The Heart of Canova Beats Inside the Frari - Venice in Peril Fund Restores Burial Monument

Burial Monument of Antonio Canova inside the Frari - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) Antonio Canova was considered the greatest sculptor of his time. When he died in Venice just before his 65th birthday, the super-star artist was mourned throughout the world. Born in the Venetian village of Possagno in the foothills of the Dolomites on November 1, 1757, he died 200 years ago on October 13, 1822. To commemorate the anniversary, Venice in Peril Fund, a charity based in the United Kingdom that conserves projects in Venice, restored his imposing burial monument inside the Frari church, which is in the startling form of a pyramid.

The monument is a cenotaph, which is a word derived from the Greek "kenos taphos" and means "empty tomb." However, the Cenotaph of Canova is not entirely empty. His heart is interred in the small burial chamber behind the half-open bronze door on the front of the pyramid. It is a tomb that Canova designed himself -- but not for himself.

Where is Canova's heart? Behind the bronze door - Photo: Cat Bauer

Canova was a Freemason, and his enormous cenotaph constructed from blocks of Carrara marble is embellished with symbolism. Erected in 1827 by his pupils five years after the sculptor's death, it was inspired by Canova's own designs for the cenotaph for Titian, the celebrated Venetian Renaissance artist who had died centuries earlier on August 27, 1576 at about age 95 from the plague. Titian wanted to be buried in the Frari -- and he was, but without a memorial marking his grave.

It took more than 200 years, but in 1790, Canova was finally commissioned to create Titian's mausoleum. When Napoleon's forces occupied Venice in 1797, it became impossible to erect Titian's tomb, so Canova's commission was never completed. (Poor Titian! Annoyances like deadly plagues and the collapse of the Venetian Republic kept getting in the way of him having a proper tomb.)

Today, you can visit Canova's models for the Titian tomb at the Accademia Galleries inside the newly restored ground floor rooms of the Palladio Wing, along with lots of other Canova goodies.

Model of Monument to Titian by Canova (c.1792) - Photo: Cat Bauer

Model of Monument to Titian by Canova (1795) - Photo: Cat Bauer

It wouldn't be until several decades later, years after Canova's own burial monument was constructed, that Titian's completely re-designed tomb was erected around 1850 directly across from Canova's cenotaph inside the massive Frari Church, thanks to Ferdinand I, the Emperor of Austria. After being on Venice's "to-do list" for nearly 300 centuries, Titian finally received a burial memorial that commemorated his vast talent.

Mausoleum Dedicated to Titan

Titian was the first person who inspired Canova's pyramid tomb art, but he was not the last. After the collapse of the Venetian Republic in 1797, Venice was tossed back and forth between the French and the Austrians. While under Austrian domination in 1798, Duke Albert von Sachsen-Teschen asked Canova to design a cenotaph for his wife, Duchess Maria Christina of Teschen, who had died earlier that year, and was buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. Canova incorporated many of the same elements he had designed for Titian's tomb onto the cenotaph for Maria Christina, which was completed in 1805, and is inside St. Augustine's Church in Vienna.

Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
Photo: Diana Ringo

I've written several times about Canova, whose life paralleled world events that shook the planet, from the Napoleon conquests to the founding of the United States of America. Everybody who was anybody wanted Canova to preserve them in marble. By reading some of my previous posts, linked below, you can get a good sense of what was happening around the time of Canova, and gain some history. Just click the links if you'd like to read the entire posts.

One of my favorite posts is about Canova's sculpture of George Washington as a Roman general. Since Washington was already dead at the time of Canova's commission, he had to use his imagination by first creating a sculpture of George Washington in the nude. From 2014:

George Washington in the Nude by Canova - Photo: Cat Bauer

George Washington in the Nude - Sublime Canova - Revival of the Famed Sculptor in Venice

(Venice, Italy) I was astonished to learn that Antonio Canova (1757-1822), the renowned sculptor from the village of Possagno in 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 delivered 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. Keep reading.

George Washington for North Carolina
General Assembly

Then in October 2017, there was a fantastic exhibition at the Gallerie dell'Accademia entitled Canova, Hayez, Cicognara - The Ultimate Glory of Venice. I wrote two posts about the show:

Horse of St. Mark's plaster copy - Photo: Cat Bauer

When Venice's Loot Came Back from France - Canova, Hayez & Cicognara at the Gallerie Accademia

(Venice, Italy) When Napoleon forced the Venetian Republic to surrender on May 12, 1797 and ended the 1000-year-old realm of La Serenissima, his soldiers hauled a lot of loot back to France -- the most cherished being the four bronze horses on the outside of Saint Mark's Basilica, dating from antiquity. In 1205, Venice herself had plundered the four horses from Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire and Christian civilization. Napoleon hoisted the horses up on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris to commemorate his victories.

The French swiped many other precious works of art, and hacked to pieces five thousand winged lions, the symbol of St. Mark, Venice's evangelist. They also nabbed the prized Lion of San Marco that was on the column in Piazza San Marco.

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Gallerie dell'Accademia in 1817, much of the plundered art has been gathered together in an outstanding exhibition entitled Canova, Hayez, Cicognara - The Ultimate Glory of Venice, curated by Paola Marini, Fernando Mazzocca and Roberto De Feo. The show offers not only a chance to see some exceptional works of art, but also an opportunity to learn some history about the tumultuous time.

Extended! Canova, Hayez, Cicognara - The Last Glory of Venice Exhibition at Accademia Galley with Two New Works

 

Canova Temple in Possagno - Photo: Cat Bauer

Canova's right hand used to be inside the Accademia di Belle Arti, and many sites on the Internet still erroneously say it is there, but it is not. In 2010, it joined the rest of his body (except for his heart) up in his hometown village of Possagno in a magnificient Temple that Canova designed and paid for himself-- in fact, he laid the cornerstone on July 11, 1819. He did not live to see it completed. He entrusted the work to his half-brother Giovanni Battista Sartori, who became a bishop and consecrated it himself on May 7, 1832.

It is well worth a trip to Possagno to experience the Temple, as well as Gypsotheca wing designed by Carlo Scarpa, filled with many of the wondrous plaster casts created by Canova -- including George Washington in the nude!

The Canova Museum & the Gypsotheca wing designed by Carlo Scarpa - Daytrip to Possagno from Venice

(Possagno, Italy) During his lifetime, Antonio Canova was the most celebrated artist in Europe. The neo-classical sculptor carved images of the gods into human form, and carved exceptional humans into marble gods. He immortalized both Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and President George Washington in marble, depicting Napoleon as "Mars the Peacemaker" and Washington decked out as an ancient Roman general, complete with sandals. Canova captured love and beauty and courage and strength, and carved those noble attributes solidly into stone.

...A day trip to Possagno is a wonderful way to enrich a stay in Venice and gaze upon some works of genius far from the maddening crowds. First, visit the Correr Museum in Piazza San Marco and the Accademia Gallery to see what Canova treasures are in La Serenissima herself. (The original Canova marble monument to Admiral Angelo Emo is inside the Naval Museum, which is being restored.) Then, head up to Possagno. If you don't have a car, take the train to Bassano del Grappa, and then the bus, which drops you off right in front of the door.

Go to the Gypsotheca and Canova Museum for more information, and be sure to read my other two posts about Canova to get a more complete picture about the sculptor who turned humans into gods.

Ciao from Venezia,

Cat Bauer

Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

What New Films Are on the Horizon? Recap of the 79th Venice Film Festival 2022

Good Morning from the Venice Film Festival on the Lido - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) The 79th Venice International Film Festival, which took place on August 31 through September 10, 2022, is the world's oldest film festival and just celebrated its 90th anniversary. First launched in August 1932, major events like war and political unrest sometimes prevented the film festival from taking place, which accounts for the discrepancy in the years.

The Venice Film Festival was one of the rare international gatherings to physically take place during Covid, albeit with many precautions. After the global pandemic caused all sorts of chaos, this year things were finally back to normal, with red carpets and movie stars, long lines for coffee, computers in the press room, and full seating in the cinemas.

Here is a quick recap of the 19 films I managed to see, with letter grades and links to reviews that I agree with the most.

1. White Noise

I loved Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, which premiered in Venice in 2019, so I was looking forward to White Noise, which opened the 2022 film festival. The film is the movie version of Don DeLillo's 1985 novel set in a college town struck by a toxic cloud, which I wish I had remembered before I saw it -- I could not get a firm grasp on what year we were in and the dialogue was unnatural.

From the Time review: "Much of the movie’s dialogue comes straight from DeLillo, to the point where the actors seem to be reciting memorized language rather than acting." And: "It’s hard to know exactly what Baumbach is going for here, other than perhaps reminding us that the key to living is just going about your life. But you probably don’t need two hours and 16 minutes’ worth of movie to tell you that." Scheduled for limited release in the U.S. on November 25, then streaming on Netflix. Wait for the stream. Grade: B-

2. Tár

Tár was one of my favorite films of the entire festival, which I wrote about here. Cate Blanchett is spectacular as a diva symphony orchestra conductor -- she won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Todd Field wrote the part specifically for her, and his direction is brilliant. I predict they both will be nominated for Oscars, as will much of the cast. If you know who Adam Gopnik is (who plays himself), you will probably enjoy the film.

I agree with my favorite film critic, Owen Gleiberman, at Variety: "The movie is breathtaking — in its drama, its high-crafted innovation, its vision." It's scheduled to be released in the U.S. on October 7. Grade: A

Timothée Chalamet on the Red Carpet for Bones and All
Photo courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia ASAC - Giorgio Zuchiatti

3. Bones and All

I will see anything that Timothée Chalamet is in because he is riveting to watch. However, I did not know this was a cannibal romance movie. The blood and graphic feasting on human flesh made me queasy -- it is not titled "Bones and All" for nothing. That said, I thought the film was surprisingly boring, too long and repetitive.

It's the first film that Italian director Luca Guadagnino made set in the United States, and the jury headed by Julianne Moore awarded him the Silver Lion for Best Director, so apparently they disagree with me. Talented co-star Taylor Russell was awarded the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actress.

However, Owen Gleiberman at Variety concurs: "The film is two hours and 10 minutes long, and despite the period hook of its 1988 setting, almost nothing of interest happens in it. It sprawls all over the U.S., and the images have a travelogue sensuality, but 'Bones and All' is a concept in search of a story. The film doesn’t draw us in. It stumbles and lurches and seems to make itself up as it goes along. You may feel eaten alive with boredom." Bones and All is scheduled to be released on Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., so it's best to wait until after you eat your turkey to see it. Grade: B-

4. A Compassionate Spy

A documentary about Ted Hall, who worked with the Manhattan Project as a young man, and passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union to prevent the United States from having exclusive possession of the atomic bomb, and his wife, Joan, who loved him. Interesting, but not compelling. Review at Indiewire. Grade: C+

5. Master Gardner

Paul Schrader's film about a gardener with a dark history. From Screendaily: "...it’s dramatically involving, and features standout performances from a tantalizingly hard-to-read Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver at her loftiest, and Quintessa Swindell, an up-and-coming graduate of TV’s Euphoria, Trinkets and In Treatment. Their presence, and Schrader’s currently enhanced profile, should see prospects bloom." Release date in the U.S. is October 1, but unless you're a die-hard Schrader fan, you can wait until it streams. Grade: B

6. Argentina, 1985

Well worth watching. From The Guardian: "There’s a fair bit of Hollywoodised emotion in this true-life courtroom drama, but it is managed with terrific flair and heartfelt commitment, and Ricardo Darin gives a wonderful performance in the lead: witty, wry, careworn but idealistic. He plays Julio Strassera, the Argentinian chief prosecutor in charge of the junta trial in 1985, the biggest event since Nuremberg..." PrimeVideo release date is September 29. Grade: B+

7. Monica

Trace Lysette plays a transgender woman who reluctantly comes back home when she learns her estranged mother, Patricia Clarkson, is dying. I thought the performances were good, but it was way too slow.

From Cineuropa: "The main problem impacting Pallaoro’s film is its pace: everything happens in an incredibly long and drawn-out fashion, precluding any sense of anticipation and relying too heavily on things left unsaid." The film is still seeking distribution, so there is no U.S. release date yet. Grade: C+

8. Immensity (L'Immensità)

I always like Penelope Cruz, which is why I went to see this film. Italian director Emanuele Crialese recently came out as a trans man, and said his film about a 12-year-old girl who feels she is a boy is the most autobiographical movie he has made. It's uneven, sometimes a serious drama about a very troubled marriage and sometimes a musical fantasy, but it pulses with energy.

Set in Rome in the 1970s, I loved watching the original musical television shows. From Deadline: "he has chosen a handful of contemporary pop songs as musical set-pieces imitating those old television variety shows, in which the family become stars and choruses of schoolgirls camp it up in cast-of-thousands dance numbers."

You've just got to click over to the Facebook page of Rai Cultura, an Italian TV channel, and watch my favorite 70s Italian song and dance number: Adriano Celentano & Raffaella Carrà performing "Prisencolinensinainciusol," nonsense gibberish that deliberately sounds like American English, which is a work of genius. So wacky and wonderful! (If you want to watch the high quality original, go to RaiPlay, but I think you have to download the app.) L'Immensità was released in Italy on September 15. Grade: B

The Banshees of Inisherin Official Poster

9. The Banshees of Inisherin

It's a tie between Tár and The Banshees of Inisherin as to which one was my favorite film of the Venice Film Festival -- I think just about everybody loved this movie. A black comedy set on an imaginary island off the Irish coast, Banshees was written and directed by the critically acclaimed playwright Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), who won Best Screenplay. Colin Farrell, bewildered as to why his best friend, played by Brendan Gleeson, has stopped speaking to him, won Best Actor.

There is nothing more cathartic than sharing a good laugh with a bunch of people at the movies. Since it has now screened at the Toronto Film Festival, here's a review from the New York Post: "There are a million terrific little quirks....You won’t find a funnier movie this year." Opens in theaters in the U.S. on October 21. Go see it! Grade: A

Harry Styles at photo call for Don't Worry Darling
Photo courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia ASAC - Giorgio Zuchiatti

10. Don't Worry Darling

There was a lot of commotion about Harry Styles dating director Olivia Wilde, and actor Florence Pugh (wisely) not showing up to the press conference (but she stole the show on Venice's red carpet). Does Don't Worry Darling live up to the hype? No. 

From Slant: "Don’t Worry Darling has the swing-for-the-fences ambition that should have at least made it a noble and compelling folly, but its repetitiveness frustratingly undercuts its grandiosity, rendering the whole film tedious." In cinemas September 23. You can wait for it to stream. Grade: B-

11. Dead For a Dollar

I really enjoyed 80-year-old Walter Hill's latest Western about a bounty hunter played by Christoph Waltz. From Deadline: "...while it shows up the limitations of both writing and shooting a Western in the modern age (concessions to modern sensitivities have to be made, and digital cinematography somehow just doesn’t cut it with the subject matter), it’s nevertheless a wickedly enjoyable genre romp and full of violent surprises." In theaters and digitally on-demand in the US on September 30. Grade: B

12. Dreamin' Wild

The screenplay for Dreamin' Wild was inspired by a newspaper article about real-life brothers Don and Joe Emerson, who recorded an album when they were teens, full of promise that eventually went nowhere. Thirty years later, the album, "Dreamin Wild" was rediscovered and became a hit on the vinyl circuit.

The story makes a good newspaper article but a hokey movie, starring Casey Affleck as Don Emerson and Beau Bridges as the father who believed so much in his sons that he built them a home studio out in the boondocks, losing a good chunk of his farmland in the process. From Variety: "“Dreams come true in time, occasionally 4/4 time,” reads a title card at the outset of “Dreamin’ Wild” — a quote attributed to nobody, which rather emphasizes its greeting-card quality. It’s a cornball note on which to start a film..." I can't find a U.S. release date. Grade: C

13. The Son

While many male critics in Venice liked The Son starring Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern -- I imagine because they relate to the dynamic between father and son -- I found it repetitive and did not connect to it on an emotional level. Here is a (male) critic from the New York Post, with whom I agree: "Zeller’s latest mental health movie is an exhaustingly tedious experience in which you check your watch several times a minute while taking breaks from giggling at the clumsy dialogue. The writing is godawful, there is no dramatic build to speak of and the acting collectively amounts to a ceaseless whine, like a dog left home alone during a storm." The US release date is November 22. Grade: C-

Blonde billboard on the Lido - Photo: Cat Bauer

14. Blonde

Another movie that was hyped to the max, Blonde was tedious and did not live up to the buzz -- the fault, I think, of writer-director Andrew Dominik -- not the star, Ana de Amas, whose performance as Marilyn Monroe was brilliant.

From CNN: "The gap between a star performance and the movie containing it has seldom been wider than in "Blonde," which features Ana de Armas stunningly capturing the look and essence of Marilyn Monroe in the service of a film that's pretentious, heavy handed and lengthy to the point of exhaustion." Premiered in the US on September 16 in select theaters (don't go), and then streams on Netflix starting September 28 -- Netflix should be held responsible for these overly-long movies, which you can pause at home but not in a cinema. Grades: Ana de Amas: A  Blonde: C-

Oliver Stone gets standing ovation for Nuclear world premiere
Venice Film Festival - Photo: Cat Bauer

15. Nuclear

"This was a pain in the ass to make," Oliver Stone said at the press conference for Nuclear. Based on the book, "A Bright Future - How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow," written by Joshua Goldstein, Professor Emeritus of International Relations at American University, Stone not only had to simplify the scholarly language, but also had to differentiate nuclear energy from the nuclear bomb just so ordinary folks could digest the message.

Stone starts the film off with images that anyone who grew up in the 1960s will remember: how we had to duck under our desks and cover our heads so the atom bomb wouldn't annihilate us. As children, we were terrified. I would put myself to sleep by dreaming who I would invite into my bomb shelters. I had two imaginary shelters -- one was underground in my backyard, and the other was in a drive-in enclosed parking lot. 

During the press conference, Oliver Stone wondered if people would pay attention to his concerns and solutions, but judging from the long standing ovation at the world premiere in Venice, attended mostly by members of the public as well as the accredited, I think people are willing to listen.

From The Wrap: "Stock footage, graphs and Stone’s own narration confirm the Oscar-winning director is here to teach rather than to entertain... Even if the vehicle to deliver it is dull, Stone’s pursuit to disseminate a hopeful take in the face of the current apocalyptic prognosis for our collective existence remains commendable." Worth watching if you're concerned about climate change and looking for a viable solution. I can't find if it's streaming yet or not, but with the amount of effort Stone put into the project, we can be sure it will be seen. Grade: B+

16. Look at Me

A short 16-minute film by Sally Potter starring Chris Rock as a gay gala organizer who has a problem controlling Javier Bardem, his intense drummer lover. Well, it's short. Grade: B

17. The Hanging Sun

The closing film of the Venice Film Festival was surprisingly good. I always expect films directed by Italians to be... well... Italian. But The Hanging Sun, directed by Francesco Carrozzini, has an American sensibility, and he knows how frame a scene. It turns out that he is well-connected: he studied film at UCLA; his mother is the late Franca Sozzani, the editor of Italian Vogue; his wife is Anna Wintour's daughter, Bee Shaffer; plus he's got a bunch of cool music videos he directed under his belt. But most importantly, he's got talent.

From Cineuropa: "Overall, Carrozzini successfully transposes a captivating story about hate and toxic family relationships to the big screen, assembling an effective cast and lending the movie great pace." Coming soon to theaters and then premiering on Sky and on streaming service NOW. Grade: B+

18. Pearl

The only reason I saw Pearl is because it screened after The Hanging Sun and I was already at the theater. It's a horror prequel to Ti West's X, which I'd never even heard of. But now I see Pearl has scored a review in the New York Times by none other than A.O. Scott: "The bloodshed is at least as grisly as the slaughter in “X,” but “Pearl” occupies a different corner of the slasher-movie universe. It isn’t especially suspenseful — the identity of the killer is never in doubt, and her victims don’t elicit much sympathy — but it has a strange, hallucinatory intensity." Pearl held my attention. It opened in the U.S. on September 16. Grade: B

The Adriatic Sea from the roof terrace of Palazzo del Cinema, the Lido - Photo: Cat Bauer

19. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Winner of the Golden Lion, the Venice Film Festival's top prize, the documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed by Academy Award-winning director Laura Poitras about the artist Nan Goldin's battle to take down the Sackler family for causing the opioid crisis in the United States was universally praised by most critics. I didn't get a chance to see it at the festival, but the Rossini Multiplex in Venice always screens the Golden Lion winner the next day, so I saw the film on Sunday together with the general Venetian public. About 10 people walked out before the movie was over, and I nearly fell asleep. I will have to see it again because it seems that I lost the plot completely -- maybe it's because we don't have an opioid crisis in Italy? Marketing of drugs directly to patients is prohibited in Europe, as it once was in the United States. (Report: Is Europe facing an opioid crisis like the United States? An analysis of opioid use and related adverse effects in 19 European countries between 2010 and 2018)

From Indiewire: "That title. Even before it screened, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” cast a shiver across the Venice Film Festival competition, sounding more like a line from a Yeats poem than the latest documentary from the director of “CITIZENFOUR.” The big news: the film lives up to it. Already a robust director, Laura Poitras has leveled up with a towering and devastating work of shocking intelligence and still greater emotional power." Grade: Right now I'm not grading it until I see it again. HBO has got the streaming rights. Watch it and decide for yourselves.

The wild side of the Lido, Venice - Photo: Cat Bauer

Attending the Venice Film Festival on the Lido is exhilarating, exhausting, and rewarding. Sitting in a theater together with fellow human beings and sharing the same experience is a gift given by the art of the cinema. The buzz of the comings and goings on the red carpet in the background adds another element of magic. I am always sad when it is over -- it also signals the end of summer, and the end to splashing in the diamonds of shimmering sunlight that sparkle on the gentle waves of the Adriatic Sea.

Ciao from Venezia and the Lido,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Cate Blanchett Is Riveting as International Conductor Lydia Tàr, Todd Field's First Film in 16 Years - Venice Film Festival 2022

Cate Blanchett on the Red Carpet for Tàr
Photo courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia ASAC - Giorgio Zuchiatti

(Venice, Italy) One of my fantasy careers has always been to be the conductor of a symphony orchestra, so I was looking forward to Tàr, despite its two hour and 38 minute running time at the end of a very long day. But I didn't expect to see a genuine masterpiece. It has been 16 years since director Todd Field brought a film to the screen, and it was well worth the wait. Even though I was exhausted, I was riveted by the story that Field had written specifically for Cate Blanchett, whose performance was the work of genius. 

That Tàr is produced by Focus Features is an added bonus. Focus Features has a special place in my heart — I was one of a handful of American expat bloggers they asked to recommend five favorite films set in Italy as part of the publicity they did back in 2010 for the release of The American starring George Clooney.

The Adriatic Sea from the top of the Palazzo del Cinema terrace - Photo: Cat Bauer

The Venice Film Festival got off to a rocky start. The new system to make reservations for screenings kept crashing -- starting at 7AM Central European Time on a Sunday morning(!). It took hours to crack into the system (“your wait is more than an hour”). If you were lucky enough to finally get in, and arrive at the moment when you could finally book your seat, the system would freeze and then spit you back out, forcing you to endure the entire process again, watching helplessly as a tiny cyber figure walked determinedly across the scene as the minutes ticked by. Journalists from all over the world in different time zones were trapped for hours in a seat reservation nightmare, forcing us to change our Sunday plans. 

La Biennale apologized and finally fixed the system, which seemed to run relatively smoothly the rest of the week. Making reservations online is better than The Time Before The Pandemic, when we had to physically wait in a queue. But if you wanted to get a seat to the most desirable films that started at 8:30AM, you had to reserve as soon as the system became available -- which was bumped up even earlier, to 6:45AM. If you had to get up that early to reserve, and be over to the Lido by 8:15, you were not overly enthusiastic about watching a late-night movie. 

Tàr film delegation photo call
Photo courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia ASAC - Giorgio Zuchiatti

All that said, on opening day, I had had less than five hours sleep, but instead of nodding off during Tàr, I was so compelled by the film, I came out of the theater later that evening feeling exhilarated.

There is an early scene in Tàr when Lydia is teaching at Julliard that crackles with electricity and controversy — it is beautifully constructed and sets the standard for the entire film. Todd Field later said in an interview that it took him three and a half months to write just that one scene and another three and a half months to work on it together with Cate Blanchett. That depth of dedication and effort radiates from the screen and is astonishing to watch. 

The review I agree with the most was written by Owen Gleiberman of Variety. I had the good fortune to chat with Owen years ago when we happened to stand next to each other while waiting to enter a screening — back when we did have to physically queue to see a film — and he’s the real deal. (Even though reserving online may be more convenient, it does remove the simple pleasure of human communication while physically waiting on line.) An excerpt from Variety:

Focus Features

Tár’ Review: Cate Blanchett Acts With Ferocious Force in Todd Field’s Masterful Drama About a Celebrity Conductor

The actor creates a study in power, passion, and entitlement in a movie so real it's immersive.

… But “Tár,” the first film he has made in 16 years, takes Todd Field to a new level. The movie is breathtaking — in its drama, its high-crafted innovation, its vision. It’s a ruthless but intimate tale of art, lust, obsession, and power. It’s set in the contemporary classical-music world, and if that sounds a bit high-toned (it is, in a good way), the movie leads us through that world in a manner that’s so rigorously precise and authentic and detailed that it generates the immersion of a thriller. The characters in “Tár” feel as real as life. (They’re acted to richly drawn perfection down to the smallest role.) You believe, at every moment, in the reality you’re seeing, and it’s extraordinary how that raises the stakes.

Venice Film Festival - Photo: Cat Bauer

As we approach the end of the 79th Venice International Film Festival, no other film I saw matched the excellence of Tàr, though I really enjoyed The Banshees of Inisherin, a black comedy set on an imaginary island off the Irish coast, written and directed by the celebrated playwright Martin McDonagh, whose Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017 was critically acclaimed and won a bunch of awards. After having been married to a first-generation Irishman, I loved that trademark Irish dark humor. Judging by the laughter at the screening, so did the rest of the press and industry audience. It has a limited release date in the United Kingdom of October 21. Hopefully the film will eventually show up on a streaming service so that folks in the States can watch it.

Tàr, on the other hand, will be theatrically released in the U.S. on October 7, 2022. I strongly recommend that you invest in a night out and go to the movies to watch it in the company of other human beings. The readers of this blog will appreciate the cultured world it is set in and find comfort knowing that Todd Field has come out of his house to make a forceful movie with so many layers. As the planet grows ever more cyber and divided, the ritual of sharing an emotional experience with fellow human beings grows ever more precious. 

Go to Focus Features for more information.

Ciao from Venezia,

Cat Bauer
The Venice Gazette

Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Finally Through the Looking Glass - 20 Rooms of Venice's Royal Palace in the Correr Museum Are Open

Palazzo Reale, percorso delle Sale Reali:
Enfilade dallo Studio dell'Imperatore d'Austria Francesco Giuseppe
Foto: Massimo Listri ©

(Venice, Italy) For years, the doorway to Emperor Franz Joseph's rooms in the Royal Apartments inside the Correr Museum in Venice had been barricaded by a discreet golden cord. Long after his wife Empress Sissi's rooms were beautifully restored with a French accent back in 2012, when you arrived at the antechamber that connected the two sections of the palace, you were greeted by the elegant gold barrier. The door was open, but all you got was a tempting peek down a long corridor of different doorways that promised a wonderland if you could just get through the looking glass.

Finally, on July 15, 2022 -- after restoration work that had begun back in 2000, more two decades before -- 20 rooms of Venice's Royal Palace opened to the public. Now you can wander through the rooms and dream about times long ago when Venice had been under Austrian rule and the young sovereigns arrived for a 38-day visit between November 1856 and January 1857. Empress Sissi (1837-1898) would go on to live in Venice without Emperor Franz Joseph for another seven months between October 1861 and May 1862.

Arrival of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth of Austria by Ippolito Caffi (c.1856)

The Royal Palace was originally created by Napoleon (1769-1821) after the French conquered Venice in 1797. The palace would become the residence of the three successive dynasties that ruled Venice after the fall of the Serenissma Republic from the early 19th century to the 1920s: 

• The House of Bonaparte 
• The House of Hapsburg 
• The House of Savoy 

When a visiting emperor or empress or king or queen came to town, the Royal Palace is where they lived. Each monarch had their own taste and style. The restorations cover a potpourri of furnishings throughout the time periods. 

I thought it was going to be Empress Sissi on one side and Emperor Franz Joseph on the other, but that is not how the new rooms are arranged.

Studio of Emperor Franz Joseph - Photo: Massimo Listri©

Instead we hop from Emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916) to his younger brother Maximilian (1832-1867), Archduke and Emperor of Mexico, and his wife Carlotta of Hapsburg with elements of the Napoleonic period mixed in. We jump back and forth through time as Europe fought deadly battles to decide who was boss while royalty sojourned in Venice… only to ultimately arrive at the conclusion that no one was stronger — everyone had power in their own way — and the best solution was peace. 

When King Umberto (1844-1900) and Queen Margherita stayed in Venice to inaugurate the very first Biennale in 1895 -- the first International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice -- they stayed in the Royal Apartments. There is one room called "The Living Room of King Umberto" dominated by one of Margherita's impressive dresses. 

The final rooms are the chamber where King Vittorio Emanuele II (1820-1878) slept on November 7, 1866 to celebrate the union of Venice and the Veneto with the Kingdom of Italy and the adjoining living room and studio. 

Once the royal days of kings and emperors were over, the rooms became offices and archives used by the State and its officials, as often happens in Venice. And, as one would expect, most of the existing decorations and furnishings were removed.

Happily, now the renovated rooms are all decorated and adorned with tapestries reproduced in the original designs. From the upholstery to the cabinets to to the door knobs, the meticulous work was performed by contemporary Venetian craftspeople at the top of their game, and illustrates the rich heritage and tradition that still exists in Venice and the Veneto to this day. 

Also, some of the original furniture from the Royal Palace has been tracked down and returned to the palace, which may account for the colorful nature of the itinerary -- I would imagine that it was not easy gathering the beautiful furnishings from whomever had gained possession.

Royal Gardens & St. Mark's Basin seen from Royal Apartments - Photo: Cat Bauer

The Royal Apartments occupy the north side of the piano nobile of the Procuratie Nuove, overlooking the Royal Gardens, which were also recently restored, and Saint Mark's Basin. The rooms run parallel to the Museo Correr exhibition rooms, which look over Piazza San Marco.

Moorish Room - Photo: Cat Bauer

 
My favorite room was the exotic Moorish Room, commissioned by Archduke Maximilian after two journeys to the Islamic world, first to Turkey in 1850 and the second to Egypt five years later. The recreations of the sofas and the complex patterns on the ceiling and the walls illustrate the care and attention to detail that went into the restoration (and probably why it took so long).

The restoration was directed by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and the Venice City Council, supported by the Superintendency, with the invaluable contribution of the French Committee for the Preservation of Venice (Le Comité français pour la sauvegarde de Venise), and patrons from around the entire world. There are discreet brass plaques in each room detailing who sponsored which restoration. 

You can only visit the new itinerary of the Royal Rooms with a reservation and a special guide, limited to groups of ten people. You can book at the Correr ticket counter when you arrive. The tours are in Italian, English and French. Go to the Correr Museum for the time schedule and more information.

Also, you can see the photo exhibition of Massimo Listri, known for capturing the souls of places, in the Correr's magnificent ballroom through October 22.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

American Students Clean Carlo Scarpa Facade in Venice

Carlo Scarpa Entrance to Faculty of Literature & Philosophy of IUAV Venice (before)
Photo: Masegni & Nizioleti Associazione ONLUS

(Venice, Italy) One of the masterpieces designed by the renowned 20th century Venetian architect, Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978), can be found in Campo San Sebastiano. Next door to the 15th century church decorated with treasures by Renaissance artist Paolo Veronese, Scarpa transformed the former convent of San Sebastiano into the contemporary home of the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of Ca' Foscari University.

The distinct Istrian stone entrance portal reflects Scarpa's genius, connecting the university to the adjacent Church of San Sebastiano. Scarpa unites the architecture of different centuries, and inserts the Renaissance statue of Saint Sebastian inside his trademark 20th century circle. The entrance was completed by Guido Pietropoli after Scarpa's untimely death in 1978 when he fell down a flight of concrete stairs in Sendai, Japan. 

 

Zachary Scalzo, Italian language instructor at FAU,
sprays water on the offending posters as students scrub

 

The Masterpiece as a Billboard

 

Ironically, different "progressive" organizations in Venice think the Istrian stone facade of Scarpa's work of art makes a good billboard and plastered posters advertising various meet-ups across the facade, defacing the masterpiece.

Alberto Alberti - Photo: Cat Bauer

Alberto Alberti, head of Masegni & Nizioleti Associazione ONLUS, a local group of volunteers who keep an eye on Venice's distinct street signs and stones -- and have been cleaning up graffiti since 2012 -- notified me that some American students from Florida Atlantic University would be helping the Venetians tackle the facade clean-up this past Friday. The students had been out to Brion Cemetery near Treviso, another Carlo Scarpa masterpiece, and where he is buried, and wanted to give back to the city that had hosted them for six weeks.

I was curious. How did these American students get here? And how did they hook up with our local Venetian group? 

 

Dr. Ilaria Serra, Professor of Italian and Comparative Studies &
coordinator of the FAU Italian Program

 

Study abroad in Venice with genuine Venetian professors D.O.C.

 

Enter Dr. Ilaria Serra, Professor of Italian and Comparative Studies, and the vibrant coordinator of the FAU Italian Program, which includes the opportunity to study abroad in Venice for six weeks. Ilaria and her husband, Emanuele Pettener, are both Venetians who got married in Venice and moved to the United States 20 years ago. They both teach at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, while staying closely connected to Venice and their Venetian families and friends.

I love that real Venetians are actually over in the States teaching Americans about the culture and language of Venice and Italy with an innate wisdom that no foreigner can replicate. Check out the FAU Italian Program:

Italian Studies Program

Ilaria is also a friend of Alberto Alberti, so together they organized the Friday Cleaning Day. And that was how the FAU students spent their last morning in Venice -- giving back to the city. Bravi! 

The crew from FAU - Photo: Cat Bauer

And here is the Carlo Scarpa entrance to the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Campo San Sebastiano adjacent to the Church of San Sebastiano, after being freshly cleaned:

Entrance to the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Entrance to the Church of San Sebastiano
Photo: Masegni & Nizioleti Associazione ONLUS

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer

Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

A Deluge of Artists and Artisans in the Venice Lagoon & Lori Weitzner's "Ode to Color" at Palazzo Mora

Alchemy by Lori Weitzner - Photo: Cat Bauer
"So pervasive is the association of gold with beauty, warmth, worth and nobility
that it has become both a substance and a symbol in our everyday lives.
Radiant and rare, gold is a coveted object,
but also a signifier of power, achievement, divinity, adoration.
...These touches do more than beautify; they elevate and inspire,
motivating us to move beyond the mundane, and toward our loftiest goals"

(Venice, Italy) I had been invited to the inauguration of American textile designer Lori Weitzner's "Ode to Color" installation inside the European Cultural Center's Palazzo Mora back on April 21, during the preview week of Biennale Art, but I could not wade through all the openings to get there. That turned out to be a good thing because when I finally did visit the palace, I had the chance to explore Lori's whimsical room for as long as I wanted without the crush of a crowd.

The Biennale di Venezia International Art Exhibition normally runs during odd years, while the Architecture Exhibition runs during even years. But in 2020, because of the pandemic, nobody was traveling anywhere, so there was no International Architecture Exhibition. Instead, the Biennale artistic directors of all the different departments -- Art, Architecture, Cinema, Music, Dance and Theater -- dug into Biennale's Historical Archives for Contemporary Arts (ASAC) and curated The Disquieted Muses - When La Biennale di Venezia Meets History, a riveting retrospective that marked Biennale's 125th anniversary, opening with a clip from June 14, 1934 -- a pivotal moment in history when Adolf Hitler met Benito Mussolini for the first time at the airport on the Lido in Venice. 

As the Covid pandemic ebbed and surged, and the world argued about vaccinations and whether to wear a mask, it appeared that the Muses had grown even more Disquieted. But those inside Venice lived a different history in the making -- an empty, peaceful city void of tourists with clear water and fish in the canals. 

The International Architecture Exhibition was bumped to an odd year, 2021, which bumped the International Art Exhibition into the even year of April 2022. Everything seemed topsy-turvy. Fittingly, Biennale Arte 2022, curated by Cecilia Alemani, was entitled "The Milk of Dreams," inspired by the 1950s children's book by Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, about "a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination."

Not only had Biennale been delayed due to the pandemic -- the massive Homo Faber contemporary craftsmanship event had also been postponed from 2020 to April 2022 and set to run at the same time, overlapping the opening of Biennale Arte 2022. The Homo Faber Event mobilized top artisans and expert craftsmakers throughout Europe and Japan to gather on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore in the Venice lagoon, reachable only by boat.

At the beginning of 2022, all around the planet, the creative world swirled into action. Artists, artisans, curators and their entourages, and all their physical works prepared to emerge from a global lockdown to arrive in April in Venice -- an isolated town built on water that borders the Adriatic Sea, connected to the mainland by a single causeway -- for a month dedicated to creativity. It is challenging to transport art and people to Venice in normal times, let alone during a pandemic. But it is also difficult to squish creative people into solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time, and it was time to burst out of the cell.

Out Loud by Lori Weitzner - Photo: Cat Bauer
"Bold and uninhibited, fiercely energetic, powerful, fearless, modern.
This is the world of Out Loud colors, those bright, saturated hues
popularized during the 20th century's technological advancements.
Electric lights, moving pictures, and cartoon animation took nature's palette and amplified it
with an intensity that altered our cultural landscape. ...
the Out Loud color world has been a darling of the avant-garde,
and anyone else for that matter who is unafraid to be noticed, to be heard, to be counted."

As April got closer, and the openings of of Homo Faber and Biennale Arte approached, all the pent-up artistic energy that had been building during the pandemic started to explode throughout the museums, palaces, galleries, workshops and ateliers of Venice in a kaleidoscope of creativity. The town raced to get ready -- global pandemic be damned.

Venice has been putting on a show for over a thousand years, and she had grand plans to open the city back up with a bang. Freshly restored palaces would spew contemporary art; old boat-repair and blacksmith workshops would transform into art galleries; and deconsecrated churches would serve as the backdrops of art installations. There would be art in the streets and art on the walls. There would be art sprinkled throughout restaurants and hotel lobbies. There would be art in the libraries. There would be art everywhere.

In coordination with the international arrivals for the Biennale Art Festival, and the Homo Faber Event out on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, all the local artisans and craftsmakers throughout the calli and campi of Venice planned to throw open their doors and offer the public a chance to meet them up close and personal through a series of live workshops, demonstrations and other events through "In Città" itineraries. 

Plus there would be powerful contemporary art displayed in venerable museums filled with ancient masters like Anish Kapoor at the Accademia, and Anselm Kiefer at Palazzo Ducale. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection would have its first opening since the pandemic began with Surrealism and Magic, with an entire room of surrealistic works by Leonora Carrington, the author of "The Milk of Dreams," who had inspired the whole thing in the first place -- not to mention the opening of the Human Safety Net in the Procuratie in Piazza San Marco for the first time in 500 years. (I am omitting the many new galleries and spaces and palaces that I would later discover because there are too many to mention -- there is an even an art colony growing down deep in Castello.) It felt like Venice was gearing up to be the center of the artistic universe.

Then — shockingly — in keeping with the Surrealism theme, Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and Europe was impossibly at war. Tanks rolled. Buildings exploded. People fled. Russian airspace shut down, causing flight disruptions, making it even more difficult to reach Venice. The muses needed to go into overdrive to help the gods and mankind reach their artistic and intellectual heights.

Yet, somehow the Queen of the Adriatic pulled the whole thing off. Spring arrived, and so did the travelers coming from abroad. As the outside world descended into chaos, inside Venice, wrapped in the protective arms of the lagoon, another world overflowing with openings and inaugurations and bubbles of prosecco existed, so many events that it was impossible to reach everything even traveling on a magic carpet. Out in front of the Gallerie dell'Accademia, as we waited for the boat taxi to take us to Anish Kapoor's new headquarters at Palazzo Manfrin, I said to the artist, "It almost seems like the dark energy of war fuels the bright energy of creativity," and Kapoor called me an optimist. He is probably right...

Fragrant Woods by Lori Weitzner - Photo: Cat Bauer
"Capturing the colors of an ancient forest -- its umber bark, velvet moss, sepia soil and variegated greens --
the Fragrant Woods color world is rustic and grounding, nurturing, timeless.
It contains the sights and scents of our simplest experiences and deepest roots.
It is the blue-green smell of fresh spruce; it is the aged surface of the old oak desk in the study;
it is the weathered finish of worn leather, the noble green of the holly bush in winter
and the deep brown of the scented soil in late spring."

I finally made it to Lori Weitzner's "Ode to Color" at the beginning of May. Amazingly, I had never been in Palazzo Mora before, even though I have known the European Cultural Center for years, but in their other locations. Running simultaneously with the Venice Biennale, the ECC hosts hundreds of artists every year, and has a more commercial vibe than the Biennale. Palazzo Mora had an appealing buzz and a labyrinth of rooms stuffed with contemporary art and clever attendants to guide you.

Lori Weitzner is an American textile and product designer, with work in permanent collections of museums like the Cooper-Hewitt in New York and The Victoria Albert in London. I had met her in Venice at the end of April at a private cocktail party in her honor, and she was delightful. Her work reflects her spirit. The installation in Palazzo Mora is a manifestation of her best-selling book Ode to Color: The Ten Essential Palettes for Living and Design.

The installation was like an Alice in Wonderland of color and scents. There were 10 different transparent cubes filled with objects of 10 different colors, miniature worlds with intriguing themes. There were also 10 different perfume bottles on display with enchanting names like Night Shadows and Earthly that apparently matched the worlds inside the cubes. I spritzed myself with all the scents which was sort of like sniffing wizardry vapors and decided I liked Alchemy, Out Loud and Fragrant Woods the best. 

Then I noticed a screen that invited me to take the Ode to Color Analysis, "eighteen engaging questions that will guide you to the color world or worlds that will best suit your home and work interiors and enhance the way you live."

The questions were engaging and made me think. When I finished, the results were amazing -- the same three worlds I had chosen by their scents were the ones recommended by the Ode to Color analysis: Alchemy, Out Loud and Fragrant Woods! Try it yourself!

The Ode to Color results are in

Lori Weitzner's "Ode to Color" installation will be at the ECC's Palazzo Mora, along with hundreds of other artists, until the Venice Biennale International Art Festival ends on November 27, 2022.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog