flooded the River at Thespiae
by Fernanda Facciolli
In 2012, Fernanda and Emmet traveled to Boeotia for 14 weeks, and used the research of Pausania -- who had used the words of Hesiod -- to step back nearly 2000 years into Archaic Greece. Fernanda, a Venetian, has had a long fascination with ancient myths. Now a pixieish 64-year-old, she literally ran into Emmet more than 50 years ago when she was a young teenager late for art class at the Liceo Artistico Accademia and he was an older student. All the other girls were already wearing stockings while she was still in knee socks. As she dashed off down the hall, Emmet thought: "That is the woman of my life."
After being married to others, and careers spent teaching art, ten years ago Fernanda and Emmet found each other again. Emmet developed a passionate interest in his wife's philological studies, and became her trusted supporter and adviser, bringing his own interpretations to her work.By examiningname origins and journeying to the source, the couple attempted to reconstruct local religious beliefs in Ancient Boeotia before the advent of the Olympian godsbased on their own scholarly research, intuition and imagination.
The Sphinx of Thebes by Fernanda Facciolli
There was only one Sphinx in Greek mythology. She had the head of a woman, the body of a lioness, the wings of an eagle and the claws of a gryphon. The monstrous Sphinx guarded the entrance of the city of Thebes, asking all travelers the famous riddle to allow them access: "Which creature walks first on four, then two, then three legs?" Everyone who got the answer wrong was killed until Oedipus came along, answered the riddle: "Man," killed the Sphinx and carried her body into Thebes on the back of a donkey.
Fernanda and Emmet disagree with that interpretation. Tracing the origins of the Boeotian word for "Sphinx," they deducted that the mount where the Sphinx had her sanctuary was once covered by a lush oak forest, and the correct name of Mount Sphynghion, the Boeotian hill of Thebes, should be "The Mount of Oaks." Instead of Oedipus, the King of Thebes, killing the Sphinx, he was actually leading the triumphant goddess into Thebes on the back of the sacred donkey, which was held in high esteem for the milk it provided, similar to human mother's milk.
The Lion and the Lioness or
The Animal Face of the Sphinx and the Lion of St. Marco by Emmet
And as for the depiction of the Sphinx as a hybrid, lioness, woman and eagle? What Fernanda and Emmet saw with their own eyes inspired some of their most profound work. One day, as they were looking towards the mountain, they suddenly saw an enormous natural sculpture, a mountain molded in the form of a winged goddess about to rise out of the plain on powerful wings. The next morning, as they were driving to the west of Thebes, they turned and looked back at the sacred mountain to say farewell. Instead of a winged lioness, the head of the Sphinx had transformed into the supine profile of a woman gazing up toward the heavens.
The winged lioness had revealed her true essence as a goddess of the earth.
The Human Face of the Sphinx or
The holy procession up the face of the Sacred Mountain by Emmet
Fernanda Facciolli and Emmet will present FOLLOWING PAUSANIAS IN SEARCH OF HESIOD - When Heroes were rivers, Giants were mountains, and Nymphs were watersprings on Tuesday, September 23, 2014 at the Biblioteca dello Studium Generale Marcianum at 5:00 PM by invitation only. The artists' work can also be seen at Galleria Il Dictynneion in Campiello del Sole, San Polo 911, every afternoon, or by appointment.
CON PAUSANIA SULLE TRACCE DI ESIODO
Quando gli Eroi erano ancora fiumi, i Giganti erano ancora montagne e le Ninfe erano ancora fonti
Galleria Il Dictynneion Campiello del Sole San Polo 911/a Venezia Vaporetto stop: San Silvestro or Rialto Mercato Open afternoons or by appointment +39 333-774-8603 Fernanda Facciolli
(Venice, Italy) Some reports complained about the lack of Hollywood shazam at this year's Venice Film Festival. No worries -- I think the star power that will soon descend on the Venetian lagoon will boil the waters when George Clooney marries Amal Alamuddden here in Venice.
Roy Andersson with Golden LionPhoto: Ian Gavan/Getty Images
The Swedes have already infilitrated our homes by way of IKEA. Now, in addition to Electrolux buying GE, the Swedes also soared this week by winning the Golden Lion for "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence," by Roy Andersson. I was initially intrigued by this film, but eventually walked out in frustration a bit more than halfway through. To me, it belongs in the theater, not on the big screen. It needs a live audience living in-the-moment to really pull off what it's trying to accomplish, which was brilliant, but film is the wrong medium. Obviously, my opinion is in the minority.
In eleven or so days, I saw 22 feature films, and more than half of 4 others. That is an intense amount of film watching. The wonderful thing about the Venice Film Festival is that we get to see films from every corner of the planet, films that people have literally risked their lives to make. It really puts things into perspective, and it is a great honor to watch history in the making.
Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad wins Best Screenplay for TALES
I lived in Hollywood for about 20 years. I love Hollywood movies because I like the structure, which is based on the Hero's Journey. At this year's festival, I saw a movie I had not planned to see simply because I went early to get a seat for the Paoslini and Burying the Ex press conferences, and stumbled into the press conference for Theeb. On the panel were a group of Bedouins, part of an Arabian tribe who lives in the desert. I was fascinated and went to see the film. It was truly a Hero's Journey told through the eyes of a young boy. When the film was over, Theeb got a 10-minute standing ovation. It also won the Best Director award in the Orizzonti section.
Theeb premier
Considering what you in the States will actually have the opportunity to see, my Top 10 recommendations are as follows:
1. GOOD KILL starring Ethan Hawke, directed by Andrew Niccol 2. THE SOUND OF SILENCE, documentary by Josh Oppenheimer 3. 99 HOMES starring Michael Shannon & Andrew Garfield, directed by Ramin Bahrani 4. THE HUMBLING starring Al Pacino, directed by Barry Levinson 5. BIRDMAN starring Michael Keaton, directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu 6. SHE'S FUNNY THAT WAY starring OwenWilson, directed by Peter Bogdanovich 7. CYMBELINE starring Ethan Hawke, directed by Michael Almereyda 8. NYMPHOMANIAC: VOLUME I - DIRECTOR'S CUT starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, directed by Lars von Trier 9. OLIVE KITTERIDGE starring Frances McDormand, directed by Lisa Cholodenko 10. BURYING THE EX, directed by Joe Dante
Here are the official awards:
The Awards at the 71st Venice International Film Festival
VENEZIA 71
The Venezia 71 Jury, chaired by Alexandre Desplat and comprised ofJoan Chen, Philip Gröning, Jessica Hausner, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sandy Powell, Tim Roth, Elia Suleiman and Carlo Verdone having viewed all 20 films in competition, has decided as follows:
GOLDEN LION for Best Film to:
EN DUVA SATT PÅ EN GREN OCH FUNDERADE PÅ TILLVARON
(A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE)
by Roy Andersson (Sweden, Germany, Norway, France)
SILVER LION for Best Director to:
Andrej Končalovskij
for the filmBELYE NOCHI POCHTALONA ALEKSEYA TRYAPITSYNA
(THE POSTMAN’S WHITE NIGHTS)
(Russia)
GRAND JURY PRIZE to:
THE LOOK OF SILENCE by Joshua Oppenheimer
(Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, United Kingdom)
COPPA VOLPI
for Best Actor:
Adam Driver
in the film HUNGRY HEARTS by Saverio Costanzo (Italy)
COPPA VOLPI
for Best Actress:
Alba Rohrwacher
in the film HUNGRY HEARTS by Saverio Costanzo (Italy)
MARCELLO MASTROIANNI AWARD
for Best Young Actor or Actress to:
Romain Paul
in the film LE DERNIER COUP DE MARTEAU by Alix Delaporte (France)
AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY to:
Rakhshan Banietemad and Farid Mostafavi
for the film GHESSEHA (TALES) by Rakhshan Banietemad (Iran)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE to:
SIVASbyKaan Müjdeci (Turkey, Germany)
LION OF THE FUTURE – “LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS” VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM
Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film Jury at the 71st Venice Film Festival, chaired by Alice Rohrwacher and comprised of Lisandro Alonso, Ron Mann, Vivian Qu and Razvan Radulescu, has decided to award:
LION OF THE FUTURE – “LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS” VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM to:
COURT by Chaitanya Tamhane (India)
ORIZZONTI
as well as a prize of 100,000 USD, donated by Filmauro diAurelio e Luigi De Laurentiis to be divided equally between director and producer
ORIZZONTI AWARDS
The Orizzonti Jury of the 71st Venice Film Festival, chaired by Ann Hui and composed of Moran Atias, Pernilla August, David Chase, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Roberto Minervini and Alin Taşçiyan after screening the 29 films in competition has decided to award:
the ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST FILMto:
COURT by Chaitanya Tamhane (India)
the ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR to:
Naji Abu Nowar
for THEEB (Jordan, U.A.E., Qatar, United Kingdom)
the SPECIAL ORIZZONTI JURY PRIZE to:
BELLUSCONE. UNA STORIA SICILIANA
by Franco Maresco (Italy)
the SPECIAL ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR OR ACTRESSto:
Emir Hadžihafizbegović
in the film TAKVA SU PRAVILA (THESE ARE THE RULES)
by Ognjen Sviličić(Croatia, France, Serbia, Macedonia)
the ORIZZONTI AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM to:
MARYAMby Sidi Saleh (Indonesia)
the VENICE SHORT FILM NOMINATION FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2014 to:
PAT – LEHEM(DAILY BREAD) by Idan Hubel (Israel)
VENEZIA CLASSICI AWARDS
The Venezia Classici Jury, chaired by Giuliano Montaldocomposed of 28 students of Cinema History, chosen in particular from the teachers of 13 Italian Dams university programmes and from the Venetian Ca’ Foscari, has decided to award:
the VENEZIA CLASSICI AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY ON CINEMA to:
ANIMATA RESISTENZA by Francesco Montagner and Alberto Girotto(Italy)
the VENEZIA CLASSICI AWARD FOR BEST RESTORED FILM to:
UNA GIORNATA PARTICOLAREby Ettore Scola (1977, Italy, Canada)
GOLDEN LION FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 2014 to:
Thelma Schoonmaker
Frederick Wiseman
JAEGER-LECOULTRE GLORY TO THE FILMMAKER AWARD 2014 to:
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By: Cat Bauer,
on 3/16/2015
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