A play of light infuses many of Setboun's photographs of “beautiful” Venice: here a dappled yellow-green canal, there a fireworks display of moonlight off the water. In his introduction, Setboun (New York Vertigo
) describes Venice's photographer-friendly qualities: “In winter, for example, at a certain moment the sun will penetrate to the depths of her alleys and canals, illuminating them for an instant before abandoning them back to the shadows.” Text is otherwise brief, with readers expected to be familiar with Venice's history and geography. Perhaps half the 120 color photographs (most taking up a full page or more) are picture postcards, but a few reveal a more complicated Venice— cranes over historic rooftops, a reflection off of the vaporetto (water taxi) windows, the tile rooftops of the old town in the foreground set against an enormous cruise ship in the background. Originally published in French, the book serves as a coffee-table souvenir for recent visitors or temptation for those who have yet to fall in love with this fantastical place. The oversize, slipcased book's, horizontal orientation complements long photographic vistas across the ever-changing light and water of Venice. (Mar.)
