The archives of British photographer Cecil Beaton reveal an intimate and nonchalant Venice in a new title to join Louis Vuitton’s Fashion Eye series.

Aesthete, artist, diarist and dandy, Cecil Beaton lived for beauty, whether designing costumes or sets for stage or screen, interpreting the grandest couture creations for the pages of Vogue, or focusing his lens on celebrities. The collection of his Venice images brought together in this book captures a magical world with a timeless imagination, a world that has thrived for centuries in the remarkable environment that is La Serenissima. Recounting his intensely busy life and chronicling his encounters with exceptional people, the photographer left behind an evocative diary and photographic records of his trips. From costume balls, social events, to swimming, opportunities abounded for this aesthete to savor the essence of Venice.