Venice Scene

I went to a local antiques warehouse to buy an appropriate housewarming gift for a friend from London Gothic who is setting up home. I accidentally ended up buying something for my own house - this engraving which caught my eye. Venetian carnival-goers, I thought, observed from a peculiarly high angle. So it turned out to be: the print is helpfully signed, and Wilfred Fairclough turns out to be quite well-known. This image was made in 1988. I like it for its oddness and the slight eerie quality that results from almost anything to do with the strange city in the lagoon, and masked figures.