Watercolor has a special relationship with architecture. Through its transparency, lightness, and ability to suggest rather than describe everything in detail, it allows a building, a street, or an urban landscape to be rendered with just a few strokes of color and light.
In Venice, this approach takes on a unique dimension. The city offers an exceptional setting for observation: facades, palaces, campi, bridges, canals, and perspectives come together to form an architectural landscape where light, reflections, and color constantly transform forms.
Over the course of three days, participants will be invited to explore watercolor painting through the observation of Venetian architecture. The workshop will focus on the fundamentals of architectural drawing—proportions, perspective, lines, volumes, and composition—while developing a freer approach to color and light.
The goal will not be to mechanically reproduce a building, but to learn how to select, simplify, and interpret. A facade can be suggested by just a few lines; a perspective can be enhanced by varying tones; a reflection on the water can become an essential element of the composition.
Through a combination of technical exercises, on-site observations, and personal projects, this course will help you develop a watercolor technique particularly well-suited to travel sketches, urban landscapes, and architectural drawing.
As part of Campus MaNa Venezia, the learning experience draws directly from the city: Venice becomes at once a subject of study, a laboratory of light, and a source of inspiration.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
The course alternates between technical instruction, demonstrations, drawing and watercolor exercises, on-site observation, and individual projects.
Special attention will be given to the unique characteristics of the Venetian landscape: its perspectives, its facades, the interplay between architecture and water, as well as the variations in light that constantly alter our perception of the city.
The principle of illusion lies at the heart of decorative art, and Matthieu Lemarié excels in this field. He practices painting in a wide variety of forms, spanning both the decorative arts and the arts and crafts: monumental murals, delicate illuminations, glazed ceramic tiles, canvases painted for the opera, striking trompe-l’œil works, and even faithful reproductions for the cinema. His unique expertise has led him to collaborate with prestigious clients such as renowned museums, famous directors, and leading institutions.
He has contributed to the design of sets for numerous operas at iconic venues such as the Paris Opera, Versailles, and Rouen. His talents are also sought after by leading figures in the arts scene, including Ariane Mnouchkine, Zingaro, and Cirque du Soleil, for whom he designs spectacular sets.
Film was his first creative outlet after graduating, where he helped create murals for the movie *Vatel*. He subsequently collaborated with directors such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Roman Polanski, Alain Chabat, Éric Rohmer, and Woody Allen, for whom he notably painted a fake Picasso.
Recognized for his expertise in the fine arts, Matthieu Lemarié also works in museum scenography and display design. Since 2019, the design firm GGSV has enlisted his services for various large-scale projects, notably at the Villa Medici, where his artistry and craftsmanship continue to fascinate.
sola di San Servolo,1
Venice, Italy 30124
General Inquiries:
T: +39 344 7702 589
[email protected]
