Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MINI TREASURE, December 10, 2002
"Seeing Venice" - just the title is inviting. Who would not want to see this incomparable city, whether for the first time or again and again? Mark Doty, poet and National Book Critics Circle Award winner, presents the Getty Museum's "View of the Grand Canal" in a lyrical essay accompanied by intriguing details from the painting. Doty calls our attention to various aspects of this masterpiece - water, sky and shadows. He also focuses on other artists and writers who have been attracted by this mystical city - Henry James, Tintoretto, and the Brownings. An especially treasured gift, the jacket of this small (approx. 5" by 5") book unfolds to a miniature poster of the painting, which is an outstanding item in the Getty's collection. Bellotto, the painter, was a nephew of Canaletto and recognized for his idealized views of Venice. This particular painting measures over 4 feet by 7 feet, and limns a cross-section of Venetian society engaged in daily business. Whether afficionados of Italy or not "Seeing Venice" is a mini treasure. - Gail Cooke
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Painter With Words!, October 20, 2003
Everything that Mark Doty touches turns to something beautiful, whether he is writing poetry or writing about art as SEEING VENICE illustrates. This tiny book would make a wonderful gift to lovers of Venice, art, poetry, Mark Doty or all of the above. In a brief essay, Mr. Doty illuminates Bernardo Bellotto's (1722-1780) Venetian painting "Grand Canal" completed when the artist was all of 19.What I find so wonderful about this little treasure is that Mr. Doty writes straightforward, unpretentious prose about a beautiful painting; and, as always, he convinces me that he is accurate in what he says. He apparently does what a lot of us do not-- he simply looks closely at a work of art and makes sensible observations. For example, in this painting he is not sure whether the season is spring or autumn since the artist doesn't indicate a time. "Spring, fall? No way to distinguish, not in this landscape. Do the clouds promise whether to come, or speak of turbulence passed? These boatmen, of course, would know precisely how to read them." Not content just to explicate, Mr. Doty compares the isolation of the figures here with the works of Edward Hopper. He also contrasts Venice with modern New York City and quotes both the writers Henry James and John Ruskin. James on Venice: "Of all the cities in the world it is the easiest to visit without going there." Mr. Doty concludes that the painting is about time and makes a good argument for this premise. The book contains 20 or 30 closeup photographs of various details from the painting as well as a large complete picture that folds out for a better view. Mr. Doty is one of our treasures.I'd love to see him write an entire book on painting.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Venice, art, and being as only Mark Doty can illuminate, November 5, 2002
SEEING VENICE is a truly appropriate title for this small gem of a book that celebrates the presence of the Bellotto 18th Century painting 'View of the Grand Canal' which graces the collection of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. As in his earlier book STILL LIFE WITH OYSTERS AND LEMON Mark Doty writes succinct conversations with us about just looking at this elegant painting. His intensely poetic vision accompanies us through the various aspects of not only the painting but of the history of Venice. He reminds us that Venice is essentially a relic from the past, loved by writers, painters, composers, and visitors. Why is it so universally loved? 'Part of the world's love for this place must have to do with the fact that it has always seemed ephemeral, doomed. Might the whole city drift away? Certainly it might go under.' Taking us on a visual journey of every aspect of the painting (reflections, the boats, the people, the domes, the endless vista into space, etc.), Doty pauses to remind us how we in this country treat historical buildings and places differently. 'We like our evidence of time at a distance: quaint, pickled in resin or amber. We don't want it near our bodies.' Poignant food for thought.And as if this remarkably beautiful essay weren't enough the book is one of close details of the grand painting that spans the cover of the dust jacket: Doty's words are 'illustrated' by a careful art editor, unfolding in quality color, production and design. This is a stunning little work of words, history, art and poetry. Would that all great paintings could be so illuminated for us by this gifted man's eyes and words!
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