Venice | Ca' Pesaro (Sorolla) | Doge's Palace - Walks in Europe Tour

8/13/2024

Today was another amazing day! I finally got to visit Venice and it was just as beautiful as I imagined. The light and atmosphere was really magical and there was a nice ocean breeze which helped to cool down a bit. I tried my best to take some accurate photos, but photos (as always) can't do justice to this amazing place; that's why I really want to see these places in person and to experience them for myself.
Our itinerary had two main sites to visit: Ca' Pesaro and the Doge's Palace. Ca' Pesaro is an art museum which has a lot of interesting pieces and also a really cool collection of Japanese armor. The main attraction, for me, was a painting by Joaquín Sorolla called Mending the Sail (1896). Anyone who knows me.. knows that I love Sorolla.
I first discovered Sorolla while I was working at Sotheby's auction house in 2013. I was blown away by his paintings and he's been a major influence on me ever since. I also visited the Museo Sorolla back in 2018 on a trip to Madrid. Seeing this large Sorolla painting in Venice was pretty amazing and I took my time to really study it. I took a lot of close-up photos to show the paint texture, but I also took a video so that you can see the size of it (scroll down).
Our other stop was the Doge's Palace and a group tour with Walks in Europe. The tour also included St. Mark's Basilica which was equally as impressive. The entire tour was excellent and our guide, Carolina, was extremely knowledgeable and did a great job. If anyone is thinking about doing a tour in Venice (or across Europe) definitely check them out.

Photos from Venice

View from top floor of Ca' Pesaro.

The Rialto Bridge.

Ceiling at the Doge's Palace.

The Bridge of Sighs.

Ca' Pesaro - Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna

Sorolla's work always impresses me and I was very inspired by looking at this one. There are many things that you can only see in person, such as: accurate color, value, paint texture, canvas type, etc. I hope these photos demonstrate a bit of Sorolla's paint handling and layering.