Venice Carnival [Paperback]

Paolo Alei (Author), Virginio Favale (Photographer)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1902889010 | ISBN-13: 978-1902889016 | Publication Date: January 2006

he Venice Carnival is recognised world-wide as a symbol of all that is lavish, passionate and original in costume and design. It has always been a feast of the senses, a human machine which interprets the world through allegory using themes from the seasons, the cosmos, the elements, mythology, history, politics and culture. The illustrations capture the fascinating decadence of the contemporary Venice Carnival. Expressions, gestures, damasks, brocades and colours are manifested like ghosts, shadows and reflections with the use of a photographic technique that evokes the traditions of Venetian painting, changing carnival imagery from the postcard to the art document. The photographer gained access to private palaces and parties to record the images. The essay analyses both the ancient and modern significance of carnival in Venice. Historical and social documents from theatrical literature, chronicles, descriptions from travellers of old and laws and punishments invoke the true essence of the significance of the carnival to the people of Venice.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Trans-Atlantic Publications, Inc. (January 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1902889010
• ISBN-13: 978-1902889016
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,619,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book - Exactly what I was looking for..., April 11, 2009

By 

James M. Schultz (Eureka, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Venice Carnival (Paperback)

Wonderful book. Great pictures in a surreal photographic style. Sought books on Venetian Carnival for research into my own writing and of the three that I purchased this one is definitely my favorite. Very nice text to accompany the pictures.

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Coffee Table Book - Venice Carnivale, August 16, 2011

By 

lmkluvsshoes - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Venice Carnival (Paperback)

This is a very nice book full of history, interesting reading and photos. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I was generally disppointed with the photos. Although there are many beautiful color and black and white photos, I really believe that the photos overall could have been better-quality. There are too many very small,inch-square, black and white photos which should have been large photos, and in color in order to show detail of the masks and costumes. Why the author would choose to put in small, black and white photos at all in a book like this is incomprehensible to me. And I would have liked to see more photos of elegant 18th century costuming, in particular - more women's costumes - as opposed to the strange fantasy-like costumes shown in the majority of the photos. Also, there were one or two very large color photos which had a blurred-special effect, which seemed like a waste of space and so inappropriate for a book like this. I would imagine that a reader would be more interested in seeing clear imagery showing the uniqueness of Venice's masks and costumes. The book's historical accounts were very well presented; overall a good book and worth buying.