I am reading a lovely book on Casanova’s self portraiture. It was written by Stefan Zweig and published by Pushkin Press. I do like the object books that Pushkin Press produce. They are tactile, and have wabi-sabi. The more the book lives in my handbag and travels with me, the more good-looking it becomes. But what I love most about it (apart from the subject matter) is the cover, which consists of a photographic image of a Venetian Palazzo interior. Having been to Venice a fair few times, I know these spaces, this grandeur is as mystical and alchemic as the famous womaniser. Very apt indeed. The back of my book tells me that it is by an artist called Matthias Schaller and, this week, I discovered with delight that the image is part of a series, Controfacciata. Aren’t his empty interiors just magnificent?

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