Villa d’Este
Sep 12, 2009
Detail of the Water Organ (1902).
Samples from a set of pictures at LUNA Commons of the wonderful water gardens at the Villa d’Este, Tivoli, Italy. Among the 164 items in the collection are plans, engravings, and photographs old and new. I’m partial to the older photos, most of which seem to be photogravure reproductions whose temporal distance and technical shortcomings only add to the mystique of the place.
Alley of the hundred fountains (1997).
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Gertrude Käsebier’s crystal gazer
• The Door in the Wall
• Paris II: The River Fountain
3 comments or trackbacks
#1 posted by Paul Rumsey
Sep 12th, 2009
And can be seen in the Kenneth Anger film Eaux D’artifice.
#2 posted by John
Sep 12th, 2009
Indeed. I can rarely look at photos of the place without hearing Vivaldi. I like the way Anger made the gardens seem a lot more impressive by using (if I remember correctly) a very small woman as the sole human figure; he relates the details on the recent DVDs. A nice example of doing in real life what Piranesi used to do with his pictures.
#3 posted by Nathalie
Sep 14th, 2009
Too bad the gardens are over crowded with tourists…