VENICE

Upon coming to Venice, I didn’t really have any expectation of the city. I had seen beautiful picture of the small island, but didn’t know near as much about it as I did London and Paris. Being from Texas, my mom grew up in a small town near our extended family ranch. As a child, my family often went here to get away for the weekend, and I grew to love the peace and beauty of nature. While Venice is, of course, not a country town, it is similar in the fact that it is a small city with a very unique atmosphere and culture. I loved the skinny, winding original canals and the calming feeling that I got while taking a water taxi rather than a train or bus to get where I was going or ordering gelato from a local establishment that has been there for decades.

The quaint nature of the Peggy Guggenheim museum fit right into the environment of Venice. Rather than being a grand museum, which can often times be overwhelming because you feel like you have to see every work of art even though you know that it is impossible, Peggy’s space was one that featured just a handful of works from her own personal collection.

I think that I related to this piece because of what I mentioned early about how I felt comfortable in Venice because of its small, relaxed nature. When I looked at the painting and read the title, I immediately connected to it because it reminding me of childhood on my family’s ranch and how we sadly don’t get to go as often anymore because my siblings are older and much busier now. This work of art brought me straight back to memories I have of standing at the wooden fence around the cabin with my grandfather, dad, and uncles as we watch the sunset cast golden yellow, orange, pink light on the rolling hills below. The black streaks, to my eye, depicted the trees, and calming colors in this painting is what reminded me of this memory I had forgotten that I had.