Casanova: The Seduction of Europe - Hardcover

For all his boasts of seduction, what Casanova really wanted was to be known as a man of taste and intellect. He had, after all, translated the Iliad, hung out with Rousseau, and debated the merits of macaronic poets with Voltaire, had even--what could be more delicious?--been consulted by Mozart's librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, on Don Giovanni.... It is the cultured, peregrinating Casanova, and not the rogue, who inspired Casanova: The Seduction of Europe.--Sammy Dalati "The Magazine Antiques "

utterly delightful... simply thrilling.... We go from Venice to Paris to London to Dresden with splendid works of art, but we also go from the bedroom to the theater to the gambling room to the dining room to the literary salon.--Rick Brettell "Dallas Morning News "

...one of the flat out best art books of the year...--Tyler Green "Modern Art Notes "

A re-creation of the glorious and seductive visual world of eighteenth-century Europe through the life of one of its most notorious figures.

In 18th-century Europe, the shape-shifting libertine Giacomo Casanova seduced his way across the Continent. Although notorious for the scores of amorous conquests he recorded in his remarkably frank memoirs, Casanova was just as practised at charming his way into the most elite social circles. In his travels across Europe and through every level of society from the theatrical demimonde to royal courts, he was also seduced by the visual splendours he encountered. This volume accompanies the first major art exhibition to recreate Casanova’s visual world, from his birthplace of Venice to the cultural capitals of Paris and London and the outposts of Eastern Europe. Summoning up the people he met and the cityscapes, highways, salons, theatres, masked balls, boudoirs, gambling halls, and dining rooms he frequented, it provides a survey of important works of eighteenth-century European art by masters such as Canaletto, Fragonard, Boucher, Houdon and Hogarth. Twelve essays by prominent scholars illuminate multiple facets of Casanova’s world as reflected in the arts of his time, providing a fascinating grand tour of Europe conducted by a quintessential figure of the eighteenth century as well as a splendid visual display of the spirit of the age.