Martin Gayford

Art critic Martin Gayford says the most interesting things to happen in Venice are art and pictures as he takes us on a visual tour of the city right up to the present day.

Gayford says Venice has been a centre of the world of art for 500 years and remains so today. It was a major centre in the Renaissance but also attracted the likes of Turner, Monet, Rubens, Van Dyck and Velàzquez. And he says writers such as Henry James, George Eliot and John Ruskin were all deeply affected by the art of Venice. Modern artists such as Banksy and art collector Peggy Guggenheim also feature in the story of how Venice has now become a global centre of contemporary art.

Gayford’s other books include Michelangelo: His Epic Life and others on art and artists co-authored with David Hockney, Antony Gormley and David Dawson. 

This event is part of the festival’s programme of Italian literature and culture.