Marche aux fleurs à Venise 1907

Curator: Ethel Carrick painted this busy slice of life in 1907; it’s titled "Marche aux fleurs à Venise," or "Flower Market in Venice." Editor: Venice! Oh, but it’s not postcard Venice, is it? There’s a slightly hazy, workaday feel to it. You can almost smell the damp stone mixing with the flowers. Curator: Carrick definitely captured that. Her palette is surprisingly muted, mostly soft ochres and grays punctuated by the vivid blooms. It feels like a really immediate, fresh impression – you can tell it was painted en plein air. Editor: That makes sense, capturing the fleeting light. Look how she's used impasto, building up layers of thick paint to give real texture, particularly to the flowers. It's more about the sensation of abundance than botanical accuracy. For me, flowers in art are always so tied to vanitas imagery. But here? It’s vitality. Pure joy. Curator: I think you're onto something there. The contrast between the fleeting beauty of the flowers and the grounded figures… those shrouded women buying and selling under the canvas awning… Carrick really draws our attention to that dance between ephemerality and permanence. I notice how she plays with those hooded figures and their symbolism—they seem to point back towards classical painting. Editor: Exactly! It feels more profound because she sets up that little visual puzzle. We expect Venice to be all glittering canals, but this reminds us of its history as a hub of trade, of everyday people just living their lives. The marketplace itself—with its long shadows—almost acts as a kind of proscenium. I could linger here for hours. Curator: I agree, and that's what draws me to her work. Carrick gives us something authentic here, a glimpse into Venice's real, beating heart, not just its shimmering façade.