Painter Roger de Montebello opens the doors to his studio in the Contarini Polignac Palace in Venice. His soft, fluid works seem to flow naturally, like the water of the Grand Canal. But it takes a long time for them to mature before he sets his sights on his chosen subject.
Venice is Roger de Montebello’s “chosen city.” After living in Paris, Seville, and Venice, the man with the beautiful name chose the City of the Doges in 1992. “This city suits my sensibility and my balance. I never tire of it. I love this world where water is the mirror of the sky and the earth,” confides the adopted Venetian.
It is in the cultural district of Dorsoduro (the “hard back”), between the famous dell’Accademia museums, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Punta della Dogana (Pinault collection), that Roger de Montebello awaits us one morning at the foot of the Contarini Polignac Palace.
Out of season, Venice is empty of visitors. Here, you encounter the locals and regulars, the faithful, the aesthetes. Those who like to enjoy a cappuccino in a quiet little bar before the shops and museums open. Paul Morand had his rituals here: “The air has not yet been used; it rushes towards you, freshly washed, coming from the sea.”
Crossing the Accademia Bridge, we admired the Contarini Polignac Palace (also known as the Contarini Dal Zaffo Palace), one of the first examples of Renaissance architecture in the city. Claude Monet was inspired by it and painted it in 1908. Several families have lived there over the years: the Manzonis, then the Angarans, the Polignacs. And today, the Decazes family.
We walk through the large reception rooms of the Palazzo Contarini Polignac, open to visitors during the Venice Art Biennale, and imagine the excitement, the splendor, the emotion, the encounters…
Then we climb a flight of stairs leading to the studio.
Here we are in the lair of Roger de Montebello, the anti-socialite who focuses entirely on his art. Large paintings on the wall give the place a very special soul.
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Featured photo: Roger de Montebello in his studio at the Palazzo Contarini Polignac ©Corine Moriou
