For some time now I wanted to tell you about the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice. My friend Julia advised me not to miss the opportunity to visit the museum and she was absolutely right. To be honest, and I am embarrassed to say, I had never heard of Peggy before…or of her extraordinary contribution to shaping the world of modern art as we know it today. The palazzo is an absolutely beautiful building and completely different to the other palazzo’s on the Grand Canal as it only has one floor. I heard that while it was being built, it started taking down the other palazzos so they had to stop to only one floor. This did not seem to discourage Peggy from buying it and she actually allowed people to come and visit her house to see her beautiful collection while she was sunbathing at the roof garden.
I was fascinated by the paintings and her taste (I almost felt that if I had the money I would go for the same things) and became really interested in learning more about this woman. So I read her autobiography Out of this Century – Confessions of an Art Lover. Her Bohemian lifestyle surprised me at first however her writing is so good that I could not put it down. Her love life is so rich and also interconnected with her passion about art. But above all, I loved the architecture of the old and new house, the gardens, the gates, the Venitian Well and best of all I loved the art…Definitely recommended!
It actually got me into the mood for buying some art…The next time I am in Corfu I want to visit the studio of some of my favourite painters, Tasos Alamanos and Spyros Alamanos. Totally different artists, totally different techniques, but a result that stays in your memory and heart forever.
