There
is the instant, obvious beauty of luxurious palaces with graceful fronts,
bridges thrown across the water, churches with lacy white stonework. Then
there is the beauty both revealed and concealed of shadows cast, cobblestones
glistening from the lagoon waves, with their dazzling shapes and lights.
That trivial beauty that vanishes if you do not grasp it. The one that might
croon: « Vous, qui passez sans me voir… » (“You
who are passing by without seeing me…”) The one that sharpens
the eye. The one that grabs you round the corner of an alley all but dark
from the night. Yet another one that ripples across the water. A reflection
that breaks shapes, shatters the image, splits up reality, recreate the
city or foreshadows its downfall. Two visions for capturing such moments.
One that enters the secrecy of the night, merges into it, becomes the night
that seeks the light. The other one that catches bright colours, merges
into canal water so as to bring about images from the vibrant soul of Venice.
Finding some balance between vision and illusion. Grasping that flash of
beauty. Committing to memory a sense of that place, that space, with an
eye to render its essence.
