10-3-17 Peggy Guggenheim Museum and a Tour of the Grand Canal – Lover of Wine – Travel along on our adventures

Today we split up – Jason and Terri went for a guided tour of Saint Mark’s Square and Janeen and I went to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Peggy is related to all the other Guggenheims around – but didn’t have all the money they did. Her father didn’t have enough time to score big points in the family as he died on the Titanic leaving the family without the vast sums of money the other Guggenheims received. However, we should not feel sorry for Peggy, she did get over $3 million (about 35 million today) so she did OK. She started out collecting art first in Paris and London then in the US and finally in Venice where she remained for over 20 years.

This is the Museum from the water. The Palazzo was ‘unfinished’ as it was set to be 4 stories tall but never completed.

The Museum holds a portion of her collection in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni where she lived and died. She had a fondness for collecting living artists and purchased works early on from a number of different artists– and married at least one (Max Ernst) having a couple of kids. When she died, the collection and the Palazzo were turned over to the Guggenheim Trust for management.

My Love Janeen taking a moment in the Museum to relax and reflect on all the wonderful art.

Jackson Pollock – 1946 Croaking Movement

Jackson Pollock – 1942 – The Moon Woman. Janeen actually liked this one.

Jean Metzinger 1912 – At the Cycle Race Track

Marino Marini 1948 – The Angel of the City. The phallus was removable and when ever the head of the Church came by it would be removed.

Pablo Picasso, On the beach, February 12, 1937

Jackson Pollock had his own room for his works.

Alexander Calder- Silver Bed Head – In New York in the winter of 1945–46, Peggy Guggenheim commissioned Alexander Calder to make a silver bedhead. His design combines fish, insect, and plant motifs in an exuberant conflation of the worlds of sea and garden.

I can just imagine living in this space.

Alexander Calder – Earrings Calder created for Peggy

This Caldar was lovely hanging in the entrance to the Museum.

In walking around the place you really get a feeling it was a home and the artwork was displayed for her pleasure. One entire room is filled with Jackson Pollock’s works – I don’t recall ever seen so many in one spot. Other works by Salvador Dali, Marc Chagail, Alexander Calder, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso and others make up the collection.

Here we are on the ‘dock’ at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum

Getting ready for our evening boat tour.

After we connected with Jason and Terri we had a quick bite to eat, a brief rest and got into a water taxi we had hired for a 2-hour water tour of Venice. Our driver was knowledgeable about all the various neighborhood buildings, the history of the area and how to get around. It was a wonderful tour, viewing at least five of the seven districts, including the Jewish Ghetto, Arsenal (still military), residential, rather than resort, canals, and views of church plazas and historic palaces.

The exterior of this place was redone – now they are looking for a new owner to do the interior.

This Palazzo seems to have a dark history – owners seem to die mysteriously and therefore it hasn’t been renovated like so many have been

Two recently renovated Palacios are available for an under market eleven million euros, but the resident ghost and bad luck of previous owners, keeps the money away.

Our taxi driver was a born in Venice waterman, who had crewed at the America’s Cup in 1991, and liked San Diego a lot.

Janeen ALWAYS gets excited when she sees a garden.

The Customs House with the weathervane on the top. All goods had to be stored here for a month before they could be distributed. Part of the way to collect taxes.

One of the Churches along the Grand Canal.

The building on the right, with four windows at the top, was used for the James Bond Movie where it collapses into the Canal – of course that was with CGI.

This is one of the main boat yards that is still making the Gondolia’s Boats

Each boat is hand made and the hull is NOT symmetrical – each side is different.

Just another example of artwork along the Canal.

This hotel had some artwork on the Grand Canal too.

Here we are with St Marks and the Doge’s palace behind us on our Boating adventure

Terri and Jason with St. Marks in the background.

Jason and Terri seem to be enjoying our boat tour.

Janeen was promised a Grand Canal Tour – and she says it was great!

Early Tuesday, David and Janeen walked the Virginia Lees to a neighborhood water taxi pick-up for the rapid ride to Marco Polo Airport, then had a Café in a neighborhood shop, and reverently walked through .

Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Just across the canal from our apartment.

St. Maria Gloriosa, to view the Michelangelo’s and impressive chapels.

The Monument to Canova inside the Church

The church bells were our sound track for our stay at this beautiful VRBO.