Looking Back: A Modern Cassanova In Venice

If anyone is a fan of Italy and art this post is about fashion of the 17th century using the character of Cassanova a famous character of Venice and a model for a European upper class dandy.  

The images first appeared in an article in Swide.com an Italian fashion and style internet magazine.  

The 17th century style of clothing is popular and worn by many Venice revelers at the Venice Carnival which takes place in February. 

The clothes were handmade by an expert Italian tailor Stephano Nicholao who makes and rents costumes to the Venice Carnival revelers and movie production companies, who's business is also in Venice.

  

I love this series it is beautifully photographed with a camera using film and is not digitally captured.

A beautiful Venice backdrop with the canal for our character Cassanova.

This is a historical look at what the clothes were like and Venice is a perfect place for the surroundings, since it hasn't changed in hundreds of years.  The whole city is listed as a World Heritage Site.

The season is winter, the Venice Carnival is in February not that long ago.  This article appeared two years ago.

Venice side streets are narrow and one can get lost if not familiar with the city.

This period is my favorite for Venice costumes and the style I plan to wear when I go.  I have seen many Venice costumes for men and the color combination of white breaches, vest shirt and tricorn hat with the black wool cape is the most stunning combination.

 

The young man who wrote the article is also the model, his desire is to go to New York as a writer, if I were him I would stay right there, I'm kidding of course...well maybe not! 

A close-up of the intricately made jacket and beautiful silk brocade.

 

 

This is a much different scene than the rainy season where the canal waters overflow the sidewalks.  Visitors and citizens alike slosh around in knee high boots and boats where the side walks are!

 

Oops there is the ever present cell phone!

Note the photographers in the background.  I understand there are people in costume in December in Venice.

I think someone has just told him he looks wonderful!

Arrivederci alla prossima Venice Carnivale!

The Grand Canal

  

Pink Pleasure

 A Carpet of Pink Flowers

Pink is such a pleasurable color it can be light or bright and comes in many forms, shapes and sizes - Spring wouldn't be spring without its glorious pinks!

Pink Irises

like my neighbor's irises...and the early blossoms of the redbud tree...

 Early Spring Flowering Redbud Tree

  
Pink can be seen in the most unlikely places..

 RoyD Erickson

filling G R E A T   B I G  W A L L  S P A C E S...
 

Edward Fielding

It wouldn't do to not have pink in our everyday lives even in small amounts...it makes life...well...more interesting...even fun!

like going to the fair...  with all your favorites like pink cotton candy and lollypop swirls...

Pink Fantasy

or standing in a shower of flowers with a pink and blue house very near...

Pink Car Hood

Pink can be loud and bold....even shocking!!!    

Pink Blossoms In The Snow 

or a quiet hush and soft as new fallen snow...

Jeffery Johnson

It can be good times and rock 'n roll!... dance'n in your "pink" suede shoes...

or take'n the Buick out for a roll!

Ted Guhl

It can be floating in a boat in far off places...

Suzanne Powers

Pink is everywhere to be enjoyed and cherished...it's a heart that is as big as a tree so white birds can fly right through it!

So no matter where you are just look around...Pink, it's pleasure that's very near to all that you hold...dear.

More Seashells By the Seashore

Gabriel Germain Joncherie, Still Life 1808

More art by the seashore this time shells in art and seashell art.  The marvelous Trompe L'Oeil by Johcherie above at first observation seemed to be a showcase for the pearl, a product of at least some or all of the animals that make their home in the seashells shown in the niches.  

Upon closer observation and reflection the pearl necklace, cross, bowl and olive branch appear to represent the Pearl of Great Worth (God's Word and wisdom), Christ the sacrifice (cross), the Holy Spirit (bowl that holds water, water representing the Holy Spirit) and peace (olive branch) in that order. 

Possibly the playing card with the King of Diamonds is Jesus who is the King that Christians will rule and reign with, his kingdom is forever and Christians also his subjects, are described as jewels.  If you have any ideas I'd love to know. 

The broken glass may be symbolic of the scripture "The violent take it by force." Jesus teaching his disciples to have an aggressive stance using spiritual methods.

Suzanne Powers

When I was researching shell images for this post, the previous post had to do with the shore and my vacations to Nagshead, NC and Cape Cod, MA, I became inspired to write another post, this one, I was inspired by another artist's beautiful watercolor of a Nautilus shell.  

The image above looking somewhat like a fractural is the the result of that inspiration using an image of a Nautilus shell resizing it several times, repeating it and adding textures.

The image below is for all the surreal art fans.  I find it captivating with the man looking out at the ocean with a look of consternation on his face, the small figures and cliff seemingly

Meditation By The Sea, artist unknown, Boston Museum of Fine Arts

going on forever in the distance creates a sense of vastness of the sea.  It looks contemporary except for the clothing, it was painted in the 1860's.

Suzanne Powers

I took the same Nautilus shell and created this image.   It looks somewhat like the primitive style in the 1860's surreal sea image.

I have been working very hard on my images and looking for other artists images to add although one has to ask permission and I don't always have the theme worked out in time before I need to post, I can use images that are in the public domain without permission.  

That is one reason why this blog has been challenging - having enough images to share.  It also helps me to think about specific subjects to write and create art for.  It's like having my own magazine with deadlines, I won't get fired if I don't meet the deadline, just less viewers! 

Suzanne Powers

Below is a beautiful collection of shells that would make Martha Stewart jealous!  I'm only kidding, I love Martha she is iconic, famous for her design and holistic lifestyle.

Alexandre Isadore De Barde, A Selection of Shells Arranged On a Shelf

This is what I call a still life table collection of shells and corals beautifully by Ann Vallayer Coster.

Ann Vallayer Coster, With Tuft of Marine Plants, Shells and Corals

I created the one below, 'Shipwreak II,' it's actually a photo of one of the conch shells on a Christmas wreath I made with tree branches and real magnolia leaves that are not recognizable in the image and added textures.

Suzanne Powers

  
One more to finish the view on seashells. This one fits the category of seashells as art, a spectacular flower arrangement made entirely of shells in the late 1700's.

She Sells Sea Shells By the.....

 Whispers Of The Sea

Whenever I see this image of shells from a visit one early spring at Nags Head, NC it calls to me whispering it's ocean sounds making me nostalgic for the time I spent there. I spend a lot of time walking up and down the beach.  The beaches are wider than the ones at Cape Cod and further North.  Because of it's size it seems to have it's own culture and events, a constant flow of wildlife from birds to crabs playing to humans doing various activities. I'm grown now and no longer drawn to sun worshiping and going into the water, 

 Young Seagulls On Harwich Cape Cod Beach

now I like observing what comes out of the water, not so much the human kind, but the animal kind.  Going in early spring was different, no crowds only the locals walking the beach with the occasional visitor. It always seemed like a idyllic dream to go beach combing and sell sea shells or things made with them by the sea staying all summer, becoming familiar with the sea and its rhythm of life.

 Pink Seaweed On Harwich Beach Cape Cod

What makes the ocean so compelling, is it the constant motion of the waves and water  pulled by the moon?  Sea creatures come out of the water scuttling around digging into the sand, some marooned of ancient heritage, living fossils.  Passing visitors peer at animals that exist only in the deep ocean.   Not having grown up around water what the ocean has to offer seems a bit mysterious...

Horseshoe Crab Shell

Every early morning on the beach is like a new event there are  always lots of things to see before people come to treasure hunt; what will show up?...will there be a conch shell or unfamiliar  sea life rolling in with the waves?...will my new found friend be there too? 

I stayed near one of the National Data Buoy System stations which coordinates monitoring of water temperature, atmospheric pressure, and many other things in the US and other international locations.  There is a live video cam there, if you walk nearby  it will pick you up and you will appear on their website. 

Summer Throne, Harwich Beach, Cape Cod

I have photos from my visit last summer to Cape Cod, I didn't have the photography bug yet when I visited Nags Head.

 Beached Shells, Red River Beach, Harwich, Cape Cod, MA

Small shells are heaped up in piles at Red River Beach, Harwich, Cape Cod, MA. 

 Sea Wall, Providence MA

There wasn't much sand in Providence but lot's of stone seawalls and seaweed with an inlet, the Atlantic Ocean beyond. 

 

Strutting Young Seagull

Knobska Point Light, Woods Hole, Cape Cod MA

Originally built in 1828, Nobska Light was rebuilt in 1876. The structure on the National Register of Historic Places.  The home adjacent to the light serves as the residence for the Commanding Officer of United States Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England.

Visitors On The Lawn At Knobska Point Light