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
Peter Blake
Venice Suite: Christ's Entry into Venice, 2009
Silkscreen on Paper
305mm x 407mm x 2mm
Edition of 75
Copyright The Artist
'Christ's Entry into Venice' - A limited edition silkscreen print by Sir Peter Blake from the boxed portfolio set 'The Venice Suite', signed and numbered by the artist. 'Christ's Entry...
'Christ's Entry into Venice' - A limited edition silkscreen print by Sir Peter Blake from the boxed portfolio set 'The Venice Suite', signed and numbered by the artist.
'Christ's Entry into Venice' is an irreverent and comic imagining. Christ enters Venice on his donkey to the bewilderment of a few people wondering around Piazza San Marco, but most pay his arrival little attention. He is surrounded by the genuflecting biblical figures that one would expect as well as a couple of cossacks and figure that looks suspiciously like Jeeves the butler.
The Venice Suite was inspired by Blake's trip to Venice for the Biennale of 2007. Each piece in the portfolio is a jewel of his trademark collage style. Blake combines traditional images of the city on the lagoon with visual excerpts from vintage childrens' books, photographs, postcards, as well as details from works of the old masters. This visual witticism is teamed with a palette of turquoise, gold and the grey of the stones of Venice to create a surreal fairytale vision of the city. Blake juxtaposes the baroque grandeur of the architectural icons of Venice with giant penguins, wartime bombers, Edwardian rowers and icebergs to name a few. The end result is a portfolio of works that are playful, imaginative, beautiful, immensely varied and representative of Sir Peter Blake's unique vision.