How to Shop in Venice - Venice: A Travel Guide to Murano Glass, Carnival Masks, Gondolas, Lace, Paper and More - page 4

minous colors and shimmering surfaces. Surrounded by the sparkling, reflective waters of
the Venetian lagoon, it is only natural that artists would feel inspired to replicate these ef-
fects. Artists sought to achieve the most vibrant colors: the rich ruby, sapphire, green and
amber used in painting, mosaic, glass, marble, and other materials. Venetian artists used
a variety of techniques to impart this lucidity and richness to their materials. Medieval
Venetian mosaicists, for example, experimented with applying colored oxides over silver
or translucent glass so that light would be reflected back from the tesserae , or pieces, they
assembled to create mosaics. Venetian painters of the 1500s experimented with grinding
shards of Murano glass into their paint pigments to impart a rich translucency and shim-
mering quality to their oil paintings, a particular Venetian practice whose results brought
these painters fame across Europe.
Even after the decline of the Venetian Republic, the distinctive Venetian spirit continued
to pervade the city's artistic traditions. Today in Venice, many of the trades of the past
are still living traditions . The medieval guilds may be long gone, but their arts, their tech-
niques, and their soul still thrive in Venice. The skills, the forms, the knowledge, and more
importantly, the spirit of the past, is kept alive in the hands of a small number of individuals
who take pride in their city's unique visual essence.
What to Ask Before You Buy
In Venice, it's not easy to tell the treasure from the trash. This is true now more than
ever before, as increasing numbers of carnival masks, glass, and other souvenirs flood into
Venice, imported from overseas and passed off as authentic. Recently art organizations
have worked to develop trademarks and new alliances to help protect their artistic heritage
and to guard against fakes and cheap knockoffs. Legal regulations have also tightened.
However, there is no substitute for a knowledgeable buyer. If you know what you are buy-
ing, you can put your money where it counts: back into the pockets of Venetian makers and
not into those of importers looking to make a quick profit without any connection to Venice
at all.