Bibliograph

The unfinished palazzo, life, love and art in Venice : the stories of Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim, Judith Mackrell

Type

Label

The unfinished palazzo, life, love and art in Venice : the stories of Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim, Judith Mackrell

Language

eng

Illustrations

photographs

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The unfinished palazzo

Responsibility statement

Judith Mackrell

Sub title

life, love and art in Venice : the stories of Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim

Summary

Commissioned in 1750, the Palazzo Venier was planned as a testimony to the power and wealth of a great Venetian family, but the fortunes of the Venier family waned and the project was abandoned with only one storey complete. Empty, unfinished, and in a gradual state of decay, the building was considered an eyesore. Yet in the early 20th century the Unfinished Palazzo's quality of fairytale abandonment, and its potential for transformation, were to attract and inspire three fascinating women at key moments in their lives: Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim. Each chose the Palazzo Venier as the stage on which to build her own world of art and imagination, surrounded by an amazing supporting cast, from d'Annunzio and Nijinsky, via Noel Coward and Cecil Beaton, to Yoko Ono

Classification