The Unfinished Palazzo - Life, Love, and Art in Venice (2017)

Looks at the story of Venice's Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, 'the Unfinished Palazzo', through the lives of three of its most unconventional and fascinating residents, Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim. 55 illustrations. Commissioned in 1750, the Palazzo Venier was planned as a testimony to the power and wealth of a great Venetian family, but the fortunes of the Venier family waned and the project was abandoned with only one storey complete. Empty, unfinished, and in a gradual state of decay, the building was considered an eyesore. Yet in the early 20th century the Unfinished Palazzo's quality of fairytale abandonment, and its potential for transformation, were to attract and inspire three fascinating women at key moments in their lives: Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim. Each chose the Palazzo Venier as the stage on which to build her own world of art and imagination, surrounded by an amazing supporting cast, from d'Annunzio and Nijinsky, via Noel Coward and Cecil Beaton, to Yoko Ono. Luisa turned her home into an aesthete's fantasy where she hosted parties as extravagant and decadent as Renaissance court operas - spending small fortunes on her own costumes in her quest to become a 'living work of art' and muse to the artists of the late belle epoque and early modernist eras. Doris strove to make her mark in London and Venice during the glamorous, hedonistic interwar years, hosting film stars and royalty at glittering parties. In the postwar years, Peggy turned the Palazzo into a model of modernist simplicity that served as a home for her exquisite collection of modern art that today draws tourists and art-lovers from around the world. Mackrell tells each life story vividly in turn, weaving an intricate history of these legendary characters and the Unfinished Palazzo that they all at different times called home The Unfinished Palazzo tells the stories of notoriously eccentric women: the Marchesa Luisa Casati, from Milan, a champion exhibitionist who considered her life (and especially her person) to be a work of art; Doris, Lady Castlerosse, an Englishwoman whose lovers included both Winston Churchill and his son, Randolph; and finally [Peggy] Guggenheim, the American art patron who bequeathed the mansion to her family's foundation as a museum of modern art. ... Their life stories are flashy, a kaleidoscope of bad marriages, bad divorces, Fortuny dresses, outlandish costume parties, fashionable portraits, excessive champagne, famous lovers, pickup lovers, alienated children and overlapping celebrity acquaintances. ... In more enlightened times these women might have had solid accomplishments ... but Mackrell's documentation of their relentless self-absorption and unfiltered vanity argues against it. The New York Times Book Review Skillfully weaves historical details into absorbing biographical profiles while also capturing the charm of Venice ... Mackrell explores [the] eventful lives [of] three remarkable women [who] differed in many ways, but points out their similarities in motivation, independence, daring unconventionality, and historic roles in Venice and social culture. Her astute commentary is particularly illuminating, enlarging the reader's understanding of these individuals and the larger framework of their worlds. Well-chosen photographs and comprehensive notes and bibliography enhance the volume. Library Journal Thoughtful, gracefully written and engaging ... Like Paris, Venice is a subject rife with cliché. Ms. Mackrell sidesteps this pitfall by focusing on one tiny part of the city. By book's end, the complexly fated, much-altered Venier comes to seem a mirror of its occupants. Self-Ưrealization is often bound up with real estate, and rarely more so than at the palazzo non finito. The Wall S The story of Venice's "Unfinished Palazzo"? told through the lives of three of its most unconventional, passionate, and fascinating residents: Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse, and Peggy Guggenheim Commissioned in 1750, the Palazzo Venier was planned as a testimony to the power and wealth of a great Venetian family, but the fortunes of the Veniers waned midconstruction and the project was abandoned. Empty, unfinished, and decaying, the building was considered an eyesore until the early twentieth century when it attracted and inspired three women at key moments in their lives: Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse, and Peggy Guggenheim. Luisa Casati turned her home into an aesthete's fantasy where she hosted parties as extravagant and decadent as Renaissance court operas, spending small fortunes on her own costumes in her quest to become a "living work of art" and muse. Doris Castlerosse strove to make her mark in London and Venice during the glamorous, hedonistic interwar years, hosting film stars and royalty at glittering parties. In the postwar years, Peggy Gugenheim turned the Palazzo into a model of modernist simplicity that served as a home for her exquisite collection of modern art that today draws tourists and art lovers from around the world. Each vivid life story is accompanied by previously unseen materials from family archives, weaving an intricate history of these legendary art world eccentrics Abandoned unfinished and left to rot on Venices Grand Canal, il palazzo non finito was once an unloved guest among the aristocrats of Venetian architecture. Yet in the 20th century it played host to three passionate and unconventional women who would take the city by storm. The staggeringly wealthy Marchesa Luisa Casati made her new home a belle epoque aesthetes fantasy and herself a living work of art; notorious British socialite Doris Castlerosse (née Delevingne) welcomed film stars and royalty to glittering parties between the wars; and American heiress Peggy Guggenheim amassed an exquisite collection of modern art, which today draws visitors from around the world. Each in turn used the Unfinished Palazzo as a stage on which to re-fashion her life, with a dazzling supporting cast ranging from DAnnunzio and Nijinsky, through Noël Coward, Winston Churchill and Cecil Beaton, to Yoko Ono. Individually sensational and collectively remarkable, these stories of modern Venice tell us much about the ways women chose to live in the 20th century. Commissioned In 1750, The Palazzo Venier Was Planned As A Testimony To The Power And Wealth Of A Great Venetian Family, But The Fortunes Of The Venier Family Waned And The Project Was Abandoned With Only One Storey Complete. Empty, Unfinished, And In A Gradual State Of Decay, The Building Was Considered An Eyesore. Yet In The Early 20th Century The Unfinished Palazzo's Quality Of Fairytale Abandonment, And Its Potential For Transformation, Were To Attract And Inspire Three Fascinating Women At Key Moments In Their Lives: Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse And Peggy Guggenheim. Each Chose The Palazzo Venier As The Stage On Which To Build Her Own World Of Art And Imagination, Surrounded By An Amazing Supporting Cast, From D'annunzio And Nijinsky, Via Noel Coward And Cecil Beaton, To Yoko Ono. Luisa Casati: The Living Work Of Art -- Doris Castlerosse: The Salonnière -- Peggy Guggenheim: The Collector. Judith Mackrell. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 395-397) And Index. The story of Venices Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, the Unfinished Palazzo, told through the lives of three of its most unconventional, passionate and fascinating residents Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim. `The best gallimaufry of gossip and scandal I have read in years’ Lynn Barber, Sunday Times