The
inspiration behind La Contessa’s art collection.
The setting for La Contessa is 18th
century Venice. Indeed, the city is almost like an extra character in the
story, providing the perfect back drop for the debauched games and political
plotting of its main character.
I think my fascination for the period
and the city goes back to a time before going up to university (in the late
1970s!) when, living within commuting distance of London, I worked there for
several months and used my season ticket as an opportunity to go up to town
every weekend. One of the things I did was visit all the art galleries in
London and this led me to the National Gallery and the fabulous paintings by
Caneletto there. How I loved those paintings, their amazing composition, glorious
colours and fantastic attention to detail. I stood and stared at those
paintings for ages!
Only last year there was a major
exhibition of Caneletto’s in the Queen’s Gallery from the royal collection.
England’s envoy to Venice in the 18th century was a man called
Joseph Smith, who was also an art collector and acted as Caneletto’s agent, using
his palazzo on the Grand Canal as a showroom for the artist’s work. The reason
the Queen has such an incredible collection of Caneletto’s and other 18th
century Venetian artists is that George III bought Joseph Smith’s entire collection.
Though La Contessa had already been written and edited by then, that exhibition
was a real treat!
Venetian art from the 18th
century is undoubtedly one of the influences on the book. La Contessa is a
collector of art, and she has commissioned the leading artists of the day to
produce works for her, including Caneletto!
My narrator, Roberto, is also something of an art expert. Despite being
orphaned and hitting on hard times which forced him into a life of prostitution
in the least salubrious alleys of Venice, his father was a wealthy merchant and
taught him about art.
So, La Contessa has a fabulous
collection of art work, much of it containing erotica! There are: statues of
sea nymphs by Giuseppe Torretti, frescoes by Tiepolo, portraits by Rosalba
Carriera, paintings by Sebastian Ricci and Pietro Longhi and canal scenes by
Guardi. A massive painting by Canaletto takes pride of place in the entrance
hall of her palazzo and depicts La Contessa dressed in an elaborate mask at its
centre, observing a regatta on the Grand Canal from her balcony.
Have I been to Venice? Yes, but it was
many years ago. I had to rely on such memories as I could recall and research
to capture the spirit of La Contessa’s Venice. And there’s lots of added BDSM
kinkiness in there too! But I must go back, and a re-visit is definitely on my
bucket list.
Story Extract
In
keeping with my blog post this extract from the book focuses on Roberto’s
observations on the art work in La Contessa’s ballroom as her guests arrive for
the Carnevale Ball, the climax of the book..
All is prepared. The guests
have finished their banquet and file into the ballroom to wait in excited
anticipation for their host’s appearance. We follow them to take up our
allotted positions, still dressed in the silk cloaks and peacock, phoenix, and
swan masks. I’m excited. I’ve heard much about the palazzo’s ballroom, and now
I’m finally getting the chance to see it.
It’s like walking into a
dream. There’s so much happening it’s hard to take it in. The overwhelming
impact is one of opulence. The ballroom is vast, accommodating hundreds of
guests with ease. I’m surprised at how light and airy the room is. I was
expecting baroque grandeur, but the panelled walls are in pastel shades of blue
and green, decorated with delicate filigree patterns of foliage in gold. Along
the length of the ceiling are candelabra of Murano crystal with candles set in
them, making it rain sparks of rainbow light on the revellers. It’s an
architectural delight, and beautiful because it has a sense of restraint. This
glorious light filled space is a delight. I stand there open-mouthed looking
around.
Then there’s the art work,
all by renowned artists and tasteful. Well, it’s extremely explicit but
executed in a tasteful manner! There are huge canvases on the wall between each
set of window frames. The overall theme is classical, specifically classical
love stories; more specifically love stories involving perverted sex. The
ballroom is bursting with rosy buttocks, bouncing breasts and rampant penises.
I recognise the stories they
depict. Zeus features prominently, but then he was a horny god. There’s Zeus as
a cuckoo proposing to Hera, seducing Europa in the form of a bull, fucking Leda
in the shape of a swan, and abducting Ganymede as an eagle. There’s a definite
bestiality and shape-shifting theme going on. There’s one shockingly explicit
painting of a god peeing. It takes a while for me to work it out until I
realise the painting depicts Zeus seducing Danae as a shower of gold though in
this depiction the golden shower is painted literally. I hope to examine them
more closely in daylight, but for now I scan the room transfixed as I
appreciate the rich colours of the oils as they glow in the candlelight.
To my surprise I get a
gentle nudge from Becky; she glances across at me and mouths, “Wow!”
The ballroom alone is enough
to take the breath away, but the revellers packing it out add yet more colour
and magnificence. Venetians dress up for Carnevale
and, given the room is full of people from La Contessa’s inner circle and many
of the city’s wealthiest inhabitants, it’s hardly surprising to see an array of
outrageous ball gowns, tunics and masks. My flamboyant peacock mask looks
restrained compared to others. There are silk, damask, and velvet dresses with
extravagant collars and lace ruffs.
The jewellery on display is breath taking
in its opulence. The guests glitter with silver, gold, pearls, and precious
stones, an abundance of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds being on show. There are
embroidered masks of white, black, silver, and gold decorated with exotic
displays of feathers. There are panniers
so wide the women can barely fit through the door. Mademoiselle is wearing such
a gown made of emerald silk decorated with orange flowers with a massive golden
bow. The ballroom is filled with a rainbow of colours, blinding in their
dazzling brilliance.
The atmosphere is raucous
and licentious. They’re drunk on wines and brandies, and ready for a party.
They want entertainment and, this being the decadent republic of La Serenissima, and these being amongst
of its most liberated citizens, they want debauchery.
La Contessa
S. Nano
Genre: BDSM, Historical Erotica
Publisher: eXcessica
Date of Publication: 26 January 2018
Number of pages: 271
Word Count: 90.500
Cover Artist: Kevin Blisse
Book Description:
The most decadent city…
The most perverted mistress…
Renowned for her beauty and cruelty, La Contessa’s reputation as a dominatrix is well established. And eighteenth century Venice has degenerated into a decadent and lascivious city, the perfect backdrop for her to play-out her debauched games and political ambitions.
She sends her maid, Julia, into the alleyways to search for a young man to act as her slave. Julia finds Roberto prostituting himself in the least salubrious district of Venice. He enters into La Contessa’s service to perform her bizarre and sadistic scenes.
From their first meeting there is a mutual attraction between maid and servant. The young couple engineer a series of sexual encounters, knowing the risks should their mistress discover them. Their situation is complicated when La Contessa rescues Becky and brings her to the palazzo as her submissive girl-slave. The interloper exposes Julia’s jealousies… and the feelings for her mistress.
How long can Roberto and Julia keep their love secret? Will Becky’s presence thwart their relationship? Will La Contessa’s scheming bring her the richest prize in all Venice?
All is resolved before the grand ball and masked, BDSM orgy held by La Contessa in her palazzo as the climax to Venice’s Carnivale.
About the Author:
S. Nano is a writer of erotic stories with dark and exotic content in fantasy or historical settings drawing on the themes of female domination, BDSM and fetish but often with a seam of quirky humour running through them.
‘La Contessa’ is his third full length novel. ‘Adventures in Fetishland’, a BDSM/fetish re-invention of the classic Alice stories was published by Xcite Books and ‘Mistress of the Air’, a comic, Steampunk, erotic adventure was published by eXcessica. His novellas and short stories have been published by Xcite Books, House of Erotica, Forbidden Fiction, Coming Together and Greenwoman Publishing.
He is a regular participant in reading slams at ‘Smut by the Sea’ and similar events in the UK, contributing a workshop ‘Kinking Up the Past’, on getting inspiration for erotic stories in historical settings, in 2015.
Web site: http://www.slavenano.co.uk/writing
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