Venice Sketchbook

Fabrice Moireau, born in 1962, is a graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Arts appliqués et des métiers d’Art (National School of Applied Arts and Crafts). Inspired by his many travels, he creates sketchbooks that are both cultural and ethnographic testimonials. Passionate about architecture, gardens, and nature, he uses watercolors to capture the subtlety of light and the atmosphere of streets and landscapes.

His career took shape during his studies, where he excelled in observational drawing and trained as a stand designer/set designer, before creating his first travel journals for the Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Festival. His approach quickly attracted attention, and his sketchbooks led to commissions for Vuitton and then Éditions du Pacifique, with whom he produced more than 35 art books devoted to cities and regions around the world, from Paris to New York, Lisbon to Provence.

Contemplative, Fabrice Moireau paints in situ, sometimes sitting for hours on a simple fishing stool, capturing the light, framing and details with precision. His works have been the subject of numerous exhibitions, about one per year, and reflect a sensitive and poetic view of the world.

Fabrice Moireau is the author of the following books published by Éditions du Pacifique: Berlin Sketchbook, Bretagne Sketchbook, Paris Sketchbook, Corse Sketchbook, Florence Sketchbook, Gardens de Paris Aquarelles, Lisbonne Sketchbook, and Normandie Sketchbook.

Born in Saint-Moritz in 1949, Stéphane Denis is a journalist and writer. After working in ministerial offices in the late 1970s, he began his career at Le Quotidien de Paris before collaborating with Paris Match, Marianne, and Le Figaro, where he still writes regular columns today. The author of some fifteen novels published mainly by Fayard—including the trilogy Histoire de France (Saintonge, Les Derniers Jours, Madame est morte)—he received the 2001 Prix Interallié for Sisters and the Prix Goncourt for short stories for Elle a maigri pour le festival. He is also the author of numerous works, including Les Immeubles Walter, Un mauvais sujet, and Pause I & II.
He has had ties to Venice since his youth, when he crisscrossed the lagoon for the Cipriani hotel and where part of his family resides.

He is the author of Venise Sketchbook, published by Éditions du Pacifique.

Tudy Sammartini (1931–2016) was a historian and specialist in art and architecture, passionate about Venice, her hometown. A professor at New York University, she devoted her career to the study of Venetian art, gardens, and history. She is the author of Pavements of Venice (Herscher, 2002) and Venice Seen from its Campaniles (Citadelles et Mazenod, 2003).

Sammartini has been a regular contributor to specialist and general interest publications such as Architectural Design, Architectural Review, Elle Décoration, and Le Figaro Magazine, offering her expertise and informed perspective on Venetian architecture and heritage. Her work has helped to raise international awareness of Venice’s urban planning, history, and aesthetics.

She is the author of Venise Sketchbook, published by Éditions du Pacifique.