Ca’ d’ Zan was the palatial home of John Ringling in Sarasota Florida. Created as a love letter to his wife Mabel, the mansion was designed in the Venetian Gothic style of the palazzos that ring the Venice canals. Ca’ d’Zan means, “House of John”, in the dialect of their beloved Venice.
The Ringlings had been traveling throughout Europe for nearly 25 years, acquiring circus acts and art. They both greatly admired the architectural style of Venice’s Ducal Palace, Ca’ d’Oro and the Grunwald Hotel. When they decided to build a home in Sarasota, Florida, where they had been winter residents for a number of years, The Ringlings took these palazzi as their inspiration – and Sarasota Bay as their Grand Canal.
Pam, her house guest and I traveled to Sarasota over the July 4th weekend and the one thing I definitely wanted to do was revisit the Ringling Museum. Before exploring the museums we first waled to Ca’ d’ Zan. I had sketched Ca’ d’ Zan before but decided to sketch it again from a different angle while they explored inside. When I opened my art bag, I was shocked to discover I had left my case of pencils and brushed back at the bed and breakfast. I went through every pocked and crevice of the bag and found one tiny stub of a colored pencil. I sharpened it by plucking away wood around the remaining “lead” and got to work. There was just enough of the stump left to complete the sketch but I didn’t have a brush to paint with, so I lived with the line work and painted it later back in the studio.
When John Ringling died in December of 1936 he bequeathed his estate to the people of Florida, but legal wrangling with his creditors went on for a decade until the property finally passed unencumbered to the state. During this time Ca’ d’Zan remained closed. Finally, in 1946 it was reopened to the public.
But the care that older buildings require was neglected due to a lack of funds, and by the late 90’s, Ca’ d’Zan was in such a state of disrepair it was used as the location for Miss Havisham’s decrepit mansion in the 1996 Hollywood remake of Charles Dickens’ classic Great Expectations. Later in 1996 renovations began and today it is back to its former glory.
I was seated in a spot where people left the mansion after their tours inside. At first I pulled my mask up each time a group passed but then I just left the mask in place so I didn’t have to focus on pulling it on and off.