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| Not really a grid, but with the interplay of colors and late afternoon light, as tidy and subdued a geometric composition as one is likely to find here. |
Manhattan is famous for the grid layout of all but its oldest sections, but grids are usually the last thing one associates with Venice, which typically avoids--or, thanks to its unstable soil, falls away from--the strict right angle in a way that William Blake would have much appreciated (as, indeed, Ruskin did).
Which, for me at least, only makes those surprising appearances of anything approaching a grid here all the more striking.
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| A very large warehouse door within the Arsenale |
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| Sheets of white paper conceal renovation work being done in the garden of Casa dei Tre Ochi on Giudecca |
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| Stairwell window in apartment/office building near Piazale Roma |
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| On Calle Bembo |
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| Parking garage near Piazzale Roma |
Piet Mondrian, eat your heart out! Brilliant selection.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ella--though Piet has nothing to worry about! (By the way, have you ever seen his pre-grid paintings, they're pretty amazing & very different, in the Symbolist style).
DeleteYes, always felt it was a bit sad he's mostly knows for that much later, less interesting work
DeleteWithout the later work I suspect he'd be remembered much less, and as simply an example of a style that's more of historical interest than enduring influence--the end of something rather than the start of something. But I'm no art historian, and I enjoy the dramatic contrast in a single artist!
DeleteMy favorite is On Calle Bembo. The shadow of the window grate and graffiti
ReplyDeleteremind me of valley towns like Modesto. All are evocative of a close eye for detail, mood and color.
Ah, I know those towns well--I grew up in Modesto! Definitely a lot of bars on windows there, though not quite as stout as the ones here, and I can almost imagine (or remember) the kind of place there that you have in mind (I'm thinking of liquors stores, and places like Stockton's old Skid Row, to which I used to deliver soda water). I'm glad you liked the images.
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