Venice and Fabian Perez

The title of this painting is... Venice, by Fabian Perez, my favourite painter. It is a recent one, I believe. I recently learned from the local art gallery (well, not exactly local now as they have relocated in a nearby town) that Perez lived for seven years near Venice. I always thought there was something Italian about him, both in his art and in his culture. Which makes sense, since he is Argentinian and there is an important Italian diaspora there. But anyway, when I saw the painting, I knew I had to blog about it. This masked lady is different from the courtesans he usually paints, yet in many ways very similar. There is a vulnerability and a certain loneliness about her that is akin to many other women painted by Perez. But while most of the courtesans and femmes fatales lived in hot Argentinian nights, this one exists in cold Venice. And like in every painting of Fabian Perez, there is a narrative with the character: she is of course about to take a letter. Was the letter meant for her? Why is she wearing a mask? Because it is carnival, or because she wants to hide her identity?  This painting is set in a different place and a different time, but it is the same artistic sensibility.