I didn’t know the Merchant of Venice well until I illustrated these GCSE Revision cards for@FlipsCoCards, but I ended up fascinated by this play (and revision card author Sarah Barker did a wonderful job of exploring its many weirdnesses). Also, it was a great text to illustrate: Venice, renaissance outfits, Jewish history, complex and ambiguous characters.
The first reference point was my sketches of Venice from 2015.The picture on the one of the cards has a very very tiny self-portrait of me sketching the view from the Doge’s palace.
Then I had a look at medieval maps of Venice, like this sixteenth century panorama or this tourist’s impression from the wonderfully named Niccolò da Poggibonsi (1346).
I also played a game of trying to find suitable models for the characters in renaissance art, like these crowd scenes from Bellini.
Then I remembered I had the perfect book for this job – “clothes ancient and modern” by Cesare Vecellio (a cousin of Titian). This is an amazing book, which depicts costumes and customs from all around the renaissance world, from China to Mexico, including some remarkable hats!
Vecellio’s section on Venice is huge (since that’s where he’s from), and gave me lots of good ideas for the characters’ outfits.
Vecellio didn’t draw Venetian Jews, though he describes them wearing distinguishing yellow caps. But I did find this book which gives a more cheerful depiction of Jewish life in Venice than the play – I love the bread baking scene.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Merchant of Venice if it didn’t feature a pound of flesh. The author of the cards was kind enough to say of my picture “I think your dripping lump is phenomenal” – this is the nicest thing that anyone has ever said about my art!
You can get all the revision cards from here: https://flipscocards.com Why not collect the whole set?
