Excerpts from the book “Inspiration Venice”

Venice stirs admiration and wonder and exerts a strange power over the imagination. At times its appearance resembles a theater production, at times a mirage from 1001 Nights. Strolling through it feels like sliding into a daydream – shimmering like mother-of-pearl, everything solid dissolves into water and colors. For centuries, the poetic melancholy of the lagoon city has been challenging artists and poets with its magic. Even its name stirs up associations with “Venus” who sprang from the foam of the sea. As Goethe’s “Venetian Epigrams”, this book also features artworks that lack any direct connection with Venice because inspiration may be expressed in the most diverse facets.