Venise

by Jirō Taniguchi

Un homme arpente Venise hors des sentiers touristiques, sur les traces de son histoire familiale. Il se surprend parfois à flâner, se perd le long des canaux, s'arrête pour observer. A mesure que les brumes du passé se dissipent, c'est une nouvelle cartographie de la Sérénissime qui se dessine : contemplative et intrigante, majestueuse et intime.

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Comics, Travel, Art, Japan, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2014

About the author

Name (in native language): 谷口 ジロー
Zodiac: Leo

He began to work as assistant of the late mangaka Kyota Ishikawa.
He made his manga debut in 1970 with Kareta Heya (A Desiccated Summer), published in the magazine Young Comic.
From 1976 to 1979, he created several hard-boiled comics with the scenarist Natsuo Sekigawa, such as City Without Defense, The Wind of the West is White and Lindo 3.
From 1984 to 1991, Tanigushi and Natsuo Sekigawa produced the trilogy Bocchan No Jidai.
In the 1990s, he came up with several albums, among which Aruku Hito (歩くひと), Chichi no koyomi (The Almanac of My Father), and Keyaki no ki.
In 2001, he created the Icare (Icaro) series on texts by Mœbius.
Jirô Taniguchi gained several prizes for his work. Among others, the Osamu Tezuka Culture Award (1998) for the trilogy Bocchan No Jidai, the Shogakukan prize with Inu wo Kau, and in 2003, the Alph'Art of the best scenario at the Angoulême International Comics Festival (France) for Harukana Machi-E.
His work has been translated in many languages.

Far from the violent storylines often associated with the manga, Taniguchi has developed a very personal style, more adult. Along with other writers, like Tsukasa Hōjō, his comics focus more on the Japanese society and culture, with a subtle analysis of its customs and habits.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really glad to hear about this Louis Vuitton Travel series, in which for his contribution manga-ka Taniguchi, one of the most western-influenced comics greats from Japan, creates a fictional story to create some narrative drive for the project. The story Tanuguchi tells is of an artist who goes to Venice, where the artist's mother was born and where his grandfather left paintings in a house he visits.

Tanuguchi paints beautiful scenes from Venice as if he were that fictional artist, interspersing these paintings with some of the grandfather's work. The family story is not much elaborated on, and the paintings of Venice generally are not generally integrated into the story (he paints scenes as the grandfather painted scenes, without a narrative impulse to guide him), but this is still one beautiful book, and touching in a couple places. I'll check out more from this series, for sure.

[Alex Pler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Estuviste aquí. Por eso estoy yo aquí."

Una mezcla fascinante: manga, acuarela, zen, Venecia... Un paseo por sus calles y canales con el asombro y la curiosidad de cualquier viaje.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely picture book of watercolour paintings of Venice. Wouldn't call it a story, but it really came to life after seeing the city in person.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawing Venice
Review of the Ponent Mon paperback edition (2017) of the Louis Vuitton hardcover original (2014)

Jirō Taniguchi (1947-2017) had an almost-50-year career as a manga artist and writer but has only recently been published in English translation. I first came across his time-travel body-swap fantasy A Distant Neighborhood, Vol. 1 (original 1998-99/translation 2009) which was both beautiful in its art work and inventive in its plot.

Venice is a commissioned work as part of the Louis Vuitton Travel Series where various artists were matched with international cities. Taniguchi constructs a simple (presumably fictional) plotline which inserts himself as a contemporary artist discovering the life of his maternal grandfather and grandmother who lived in Venice while raising Taniguchi's mother.

This plot allows the artist to wander Venice and produce a series of extremely detailed and beautiful paintings of scenes that are both well known and off the beaten track. Fans of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series will find this especially enjoyable.

A few sample pages below will give an idea of the quality of the work. Although the panels are not all explained in the running text, there is a picture index at the back of the book which describes the location of every scene.


Bird's eye view over the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo with the cemetery of San Michele and the island of Murano in the distance. Image sourced from Pinterest.


Santa Maria della Salute church. Image sourced from MiniTokyo.

[Diva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meravigliose tavole che hanno come protagonista la città del mio cuore, accompagnate dalla stupenda storia creata da Jirō, maestro di sensibilità e delicatezza. Jirō, sei sempre una garanzia.

[Kusanagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cet album/manga/bijou est une pure merveille.

Ok, je ne suis pas impartiale, puisque j'adore le travail du regretté Taniguchi, mais quand même... je ne vois pas d'autres mots pour décrire ce livre.

Comme dans nombres de ses œuvres, Taniguchi nous entraine ici sur les pas d'un homme, qui est la recherche de son passé, ou plutôt du passé de sa mère. A la mort de celle-ci, il découvre qu'elle a vécu à Venise dans son enfance, avec son père qui était peintre. Il décide donc de parcourir la ville, flânant dans les calle et les campi, sur les traces d'un grand-père dont il découvre l'existence...

C'est à la fois un album sur le souvenir et le lien, comme l'est Quartier Lointain par exemple... mais aussi une flânerie de promeneur dans les rue de Venise. Et pour ceux qui, comme moi, connaissent bien la Cité des Doges, c'est une promenade émerveillée, tellement Taniguchi a su capter, dans ses aquarelles, l'âme de la ville. Je reconnais plus Venise dans ses images que dans les photos que j'ai prise. On n'est pas ici dans une image figée de la Sérénissime, que l'on retrouve dans nombres de photos ou de tableau, trop touristiques.
Non, ce sont des aquarelles et pourtant, on voit s'animer un détail, un angle de vue, une sensation qui rend l'image vivante. l'attitude d'une personne, un reflet dans l'eau, une publicité esquissée, une plante sur un mur, un sac oublié...

[Ibbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voto senza voto: 🛶🎨🖼️

Francamente ho finito le parole per descrivere un autore monumentale come il maestro Jiro Taniguchi.

Un libro che certo è un manga, ma è anche un artbook, poi non contento decide di raccontarci una meravigliosa storia sulla ricerca delle proprie radici, tutto in puro stile Taniguchi.

Incredibilmente non si può non ringraziare Louis Vuitton(!!) per aver commissionato questo lavoro al Jiro-Sensei, da sempre (e ancora oggi, il che mi rende molto orgoglioso) legatissimo alla Francia e all’Italia.

Grazie LV.

Grazie maestro Taniguchi 🕊️

[Daniel Moquin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une jolie promenade à Venise au gré d'aquarelles de cet artiste parti trop vite. J'aime la beauté des paysages, des édifices et la douceur des regards des personnages. À découvrir.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Japanese man discovers a box of photographs and artwork that show that his grandparents, who he really didn't know, were in Venice 50 years before, and he travels to the city to walk around and try to connect with their experience. But that thin story is just an excuse to let one of manga's greatest artists create beautiful pictures of the timeless city.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though lacking in much of a story, Venice is a gorgeous travel memoir of Venice. Taniguchi threads a story about family history throughout the gorgeous images, but really the art takes central stage here.

[Isaberu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué pasada de ilustraciones. En el estilo pausado y reflexivo de Taniguchi, el protagonista viaja a Venecia intentando aprender más sobre sus abuelos, a quienes no conoció pero vivieron allí. Apenas hay letra, las ilustraciones en acuarela a color y llenas de detalle te hacen sentir que vas paseando por Venecia con él.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taniguchi ancora una volta ha saputo farmi innamorare di una sua vicenda intima. L'autore ci mostra una Venezia completamente immersa in una deliziosa atmosfera sfumata, delicata, densa di ricordi legati alla sua famiglia. Ogni pagina non riserva molto spazio alle parole, come succede per Tokyo Killers o altri suoi lavori, qui sono le splendide illustrazioni che parlano da sole. Passo dopo passo scorgiamo dettagli, volti, dipinti del nonno dell'autore vissuto a Venezia, frammenti del passato che tornano a galla. Consigliato a chi vuole immergersi in una storia di introspezione che non può lasciare indifferenti.

[Chiara Caccavale · Rating 5 out of 5]

C'è letteralmente il posto dove ho lavorato questi due mesi e il ponte vicino casa mia, immutabili e immutati, Venezia grazie ❤️

[Cindy Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was excited when I discovered this book - the cover is stunning! When I received it in the mail and flipped through it, this book exceeded my expectations. Not only do I love the illustration style, but I love the layout of this illustrated travel journal. Taniguchi perfectly captures what it is like to be a tourist in a brand new city - the foods you eat, the art you view, the people you watch going about their day, and the unique little surprises you encounter while wandering, like children playing in a fountain. The main character is following in the footsteps of his grandparents by visiting the places where they lived and hung out - he uses a series of photographs that he found among his grandmother's old things to guide him. The author does not say much in terms of words, but what he does say has a poignancy to it; most of us can relate to seeing old photographs and wanting to understand what your loved ones experienced to feel closer to them.

I was surprised to learn that Louis Vuitton has a whole series of these books - artists traveling to new cities and interpreting what they experience via their illustrations (it is a nice tie in for a brand known for their steamer trunks). If you get a chance to pick up this book, do yourself a favor and purchase it.

[Petitpois · Rating 5 out of 5]

De nuevo me reencuentro con el Taniguchi que provoca historias más que las cuenta. El de El caminante, el que con un dibujo tan excelso, lleno de detalles, matices , luces y reflejos, nos invita a la contemplación y al embeleso. Y nos regala un viaje íntimo y sosegado, un oasis de paz.
Me encanta cómo va de un detalle sencillo, que puede pasar desapercibido para muchos ojos, que no ven, pero que rezuma belleza, a un gran plano, majestuoso y abrumador. Cómo combina viñetas estrechitas de callejas y canales, con las que te replega en ti misma, con viñetas amplias, abiertas, del gran canal o de fachadas monumentales, donde te sientes explosionar y te hacen inmensa.
Ah, Venecia!!! Mi punto de no retorno...
Una obra para ver cien mil veces, porque de lo bello no te hartas nunca.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una delicia por los ojos. No puedo soportar la belleza del arte, de verdad. Ahora me gustaría regresar a Venecia.

This is absolutely gorgeous. It has a bittersweet thread running through it but it's a travel book more than anything. I want to both go back to Venice now, a city I actually don't like that much, and read more of Jiro Taniguchi's work.

[Daniele Frantellizzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una poesia in acquerelli...
Un omaggio a Venezia, puro, elegante, vivo.
La “storia” è giusto un pretesto, una scusa, per permettere al Maestro Jiro Taniguchi di rappresentare Venezia, i suoi canali, le sue calli, i suoi scorci in tutta la sua meraviglia.
Una piccola opera d’arte, si sente lo scroscio dell’acqua tra una tavola e l’altra.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much of a story here but the illustrations are stunning. The volume is slightly hurt by the implausible story (nothing has changed in a generation), but as a travelogue, it's great. Makes you feel like you're visiting. Taniguchi's illustrations are worth the read. Also while this is sponsored content, it's pretty subtle and doesn't hit you over the head with it.

[Karan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, meditative.
Thank you Alan for the birthday gift!

[Mélanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime et poétique ! Une bd uniquement à l'aquarelle qui invite à la contemplation. Des planches magnifiques qui donnent un point de vue unique sur Venise.

[Victor Wong Seen-Bage]

Clutch défi de lecture 2024 ✅

[Nils · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly moving, meditative manga of a man wandering contemplatively through Venice, trying to retrace the footsteps of his grandparents in that same city in the 1930s.

[Xirimoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Estuviste aquí. Por eso yo estoy aquí'
quiero leerme toda esta colección

[Mikael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taniguchi forvandler en rejsebrochure til en familiefortælling. Smukt, rørende og bittersødt vemodigt.

[Gaetano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questa non è una semplice graphicnovel, ma un insieme di dipinti che trasmettono tante emozioni e che catturano i lettori, anzi sarebbe meglio dire osservatori, in una sorta di sindrome di Stendhal.
Le poche parole fanno solo da contorno a una galleria di sentimenti raffigurati eccelsamente.

[Margarida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como grande apreciadora do trabalho de Jiro Taniguchi, encontrar um livro sobre Veneza desenhado por este mangaka foi o melhor souvenir que poderia ter trazido desta cidade. Meses depois abri o livro e foi como se estivesse outra vez a passear pelas ruas de Veneza.

[Piglet and her Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jiro Taniguchi zählt für mich zu einen der besten Mangaka. Seine Bilder strahlen eine Intensivität und Leidenschaft aus, sie strahlen. Bei seinen bisherigen Werken, stand der Textbezug im Vordergrund und die Bilder unterstrichen die Texte durch ihre Atmosphäre. "Venedig" ist von vornherein als Travel Book angelegt, und besticht dadurch vor allem mit viel Bildgewalt und Farbe. Dennoch wird durch Text und Bildkomposition eine Geschichte erzählt.

In dieser Geschichte geht es um einen jungen Mann, der im Nachlass seiner Mutter auf eine Schatulle stößt. Deren Inhalt führt ihn nach Venedig auf die Spuren seiner Familie, seines Ursprungs. Eine Identitätssuche gefällt mir immer besonders gut als Thematik in einem Buch, denn ganz oft vergessen wir, dass das "normale" Leben der Menschen, auch seine ganz besonderen und erhabenen Momente beinhaltet.




Und eben diese Momente schafft es Jiro Taniguchi einzufangen und wiederzugeben. Ich mochte hierbei vor allem der Wechsel zwischen der Gegenwart, in denen der Erzähler durch Venedig streift und die Stadt erlebt, als auch die in Sepiatönen gehaltenen Rückblenden. Durch eine Verschmelzung der beiden Zeitachsen gelingt die Spurensuche und der Protagonist findet sich sowohl im Venedig der Vergangenheit, als auch Gegenwart wieder, ein Gefühl der Heimkehr kommt durch die Bilder auf. Auch wenn die Geschichte fiktiv ist, berührt sie den Leser und Betrachter dennoch auf eine ganz eigene Art und Weise.

Am Schluss, dass fand ich besonders interessant, befindet sich eine Erläuterung zu den gemalten Bilder, bezüglich der gemalten Örtlichkeiten in Venedig. Diese Art einer Legende ist Teil eines Travel Books, und inspiriert den Leser selbst die Stadt zu entdecken. Ich glaube, ich werde demnächst öfter nach solchen gezeichneten Travel Books Ausschau halten, um das Fernweh zu stillen.


Fazit:
"Venedig" ist im Plot zwar einfach gehalten, erzählt dennoch eine berührende Geschichte und überzeugt auf ganzer Linie durch seine Bildgewalt und Zeichenkunst. Jiro Taniguchi war zurecht einer der besten Mangaka, und seinen Werken gebührt Aufmerksamkeit. Die im Anhang befindlichen Erklärungen zu den Bildern und Entstehung des Werkes runden "Venedig" als gelungene Graphic Novel/ Travel Book ab.

[La Central · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Deambular sin rumbo, caminar para perderse por las calles de una ciudad extranjera, alejada de nuestras costumbres y recuerdos es, a veces, la mejor manera de encontrarse a uno mismo. Quizás, la única manera de recordar quiénes somos. Taniguchi ya nos lo había mostrado con la imprescindible El caminante, pero vuelve a hacerlo patente en Venecia: una obra minimalista en cuanto al argumento, magistral en cuanto al dibujo.

La última obra publicada por Ponent Món del maestro Jiro Taniguchi nace como parte de Travel Book, de Louis Vuitton, un ambicioso proyecto en el que se invita a diversos autores a que muestren una ciudad: unas crónicas en las que prima el retrato de las urbes, sus calles, sus gentes, sus recovecos. En el caso del mangaka, ha sido la melancólica ciudad de Venecia: una ciudad detenida en el tiempo, suspendida en un mar que parece engullirla, a la par que engalanarla de una triste belleza. Un espacio que casa perfectamente con el tono de Taniguchi: pausado, detallista, preciosista.

Una ciudad que aparece dibujada en todo su esplendor, con un dibujo que ensalza las mejores cualidades del autor: cada detalle suma, cada rincón, rostro, cielo y mar que aparece en la obra esta dibujado de manera espectacular. Cada viñeta se asemeja a un cuadro, cada trazo y tonalidad nos transporta a un estado emocional y nos permite sumergirnos en las aguas que bañan las orillas de Venecia, en los recuerdos de un pasado olvidado que emerge y se sumerge. Un viaje en el tiempo para descubrir la vida de los abuelos del protagonista: una premisa sencilla pero que esconde tras de sí las nimiedades de las que se componen los fragmentos más bellos de una vida. Venecia es, sin duda, la quintaesencia de Taniguchi." Alberto Martín

[Alessandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Più che un fumetto, Venezia di Jiro Taniguchi è un libro di sguardi. Un taccuino di viaggio fatto di silenzi, acquerelli e attese, in cui la narrazione passa soprattutto attraverso le immagini.
Taniguchi racconta la città seguendo il passo lento di un visitatore giapponese che si perde volontariamente tra calli, campi e fondamenta, alla ricerca dei luoghi in cui aveva vissuto il nonno, pittore a Venezia per necessità più che per vocazione. È un pretesto narrativo lieve, quasi impalpabile, che permette all’autore di fare ciò che gli riesce meglio: osservare, soffermarsi, lasciare spazio.
La Venezia che emerge non è mai cartolina né spettacolo. È una città quotidiana, attraversata da riflessi d’acqua, da facciate consumate, da angoli marginali e improvvisamente rivelatori. Gli acquerelli sono straordinari: delicati, luminosi, capaci di restituire l’umidità dell’aria, il peso del tempo, la quieta malinconia di una città che sembra sempre sul punto di scomparire.
Come spesso accade nei lavori di Taniguchi, il vero protagonista è il camminare. Il perdersi senza fretta diventa un atto di conoscenza, quasi una forma di meditazione. Il passato familiare, l’arte, la memoria e il viaggio si intrecciano senza mai appesantire il racconto, che rimane essenziale, elegante, profondamente umano.
Un libro da leggere lentamente, magari più volte, lasciandosi guidare dalle immagini più che dalle parole. Un omaggio rispettoso e innamorato a Venezia, ma anche al tempo, alla memoria e allo sguardo di chi sa osservare davvero.

[Michael Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jirō Taniguchi's Venice is a visual travel guide to Venice disguised as a story of searching for an estranged relative, which in turn is a disguise for a watercolor masterpiece. Indeed, it is the latter that sticks to mind, and the Venice background to make it impossible to forget. Get this as an artbook or as a guide to Venice, it will warm your heart!

+++ This is art. Anything Jirō Taniguchi makes is art.
+++ Venice in watercolor is a delight.
+++ A workshop in watercolor technique. Angles. Shapes. Lights. Composition. Execution. So much to learn from it. Or simply enjoy.
+ Part of a series. (Apparently, by Louis Vouitton. There's also one from Brecht Evens in this series.)
- More story could fit in-between the panels. But then, why focus on the story when there's Venice to discover?
-/+ The quality is so high, one is left wanting more.