Музей воды. Венецианский дневник эпохи Твиттера

«One of the earliest buildings of the Grotesque Renaissance, rendered impressive by its position, size, and general proportions. These latter are exceedingly good; the grace of the whole building being chiefly dependent on the inequality of size in its cupolas, and pretty grouping of the two campaniles behind them. It is to be generally observed that the proportions of buildings have nothing whatever to do with the style of general merits of their architecture. An architect trained in the worst schools, and utterly devoid of all meaning or purpose in his work may yet have such natural gift of massing and grouping as will render all his structures effective when seen from a distance: such a gift is very general with the late Italian builders, so that many of the most contemptible edifices in the country have good stage effect so long as we do not approach them. The Church of the Salute is farther assisted by the beautiful flight of steps in front to fit down to the canal; and its façade is rich and beautiful of its kind, and was chosen by Turner for the principal object in this well-known view of the Grand Canal. The principal faults of the building are the meagre windows in the sides of the cupola, and the ridiculous disguise of the buttresses under the form of colossal scrolls; the buttresses themselves being originally a hypocrisy, for the cupola is stated by Lazari to be of timber, and therefore needs none. The sacristy contains several precious pictures: the three on its roof by Titian, much vaunted, are indeed as feeble as they are monstrous; but the small Titian, ‘St. Mark, with Sts. Cosmo and Damian,’ was, when I first saw it, to my judgment, by far the first work of Titian’s in Venice. It has since been restored by the Academy, and it seemed to me entirely destroyed, but I had not time to examine it carefully».

Из Джона Рёскина

Materia Prima. Выставка коллекции Франсуа Пино в Пунта делла Догана (Punta della Dogana)

Для своей коллекции миллионер Пино выбрал самое эффектное место района и один из самых открыточных видов Венеции – стрелку Дорсодуро, крайнюю точку Гранд-канала. Где город разворачивается лицом к лагуне. Где по каналу делла-Джудекка ходят многоэтажные корабли – мимо великих фасадов и не менее великих куполов. Отсюда хорошо виден Дворец дожей и начало Пьяццетты, то самое место, где две колонны обозначают главный вход на территорию города.

Раньше в этом красивом ангаре размещалась таможня; теперь его вымыли, выскоблили, начинили ультрасовременной аппаратурой и разместили часть коллекции Франсуа Пино.

Придумана институция гениально: актуальное искусство необходимо Венеции, принципиально не меняющей архитектурных и ландшафтных очертаний вот уже несколько веков, для того, чтобы, хотя бы отчасти, она почувствовала себя современным городом и частью современного мира. Чтобы «там, внутри» застывшего острова сокровищ, бурлили не только туристические и сувенирные страсти.