10/9 Wednesday
Bob and Venice are having a
love-hate relationship. On the one hand, Bob loves to be on or near the water,
so being in Venice makes him happy because everything is on the water.
But, Bob also needs to know where we are on the map at every turn, and he and
the twisted streets of Venice and the canals and the map are having a terrible time
getting along. I can only hope they learn to play nice before the week is over.
Today, we find our way to the Peggy
Guggenheim Collection, located in her villa on the Grand Canal. It’s a popular
destination for American tourists especially. The villa is smallish, elegant
and perfectly Italianesque. The courtyard is a sculpture garden, and there is
an adjoining building for additional exhibits. Much of the work is displayed as
she had placed it. Calder, Picasso and Dali welcome you into the foyer. The
custom-made Calder headboard is in her bedroom. The library holds five, or is
it six, works by Jackson Pollack, illustrating the evolution of his method. I
recall that one Pollack work recently sold at auction for $58 million dollars. Hmmm.
The other building has a show of
post-impressionist works by Bonnard, Signac, Redon and others. Here I notice
that most of the works are labeled “Private Collection.” So these are works
that one can’t expect to encounter again in any museum. It’s a rare privilege
to see them, and strange to consider that somebody might just have one in their
dining room.
In the garden, we visit Peggy’s
grave, with her dog cemetery next to her. A big plaque reads “Here lie my
beloved Babies” with the list of fifteen or so dogs buried there. It all makes us
want to learn more about her and her family.
Next up, the Museo Correr. This
building was designed to be Napoleon’s home, but it is actually more
interesting because it’s located right on St. Mark’s square, and you can look
down on the tourists and pigeons from the upper floors.
1 Video Included
Venice Peggy Guggenheim Collection
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