The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin dates back to the early 12th century. It stands beside the busy A59 road in the Lancashire village of Gisburn (“Gushing Stream” [?]), which is located approximately 8 miles north-east of Clitheroe (“Hill with Loose Stones”).

 

St. Mary’s church was most probably founded in the mid 1130s and in its early days patronage was shared jointly by the Archbishop of York (“Place of the Yew Trees”) and the Prioress of Stainfield (“Stony Open Land”) Nunnery. At first the church was dedicated jointly to both St. Mary the Virgin and to St. Andrew. These lands were subject to frequent raids by marauding Scots at that time and it has been suggested that a joint dedication that included the patron Saint of Scotland was a measure to help safeguard the church against attack. It seems more likely, however, that the joint dedication originated from Stainfield, as the nunnery there was also dedicated to both St. Mary the Virgin and to St. Andrew. The earliest known priest at Gisburn was named Renulf and he was the priest there between 1140 and 1146. The priest who succeeded Renulf was called Walter. He attended the ceremony when nearby Sawley (“Woodland Clearing where Sallow Trees Grow”) Abbey (www.flickr.com/photos/67668518@N08/9613030345/in/photostr...) was founded and shortly afterwards an acrimonious dispute erupted when the Abbot of the new abbey also claimed patronage of the church at Gisburn. The issue was eventually settled in 1226 when the Archbishop of York awarded the patronage to the Prioress of Stainfield Nunnery, but much ill feeling appears to have been carried over from the dispute and in 1285 the Abbot of Sawley prosecuted the vicar of Gisburn for poaching on the abbey’s estate.

 

St. Mary’s church has been extensively modified over the years. The large cylindrical pillars at the front of the church date back to the 12th century but the others are more recent and were most probably added in the 16th century when the building was renovated. The visitor enters the church through the 13th century doorway on its south wall and this doorway is protected by a porch that was added in the 15th century. The interior of the church is dominated by a pair of Romanesque arches that may have come from Sawley Abbey, and a Norman tower arch. There are four funerary hatchments on display in tribute to members of the wealthy Ribblesdale family and the Ribblesdale vault has its own entrance on the north wall of the church. The upper part of the church tower was added in 14th century. It has windows, battlements and pinnacles. Housed within the tower are six inscribed bells that date back to the early 19th century. In 1872 the church was extensively renovated at a cost of £3,000. Amongst other modifications, the building was re-roofed and a new pulpit and pews were installed.

 

Situated in the churchyard there is a large memorial showing a witch and cauldron that is thought to be dedicated to Jennet Preston. She was a former inhabitant of Gisburn and one of the so-called “Pendle Witches”, who were in everything but name lynched by the state in the early 17th century. The church is also the burial place of Francis Duckworth (1862–1941), one of England's greatest writers of hymn tunes.

 

In case you have missed it, on my website I explain why I believe the rear suspension of the LEGO 42083 Bugatti Chiron has a design flaw and how I think it could have been solved: www.nkubate.com/model-optimization-a-42083-showcase/

PS modification of my old color pencils drawing/

Joint modifications

An interesting photograph of two Matadors, on the left is the ex Wolverhampton Corporation "standard" type. On the right is the ex Birmingham City Transport Matador. It was always said in the Birmingham City Transport workshop that the vehicle was ex Royal Navy the same as the the fleets original Matador. Since acquiring 117, Rod Handford has done a lot of research into its history. The build cards for it show it was built as an Armoured Command Vehicle, or Dorchester as they became known by the troops. These would be very low mileage when sold off by the Ministry, this one going to the well known PSV breaker Birds of Stratford upon Avon. Birmingham must have done some form of deal with him as it arrived in Tyburn Road Works around the 23 June 1959, now with a cab, from an ex RAF AEC, probably a AEC 854 refueler, (some paint still in cab and photograph indicate it was almost certainly fitted with an autovac), and new headlights. A few modifications have been found, including the road springs, it has two additional leaves in each spring which considerably increase its riding height, hence the staged photograph

Polaroid 250 modification with 114mm Copal Lens. Camera mounted on Vivitar PG-1 Quick Release Pistol Grip Flash Mount

ED4 (Electric train Demikhovskiy 4-th modification) is a series of Russian DC electric trainsets, developed in Russia after USSR breakage (before it all design and production were run on the RVR in Soviet Latvia) and built since 1996 to 2016 yy by the Demikhovo machine-building plant (Демиховский машиностроительный завод, ДМЗ, DMZ). In production they replaced trainsets of the ED2T project that still had many import electric components. For 1997-2016 yy were produced 500 trainsets that are currently in service on Russian Railways and in many former USSR states.

 

The railway of current "Priozersk direction" (to former finnish Käkisalmi; Swedish: Kexholm and old Russia Korela fortresses) was built during WW1 to 1917 as a strategic way to Russian Grand Duchy of Finland and conncted St Petersburg to finnish Khiytola in Karelia.

Modification of a pillowcase design by Holly Holderman. (Original pattern at www.allpeoplequilt.com)

Hand quilted, and the rick-rack was tea-dyed.

These past few days all we've been doing is getting ready for the winter. I never liked the cold. Like, at all. I was re-working my suit, while Tim was in the garage,working on his "car". It's alot of things, but a car? Yeah, right. I mean, before it was huge, now it looks like he stole something from a military base and painted it red! It's sealed up now so that the inside can be heated, according to him. But now he's messing with the wheels and stuff under it. I'm not the best on cars, alright? And this stuff is made by Waynetech, so I'd be lost if Tim tried to should me one of bolts alone. Some of these modifications are insane, though. There's this winch he's putting on the front that's bigger than me! Big enough that I could sit and watch Tim work, shirtless and all. I started messing with him and wolf whistled at him whenever he walked by. He would play along and start flexing like his was the big guy around here. Well, he sorta is, but you get what I mean. Jackie was doing his best to help. He doesn't even need his cane anymore, but he still has a bit of a limp. I was sitting on the huge winch drinking some coffee and minding my own, when Tim caught my attention.

 

"Hey Steph, hand me that turbo."

 

"The what?"

 

"The turbo. Round thing with a small fan in the middle."

 

"......."

 

"It's literally right next to you."

 

"oh..."

 

To my right was this round thing with a huge vent on it. It looked like it belonged on an airplane, and it goes on this? Must be an important part. I walked up with it in my hands, and I saw Jackie's eyes light up as I handed it to Tim.

 

"That's a turbo?"

 

"Model XLR 2212 from Rogue Motorsports. Best turbo made today. It'll make this thing go pretty fast."

 

"Rogue Motorsports?"

 

"A company that makes fast cars and car parts. The best parts on the market. The only ones better than Waynetech..."

 

Really? You better make sure Bruce never learns you said that, Tim. Wouldn't like that you're ripping on his company...

  

I stripped out the adhesive on the light strips and put in some 3M Dual Lock velcros so to allow more options for light positioning

The Chin tattooed women live in the Chin, Rakhine and Arakan states in northwestern Myanmar. The origin of facial tattoos in the region is unknown. Some believe that the practice began during the reigns of Kings long ago. The royalty used to come to the villages to capture young women. The men from the tribe may have tattooed their women to make them ugly, thereby saving them from a life of slavery. Interestingly, I heard a similar origin for body modification among the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia. As legend has it, the tribeswomen began wearing giant lip plates to make them uglier to would-be kidnappers. Now, the bigger the lip plate the higher the bride price.

For years, access to the tribal Mindat area was restricted by the burmese government. It was opened just two years ago. Only about 700 tourists visit per year. Most of them only visit the bucolic Mount Victoria by bus, never meeting the tattooed women who remain isolated, hours away by foot. Those who do wish to meet them better pack good walking shoes and be prepared to sleep in smoke-filled local houses complete with rats.

There are a few different face tattoo patterns. The spiderweb tattoo is popular in the Mrauk U region. It takes a three hour long tail boat ride to reach this remote area. This tattoo is usually accompanied by a circle in the center of the forehead which represents the sun or lines under the nose symbolizing tiger whiskers.

Another design, known as the bee pattern, is common in the Mindat area. It is composed of dots, lines and occasionally circles. It is worn by the Muun tribe who inhabit the hills of the Arakan state.

The Magan tribeswomen wear huge earrings made of beads and calabashes. They can also play the flute with their noses.

I ventured to Kanpelet village in search of the women from the U Pu tribe who have the incredibly rare whole face tattoo. This is one of the most impressive styles: the entire face is inked up. Rumors had it that only three women in this area had the tattoo. After hours of off roading, I arrive in the village only to learn that one died recently and another was very ill. I was lucky enough to meet Pa Late. At 85, she is nearly deaf but still works hard with her family in a small house on the top of a little hill.

Pa Late said that a completely black face had become a symbol of beauty in the past. The few women who refused to do it looked ugly to the men. The tattoo took three days but the pain lasted over a month.

There are two ways to make the tattoo needle. The first consists of tying three pieces of bamboo together and the second uses thorns. The ink is a mixture of cow bile, soot, plants, and pig fat. It usually took one day to complete the standard tattoo and a few more for the totally black one. The tattoo artist was a specialist or in some cases a parent. Infection was a common problem as the girls had blood all over their face.

Everything, including the eyelids, was tattooed. Many women say that the neck was the most sensitive area.

Ma Aung Seim shared her memories of the tattoo sessions : “I was 10 years old. The day before the tattoo ceremony, I only ate sugarcane and drank tea. It was forbidden to eat meat or peanuts. During the tattoo session, I cried a lot, but I could not move at all. After the session, my face bled for 3 days. It was very painful. My mother put fresh beans leaves on my face to alleviate the pain. I had no choice if i wanted to get married. Men wanted women with tattoos at this time. My mother told me that without a tattoo on my face, i would look like... a man! The web drawn on my face attracted the men like a spiderweb catches insects!”

Not all the tattooed women live in remote areas deep in the mountains. Some have integrated into modern society. Miss Heu, 67, lives in Kanpelet. Her grandmother forced her to get tattooed. She lives in a modern house and even has TV (when electricity is not out). Chin people have maintained their modesty and shyness: when a movie showspeople kissing or making love, most of them still fast forward the scene.

As a leader in the local community, Miss Heu had the chance to meet Aung San Suu Kyi when she came in the area for a meeting. She is very aware of the tattooed women and the ethnicities that are forgotten by the central government. She says she and Aung San Suu Kyi are friends now. Heu’s daughter has graduated and works in Singapore.

The Chin culture is threatened by the government as their teachers are usually not Chin. For a long time, they fought for independence, but since the country began to democratize, things have calmed down.

“I am old. Soon I will die” says to me a Chin woman from Pan Baung village, while she does the gesture of drying tears from her eyes. In her village, only 6 tattooed woman remain alive. Those women are the last of their kind…

 

© Eric Lafforgue

www.ericlafforgue.com

Modification d'un requin de N.Terry (dont le modèle original est à gauche) avec la queue dans le bon sens, pour le Challenge interpretation du forum français.

My entry for the "interpretation challenge" on the french forum. Original model from N. Terry (on the left).

To eliminate the ME Models adapter piece. Half straights aren't always feasible. Not only does it mess up the geometry unless you fix it with another half, but in some places they don't work!

Inside of modified cactus trigger transmitter.

Vivitar 285hv camera right shot thru brolly.

So, gonna try to mod a fig. It's gonna be big...

Very rare modification of the Sd.Kfz. 250 carrying a 5cm anti-tank gun. Only 2 exemplars of this vehicle have been identified in service in former Yugoslavia. I've represented it with a winter paint scheme applied on top of its grey painting.

 

This MOC is loosely based on the 2046 BrickMania set from 2014. Many details were added, gun was rebuilt, and decals are custom.

 

Minifigs are mix of custom and official heads (say "hello" to Dengar)

  

A bullpup configuration of the AK74 rifle, chambered in 5.45x39mm like the original counterpart. The only noticeable differences between the original AK74 and the Tactician mod is that the modification features a heat shield, a different fire selector, and a RIS, along with a different configuration.

 

The Tactician features a fire selector, which can be angled 45 degrees upward and downward - the available modes include full-auto, semi-auto, and safety modes.

Modification of set #10220 (VW T1 Camper Van) with different colours and a slightly different interior.

Is that going to leave a scar?

After a little modification in PSP.

History of these wartime modifications:

 

By the spring of 1940 Britains railway companies had supplied 25 ambulance trains for use both at home and abroad. In September 1942 the government ordered a further 27 ambulance trains, of which the GWR was to supply 4. By September 1943 Swindon Works had completed ambulance trains No. 32 and 33, and by January 1944 the subsequent two trains were ready. This official image taken in July 1943 shows ward car No. 3209 from overseas ambulance train No. 32, just prior to the whole of the train being completed. The car was converted from a Siphon G wagon and the wording Westinghouse Brake painted on the end of the body confirms that this braking system had been fitted to the vehicle especially for its use overseas. STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway.

Some background:

The initial concept designs for Last Exile were created by character designer Range Murata. Murata also spent a great amount of time on costume design. Wanting to portray each character's personality more fully, he "tried to draw in the kind of material that would have been used in creating their clothes and try to represent the stitches connecting the fabric". Although Studio Gonzo initially intended for Last Exile to be shown in a space setting, it did not want characters who use sterile space suits. As a result, Murata's designs placed the show in its current setting.

 

Although the fictional world of Prester is not a representation of Earth, it features technology reminiscent of nineteenth century Europe at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Many of its designs were also inspired by Germany's technological advances during the interwar period. Uniform designs for Anatoray's musketeers were based on Napoleon Bonaparte's army and American Civil War soldiers. On the other hand, Soviet Red Army fur coats provided the basis for Disith uniforms. The crew of the Silvana wore uniforms that were more modern and utilitarian.

 

Production of Last Exile relied heavily on 3D computer animation. The animation for Last Exile was also supplemented with Victorian era flourishes. In order to combine hand-drawn animation with computer-generated ones, the production team used a technique for non-photorealistic rendering, which could not be used for Blue Submarine No. 6 (a previous work of Gonzo and one of the first CG anime series) because of a stylistic conflict.

 

Tatiana Wiszla (タチアナ・ヴィスラ Tachiana Visura?) is only a supporting character in Last Exile. She is the only child of "the proud and noble" Wiszla house of Anatoray. At the age of seventeen, Tatiana left home to become a member of the newly formed Anatoray Military Vanship Corps, a new military division dedicated to using vanships as weapons as opposed to just couriers and transports.

 

She excelled in both piloting and dogfighting, quickly becoming one of the best vanship pilots in the sky, possibly second only to Alex Row. She sent all the extra money she made as an ace pilot back to her family so that her mother could care for her ailing father. Before too long, she found herself on the Silvana as Row's handpicked wing commander for his small vanship fighter fleet. She pilots a twin-engine vanship fighter which she painted red to distinguish herself from the other pilots as well as all other vanships in the sky (BTW, available from Hasegawa in 1:72 scale).

 

With her trusted friend, confidant, and navigator, Alister Agrew, she quickly becomes one of the most dreaded forces in the sky next to the Silvana herself, for which the technicians on board the Silvana start calling her the "princess." Her cold demeanor manages to alienate even her close friend Alister. This leads to Alister flying with Claus Valca as his "navi" (short for "navigator") for a time, both as a rebuke to Tatiana and because Claus's navigator, Lavie Head, does not want to fly any more combat missions.

 

Tatiana is second best to none in her own mind, but her overconfident self-view is challenged when she meets Claus, whose piloting skills rival her own. From then on, her feelings toward Claus go on a roller coaster, making her feel anger, disgust, awe, respect, fear, and even attraction to the young vanship pilot. Her frosty aloofness is clearly a self-defensive façade; she suffers a mental breakdown of sorts after getting shot down over the desert, but recovers, and from that time she begins to show a greater depth of feeling, especially towards Claus, whom she develops a crush on.

 

In “Last Exile: Fam, the Sliver Wing”, Tatiana ihas become Captain of the Submersible Aircraft Carrier Silvius with Alister as her Vice-Captain.

  

The kit and its assembly:

As many kits, I had bought this one occasionally and had it stashed away for a while. I have never seen Last Exile, so my motivation and inspiration was rather stirred by severel Hasegawa Vanship builds in different online forums where I lurk, too, and I thought i could a) provide a suitable pilot character for these beautiful, retro-styles air vehicles and b) get in the mood to scratch a Vanship of own design, too - but the latter is another project.

 

Tatja Wiszla is a typical Range Murata design, very clean and with "soft" curves. Anyway, despite being very simple (the resin kit only has 9 parts), the figure has a very strong expression, and it is actually based on an official design sketch where the character leans onto rails, looking to the side with a stern, even challenging expression.

 

I was sceptical at first, but the figure catches this pose perfectly, and builders should pay attention to this benchmark illustration and the way the figure is supposed to be posed - otherwise the figure can look pretty goofy!

 

Anyway, the figure was built almost 100% OOB, with only minor mods. One thing I really did not like was the base that came with it. It actually depicts a small portion of the rails the figure leans on, but the execution in resin plates is so simple and bleak.... no.

 

I decided to scratch a base, and eventually settled on a round MDF plate with an improvised table onto which the figure can propely lean. Since the base is pretty large for the small figure, I later added a pilot helmet (a metal-cast Franklin Mint collectible, from the local airport's souvenir shop!) on the table. It's not really authentic for Last Exile (even though pressurized helmets exist), but it is a nice detail for the whole display and a good contrast counterpart to the grey-in-grey figure. It also adds a professional/military touch and underlines Tatjana's profession and 'ready when you are' attitude.

 

As a consequence, the sole of the figure's left foot became visible, so I added two round inserts (tank wheels!) into the sole, the only real modification.

 

Otherwise, only small details like a zip or the round buttons on the belly and under the collar were added - character design sketches helped here, as well as finding suitable colors.

 

As per usual. the whole kit was painted with a brush and with enamels. Black ink and black acrylic paint was used to emphasize edges and deepen engravings, as a final step everything was sealed under matt varnish.

 

Since the figure is cleverly constructed in segments that later carry different colors, I painted the whole thing before I finally assembled it. It's really a nice kit that I can actually recommend for bloody beginners. Fit and casting quality were very good, in fact there were only minimal sanding and putty works to do - and if you take the OOB base you have a 95% painting job on this one.

The Cathedral Church of St Andrew, Wells (Wells Cathedral)

 

Overview

Heritage Category: Listed Building

Grade: I

List Entry Number: 1382901

Date first listed: 12-Nov-1953

Statutory Address: CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, CATHEDRAL GREEN

County: Somerset

District: Mendip (District Authority)

Parish: Wells

National Grid Reference: ST 55148 45885

Details

  

Cathedral Bishopric established in 909. Saxon cathedral built, nothing now visible (excavations 1978/79). See transferred to Bath in 1090. Church extended and altered in 1140, in Norman style, under Bishop Robert Lewes; part of this lies under south transept of the present church.

 

Present church begun, at east end, in 1176 and continued to consecration in 1239, but with substantial interruption from 1190-1206. Designer Adam Lock, west front probably by Thomas Norreys. Nave, west front (but not towers), north porch, transepts, and part of choir date from this phase. Bishopric becomes Bath and Wells in 1218. Central tower begun 1315, completed 1322. Designer Thomas Witney Lady Chapel begun 1323, completed c 1326. Probably by Thomas Witney. At this stage the Chapel a free-standing structure to the east of the original (1176) east end. Extension of choir and presbytery in 1330 to connect with the new Lady Chapel. Designer Thomas Witney, but presbytery vaults by William Joy.

 

Following signs of dangerous settlement and cracking under the new tower, the great arches and other work inserted to prevent collapse in 1337; designer William Joy. (The St Andrew's arches known as strainer arches). South-west tower begun in 1385 to design of William Wynford, completed c 1395. North-west tower built 1410. Tracery added to nave windows in 1410. Central tower damaged by fire in 1439; repair and substantial design modification (designer not known) completed c 1450. Stillington's chapel built 1477, (off east cloister) designer William Smyth, who also designed the fan vault to the main crossing. The chapel was demolished in 1552.

 

MATERIALS: Doulting ashlar with blue Lias dressings, partly replaced by Kilkenny marble, some Purbeck marble internal dressings, and pink rubble outer cloister walls.

 

PLAN: Cruciform plan with aisled nave and transepts, north porch, cruciform aisled chancel with transeptal chapels and Retroquire. East Lady Chapel, north-east Chapter House and south Cloister.

 

EXTERIOR: Early English Gothic style, Decorated Gothic style Chapter House, Retroquire and Lady Chapel, Perpendicular Gothic style west and crossing towers and cloister. Early English windows throughout, mainly filled with two-light tracery c 1415, with a parapet of cusped triangles added c 1320 to all but the Chapter House and west front. Five-sided Lady Chapel has angle buttresses, drip and a parapet of cusped triangles, with wide five-light windows with reticulated tracery of cusped spheroid triangles; a late C14 flying buttress with a square pinnacle to the south-east. North chancel aisles: the east bay has a shallow two-centre arched five-light window with Decorated tracery, steeper three-light windows to the west bays, the transept chapel window of four-lights with reticulated tracery. The early C14 east end of the chancel has flying buttresses to the gable and three east bays; the east end has a five-light window with Decorated tracery, including two mullions up to the soffit, and a raised surround beneath a shallow canted parapet, with the coped gable set back and lit by four lozenge windows divided by a wide Y-shaped mullion; the north clerestory windows of three-lights, the three to the east have ogee hoods, the three late C12 west and two north transept windows linked by a continuous hood mould.

 

North Transept and nave aisles have a plinth, sill band, corbel table and parapet, with wide buttresses separating aisle lancet windows with inserted early C15 two-light Perpendicular tracery, and a clerestory with similar moulding and fenestration. Transept gable in three stages, with clasping buttress turrets and sill bands: three lower-stage windows and one to the end of west aisle, middle stage has a blind arcade of six lancets, the middle four truncated beneath three tall stepped lancets to upper stage, with similar blind panels paired to the turrets, and medallions to the spandrels; a weathered band beneath an arcade of stepped blind lancets, and panelled turret pinnacles with octagonal caps, a third to the flanking aisle; the right-hand turret has a good c 1475 clock with paired soldiers above striking two bells, and a crenellated canopy. Nine-bay nave aisle, ten-bay clerestory, of which the two windows flanking the transept re-entrant cut off above a mid C14 relieving arch.

 

Fine north porch two bays deep with blue Lias shafts and C18 outer doors: entrance archway of five orders with alternate paired banded columns with stiff leaf capitals to the west, carved showing the martyrdom of King Edmund to the east, and a roll-moulded arch, including two orders of undercut chevron mouldings with filigree decoration over fine doors of c 1200; clasping buttresses with octagonal pinnacles as the transept, and a gable with six stepped lancets beneath three stepped parvise lancets with sunken panels in the spandrels. Inside of two bays, articulated by banded vault shafts with stiff leaf capitals to a sexpartite vault; side benches are backed by arcades of four bayed seats with stiff leaf spandrels, beneath a string bitten off at the ends by serpents; a deeply recessed upper arcade of three arches to a bay, with complex openwork roll mouldings intersecting above the capitals, on coupled shafts free standing in front of attached shafts, enriched spandrels, and openwork Y-tracery in the tympanum beneath the vault. The south end decorated after the front entrance, including a moulded arch with a chevron order, and containing a pair of arched doorways with a deeply-moulded trumeau and good panelled early C13 doors with C15 Perpendicular tracery panels.

 

South elevation is similar: the chancel wall of the 1340 extension is recessed for the three east bays with flying buttresses, the windows to the west have uncusped intersecting tracery. Crossing tower has a c 1200 blind arcade to a string level with the roof ridge; upper section 1313, remodelled c 1440, has ribbed clasping buttresses to gabled niches with figures and pinnacles with sub-pinnacles; each side of three bays separated by narrow buttresses with pinnacles, a recessed transom with openwork tracery beneath and louvred trefoil-headed windows above, gabled hoods and finials. Corbels within for a spire, destroyed 1439.

 

West front screen is a double square in width, divided into five bays by very deep buttresses, with the wider nave bay set forward. The towers stand outside the aisles, the design of the front continued round both ends and returned at the rear. Statues of c 1230-1250, to an uncertain iconographic scheme. Divided vertically into three bands, beneath a central nave gable and Perpendicular towers; arches with originally blue Lias shafts, now mostly Kilkenny marble, and stiff leaf capitals. A tall, weathered plinth, with a central nave entrance of four orders with paired doorways and quatrefoil in the tympanum containing the seated Virgin with flanking angels, and smaller aisle entrances of two orders. Above is an arcade of gabled hoods over arches, containing paired trefoil-headed statue niches with bases and fifteen surviving figures; two-light Perpendicular tracery windows between the buttresses outside the nave; sunken quatrefoils in the spandrels, which cut across the corners of the buttresses. The third and principal band contains three tall, slightly stepped nave lancets, paired blind lancets between the outer buttresses, with narrower arches flanking them and to the faces and sides of the buttresses, all with banded Lias shafts and roll-moulded heads; the three arches to the sides and angled faces on the south-west and north-west corners have intersecting mouldings as in the north porch. All except the window arches contain two tiers of gabled statue niches with figures, taller ones in the upper tier, and across the top is an arcade of trefoil-headed statue niches with seated figures and carved spandrels. The nave buttresses have gabled tops containing cinquefoil-arched niches, and tall pinnacles with arched faces and conical tops; above the nave is a three-tier stepped gable with a lower arcade of ten cinquefoil-arched niches containing seated figures, a taller arcade of twelve niches with c 1400 figures of the Apostles, and a central top section with outer trefoil arches, corner sunken quatrefoils; the central oval recess with cusped sides and top contains a 1985 figure of Christ in Judgement beneath a pinnacle, with crosses and finials on the weathered coping. The Perpendicular towers continue the buttresses up with canopied statue niches to their faces and blank panelling to the sides, before raking them back into deep angle buttresses; between are a pair of two-light west windows, louvred above a transom and blind below, with a blind arcade above the windows, and a low crenellated coping.

 

INTERIOR: Lady Chapel: An elongated octagon in plan, with triple vault shafts with spherical foliate capitals to a tierceron vault forming a pattern of concentric stars, with spherical bosses and a paint scheme of 1845; the three west arches with Purbeck marble shafts onto the Retroquire have blind arched panels above; beneath the windows is a sill mould with fleurons, and a bench round the walls. Stone reredos has six statue niches with crocketed canopies and smaller niches in between, with four C19 sedilia with ogee-arched and crocketed canopies and a C14 cusped ogee trefoil-arched south doorway; C19 encaustic tiles.

 

The Retroquire extends laterally into east chapels each side and transeptal chapels: all with ogee-arched piscinae with crockets and finials, with a complex asymmetrical lierne vault on Purbeck marble shafts and capitals. The three east bays of the choir added early C14, and the high lierne vault of squares extended back over the three late C12 west bays, on triple vault shafts, Purbeck marble with roll-moulded capitals for the C14 and limestone with stiff leaf capitals for the C12; above the two-centre aisle arches and below the clerestory walk is a richly-carved openwork grille of statue niches with canopies, containing eight early C20 figures across the east end; clerestory walk has ogee-arched doorways. Rich canopies over choir stalls on Purbeck marble shafts, and five sedilia with enriched canopies. Ogee-arched doorways with crockets and pinnacles each side of the choir give onto the aisles, which have lierne vaults forming hexagons.

 

Transepts: Three bays deep and three wide, with cluster columns and stiff leaf capitals, including some fine figure carving in the south-west aisle, paired triforium arches between the vault shafts; the chancel aisles entered by C14 ogee-arched doorways with cinquefoil cusps and openwork panels each side; the north transept has a doorway from the east aisle with a depressed arch and moulded sides with a panelled Perpendicular ridge door, and Perpendicular panelled stone screens across the arcade; the south transept has an early C14 reredos with cusped ogee arches. The openings to the crossing contain inserted cross ogee strainer arches with triple chamfered moulding, on the west one an early C20 raised crucifix and flanking figures on shafted bases, and the roof has late C15 fan vaulting with mouchettes to the springers.

 

Nave: Ten-bay nave has compound columns of eight shafts with stiff leaf capitals enriched with figures, a continuous hood mould, with carved stops until the four west bays, which also have more richly-carved stiff leaf; a continuous triforium arcade of roll-moulded lancets with moulded rere arches, three to each bay, with enriched tympana and paterae in the spandrels above, carved corbels and springers to vault shafts above to a quadripartite vault without ridges; vault painted to a scheme of 1844. A panelled c 1450 gallery in the south clerestory window six from the west; aisles vaulted as nave, with enriched stiff leaf corbels. The west end has a trefoil-headed blank arcade on blue Lias shafts and a central stilted depressed-arch doorway, beneath the three west windows; the aisles end with a lateral rib from the vault to the west arcade. Chapels beneath the towers have sexpartite vaults with an enriched hole for the bell ropes; the south-west chapel has a shallow arch to the cloister beneath three cusped arched panels. The parvise over the north chapel contains a rare drawing floor. Two chantry chapels set between the east nave piers have fine openwork Perpendicular tracery and cresting, the south chapel of St Edmund c 1490 has a fan-vaulted canopy over the altar and two statue niches with canopies, and an ogee-arched doorway, the North Holy Cross Chapel c 1420 has quatrefoil panelling to the east canopy, distressed statue niches, and four-centre arched doorways.

 

FITTINGS: Lady Chapel: Brass lectern 1661 has a moulded stand and foliate crest.

 

Retroquire, North-East Chapel: fine oak C13 Cope Chest with a two-leaf top doors; panelled C17/C18 chest; north transept chapel: C17 oak screen with columns, formerly part of cow stalls, with artisan Ionic capitals and cornice, set forward over chest tomb of John Godilee; C14 floor tiles; south-east chapel: Bound oak C14 chest for Chapter Seal.

 

North Transept: Very fine c 1390 clock, considered the second oldest in the world after Salisbury Cathedral (qv), the face with heavenly bodies represented and four knights riding round above, and a quarter jack in the corner striking bells with a hammer and his heels; pine chest with bowed top.

 

Choir: Very fine stalls with misericords, c 1335; Bishop's Throne, c 1340, restored by Salvin c 1850, wide with panelled, canted front and stone doorway, deep nodding cusped ogee canopy over, with three stepped statue niches and pinnacles; C19 pulpit opposite, octagonal on a coved base with panelled sides, and steps up from the North aisle; organ within the chancel arch rebuilt and new case 1974.

 

South Transept: Round font from the former Saxon cathedral, with an arcade of round-headed arches, on a round plinth, with a c 1635 cover with heads of putti round sides.

 

Nave: Pulpit and tomb of William Knight, mid C16, built out from the Sugar chantry, with panelled buttresses, curved sides and a cornice.

 

Library: Good shelves and desks with panelled ends, cornices and scroll crests, and benches with ogee ends with ball finials of 1686.

 

MONUMENTS: Quire Corpus Christi North Transept Chapel: marble chest tomb of Robert Creyghton d 1672, an alabaster effigy on a sarcophagus with bowed sides; chest tomb of John Middleton, d c 1350, effigy set beneath the window; chest tomb of John Middleton, d c 1350, effigy set beneath the window; chest tomb of John Godelee, d 1333, effigy on a chest with open ogee arcade.

 

North Quire aisle: chest tombs of Bishop Giso, d 1088, Ralph of Salisby, d 1463, alabaster, and two further c 1230 effigies of Saxon Bishops, on mid C20 plinths; panelled chest tomb with three heraldic panels and moulded top; South-East Chapel of St John the Baptist: chest tomb encloses north side, with arcaded sides, thin mullions to a good openwork top with cusped gables and a canopy to east end.

 

St Katherine's Transept Chapel: Chest tomb of John Drokensford, d 1329, a painted effigy on a chest with open ogee arcade, as that for John Godelee; chest tomb of John Gunthorpe, d 1498 with five heraldic panels and moulded top. South chancel aisle: effigy of John Bernard, d 1459 on a mid C20 plinth; fine chest tomb of Bishop Bekynton, d 1464 but made c 1450, a cadaver within the open lower section with enriched shafts and angel capitals, with a painted marble figure on top, surrounded by a fine C15 wrought-iron screen with buttress stanchions; raised, incised coffin slab of Bishop Bytton d 1274, blue Lias; large chest tomb of Bishop Harvey d 1894 with five trefoil panels and an effigy with putti to the head; three c 1230 effigies of Saxon Bishops on mid C20 plinths; chest tomb of Bishop Harewell d 1386, a marble effigy on a C20 plinth.

 

North Transept, east aisle: Enriched marble chest tomb of John Still d 1607 with black Corinthian columns to entablature, sarcophagus with alabaster effigy; chest tomb to Bishop Kidder, d 1703 marble with an enriched naturalistic reclining figure of his daughter in front of two urns of her parents.

 

South Transept: Chapel of St Calixtus, fine un-named chest tomb of c 1450, with carved alabaster panels and effigy; Chapel of St Martin, chest tomb of William Bykonyll c 1448 with an arcaded front, cusped shallow arch over the effigy, panelled ceiling and a rich crested top; C15 wrought-iron gates to both chapels; in the south wall, good monument to Bishop William de Marchia, d 1302, three cusped cinquefoil-headed arches on moulded shafts, ogee hoods and pinnacles to a crenellated top, with an effigy within, with a three-bay segmental vaulted canopy, and decorated with six carved heads beneath.

 

STAINED GLASS: Original early glass is mainly in the choir and Lady Chapel; the Parliamentarians caused extensive damage generally in August 1642 and May 1643. Earliest fragments are in two windows on the west side of the Chapter House staircase (c 1280-90), and in two windows in the south choir aisle (c 1310-20), but of principal interest is the Lady Chapel range, c 1325-30, the east window including extensive repairs by Willement, 1845, and the others with substantial complete canopy-work, otherwise much in fragments. The choir east window is a fine Jesse Tree, including much silver stain, flanked by two windows each side in the clerestory, with large figures of saints, all these of c 1340-45; a further window each side is late C19. The chapel of St Katherine has interesting panels of c 1520, attributed to Arnold of Nijmegen; these, in the south and east windows were acquired from the destroyed church of St John, Rouen, the last panel was bought in 1953. The large triple lancet to the nave west end was glazed at the expense of Dean Creyghton at a cost of £140 in c 1664: repaired in 1813, but the central light largely replaced to a design by A K Nicholson between 1925-31. The main north and south transept end windows are by Powell, 1903-05, and the nave south aisle has four paired lights of 1881-1904, with a similar window at the west end of each aisle.

Modification Motorcycles

Bootlegger 1

Yamaha 1300 XJR

Paris, France

 

www.charlie-photo.fr

After the testing of the Škoda 25E0 DC electric locomotive in the USSR in 1958 and the further development of the improved series, the locomotives were built at Škoda (Пльзеньский завод им. В. И. Ленина, Plzeň Lenin Works) from 1962 to 1973 for the railroads of the Soviet Union. A total of 942 series Škoda 34E0--E4, 53E0--E9 were delivered, which received the designation ЧС2 (ChS2 - Czecho-Slovak type 2) and numbers ЧС2-001-874 and 877-944.

With the ChS2-232 (type 53E0) the factory series, designated 53E, began. This locomotive was equipped with a rheostat brake.

 

On the basis of the 53E series after a number of modifications, including an improved scheme of rheostatic braking, more powerful traction engines AL-4846dT instead of AL-4846eT, which increased the total power from 4200 to 4620 kW and a new body was developed model 63E (Škoda 63E1---E2), CS2T built in number of 120 from 1972 in two series received the factory designation of type 63E1 (No. 945-1024), the second - 63E2 (No. 1025-1062).

ChS2T became the basic locomotive for running fast trains (not more than 22 cars) on the Oktyabrskaya Railway (OZhD) and maintained a 7-hour schedule between St. Petersburg and Moscow (with a train of not more than 16 cars).

não gostei MUUIITO muito, não... ficou bem falso...mas vale, né?

Suite à une suggestion, j'ai recadré la photo afin d'obtenir une photo de type panoramique !

 

Qu'en dites-vous ?

St. Mawes, Cornwall, England, UK

The Postcard

 

A postally unused carte postale that has a divided back.

 

The Palace of Fontainebleau

 

The Palace of Fontainebleau, or Château de Fontainebleau, is located 55 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of the centre of Paris.

 

The castle and subsequent palace served as a residence for French monarchs from Louis VII to Napoleon III.

 

Francis I and Napoleon were the monarchs who had the most influence on the Palace as it stands today.

 

It became a national museum in 1927, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 for its unique architecture and historical importance.

 

The Medieval Palace

 

The earliest record of a fortified castle at Fontainebleau dates to 1137. It became a favorite residence and hunting lodge of the Kings of France because of the abundant game and many springs in the surrounding forest.

 

Fontainebleau took its name from one of the springs, la Fontaine de Bliaud, located now in the English Garden, next to the wing of Louis XV.

 

Fontainebleau was used by King Louis VII, for whom Thomas Becket consecrated the chapel in 1169; also by Philip II; by Louis IX (later canonised as Saint Louis), who built a hospital and a convent, the Couvent des Trinitaires, next to the castle; and by Philip IV, who was born and died in the castle.

 

The Renaissance Château of Francis I (1528–1547)

 

In the 15th. century some modifications and embellishments were made to the castle by Isabeau of Bavaria, the wife of King Charles VI, but the medieval structure remained essentially intact until the reign of Francis I (1494–1547).

 

He commissioned the architect Gilles Le Breton to build a palace in the new Renaissance style, recently imported from Italy. Le Breton preserved the old medieval donjon, where the King's apartments were located, but incorporated it into the new Renaissance-style Cour Ovale, built on the foundations of the old castle.

 

It included the monumental Porte Dorée, as its southern entrance. as well as a monumental Renaissance stairway, the Portique de Serlio, to give access the royal apartments on the north side.

 

Beginning in about 1528, Francis constructed the Galerie François I, which allowed him to pass directly from his apartments to the chapel of the Trinitaires. He brought the architect Sebastiano Serlio from Italy, and the Florentine painter Rosso Fiorentino, to decorate the new gallery.

 

Between 1533 and 1539 Fiorentino filled the gallery with murals glorifying the King, framed in stucco ornament in high relief, and panelling sculpted by the furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi.

 

Another Italian painter, Francesco Primaticcio from Bologna, joined later in the decoration of the palace. Together their style of decoration became known as the first School of Fontainebleau. This was the first great decorated gallery built in France. Fontainebleau introduced the Renaissance to France.

 

In about 1540, Francis began another major addition to the château. Using land on the east side of the Château purchased from the order of the Trinitaires, he began to build a new square of buildings around a large courtyard.

 

The Château was surrounded by a new park in the style of the Italian Renaissance garden, with pavilions and the first grotto in France.

 

The Château of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici (1547–1570)

 

Following the death of Francis I, King Henry II decided to continue and expand the Château. The King and his wife chose the architects Philibert de l'Orme and Jean Bullant to do the work.

 

They extended the east wing of the lower court and decorated it with the first famous horseshoe-shaped staircase which was built between 1547 and 1559. The staircase was subsequently re-built for Louis XIII by Jean Androuet du Cerceau in about 1632-1634.

 

In the Oval Court, they transformed the loggia planned by Francois into a Salle des Fêtes or grand ballroom with a coffered ceiling. Facing the courtyard of the fountain and the fish pond, they designed a new building, the Pavillon des Poeles (destroyed), to contain the new apartments of the King.

 

The decoration of the new ballroom and the gallery of Ulysses with murals by Francesco Primaticcio and sculptured stucco continued.

 

At Henri's orders the Nymphe de Fontainebleau by Benvenuto Cellini was installed at the gateway entrance of Château d'Anet, the domain of Henri's primary mistress Diane de Poitiers (the original bronze lunette is now in the Musée du Louvre, with a replica in place).

 

Following the death of Henry II in a jousting accident, his widow, Catherine de' Medici, continued the construction and decoration of the château. She named Primaticcio as the new superintendent of royal public works.

 

He designed the section known today as the wing of the Belle Cheminée, noted for its elaborate chimneys and its two opposing stairways. In 1565, as a security measure due to the Wars of Religion, she also had moat dug around the château to protect it against attack.

 

Château of Henry IV (1570–1610)

 

King Henry IV made more additions to the château than any King since Francis I. He extended the oval court toward the west by building two pavilions, called Tiber and Luxembourg.

 

Between 1601 and 1606, he remade all the façades around the courtyard, including that of the chapel of Saint-Saturnin, to give the architecture greater harmony. On the east side, he built a new monumental domed gateway, the Porte du Baptistère.

 

Between 1606 and 1609, he built a new courtyard, the Cour des Offices or Quartier Henry IV, to provide a place for the kitchens as well as residences for court officials.

 

Two new galleries, the Galerie de Diane de Poitiers and the Galerie des Cerfs, were built to enclose the old garden of Diane. He also added a large Jeu de Paume, or indoor tennis court, the largest such court in the world.

 

A Second School of Fontainebleau painters and decorators went to work on the interiors. The architect Martin Fréminet created the ornate chapel of the Trinity, while the painters Ambroise Dubois and Toussaint Dubreuil created a series of heroic paintings for the salons. A new wing, named after its central building, La Belle Cheminée, was built next to the large carp pond.

 

Henry IV also devoted great attention to the park and gardens around the Château. The garden of the Queen or garden of Diane, created by Catherine de' Medici, with the fountain of Diane in the centre, was located on the north side of the palace.

 

Henry IV's gardener, Claude Mollet, who trained at Château d'Anet, created a large parterre of flower beds, decorated with ancient statues and separated by paths into large squares.

 

The fountain of Diana and the grotto were made by Tommaso Francini, who may also have designed the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Garden for Marie de Medici.

 

On the south side, Henry created a park, planted with pines, elms and fruit trees, and laid out a grand canal 1200 meters long, sixty years before Louis XIV built his own grand canal at Versailles.

 

The Château from Louis XIII through Louis XVI

 

King Louis XIII was born and baptized in the Château, and continued the works begun by his father. He completed the decoration of the chapel of the Trinity, and assigned the court architect Jean Androuet du Cerceau to re-construct the horseshoe stairway on the courtyard that had become known as the Cour de Cheval Blanc.

 

After his death, his widow, Anne of Austria, re-decorated the apartments within the Wing of the Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice.

 

King Louis XIV spent more days at Fontainebleau than any other monarch. He liked to hunt there every year at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.

 

He made few changes to the exterior of the Château, but did build a new apartment for his companion Madame de Maintenon. He furnished it with major works of André-Charles Boulle. He also demolished the old apartments of the baths under the Gallery of Francis I to create new apartments for the royal princes.

 

The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansard built a new wing alongside the Galerie des Cerfs and the Galerie de Diane in order to provide more living space for the Court.

 

Louis XIV made major changes to the park and gardens; he commissioned André Le Nôtre and Louis Le Vau to redesign the large parterre into a French formal garden. He destroyed the hanging garden which Henry IV had built next to the large carp lake, and instead built a pavilion, designed by Le Vau, on a small island in the centre of the lake.

 

Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau at the Château on the 22nd. October 1685, revoking the policy of tolerance towards Protestants begun by Henry IV.

 

Louis welcomed many foreign guests at the Château, including the former Queen Christina of Sweden, who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the Château on the 10th. November 1657, Christina suspected her Master of the Horse and reputed lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, of betraying her secrets to her enemies.

 

Her servants chased him through the halls of the Château and stabbed him to death. Louis XIV came to see her at the Château, did not mention the murder, and allowed her to continue her travels.

 

On the 18th. and 20th. May 1717, following the death of Louis XIV, the Russian Czar Peter the Great was a guest at Fontainebleau. A hunt for stags was organized for him, along with a banquet.

 

Although officially the visit was a great success, later memoires revealed that Peter disliked the French style of hunting, and that he found the Château too small, compared to the other royal French residences.

 

The routine of Fontainebleau also did not suit his tastes; he preferred beer to wine (and brought his own supply with him) and he liked to get up early, unlike the French Court.

 

The renovation projects of Louis XV were more ambitious than those of Louis XIV. To create more lodging for his enormous number of courtiers, in 1737–38 the King built a new courtyard, called the Cour de la Conciergerie or the Cour des Princes, to the east of the Galerie des Cerfs.

 

On the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the wing of the Gallery of Ulysses was torn down and gradually replaced by a new brick and stone building, built in stages in 1738–1741 and 1773–74, extending west toward the Pavilion and grotto of the pines.

 

Between 1750 and 1754, the King commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build a new wing along the Cour de la Fontaine and the carp lake.

 

The old Pavilion des Poeles was demolished and replaced by the Gros Pavilion, built of cream-colored stone. Lavish new apartments were created inside this building for the King and Queen. The new meeting room for the Royal Council was decorated by the leading painters of the day, including François Boucher, Carle Vanloo, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Alexis Peyrotte. A magnificent small theatre was created on the first floor of the wing of the Belle Cheminée.

 

King Louis XVI also made additions to the Château in order to create more space for his courtiers. A new building was constructed alongside the Gallery of Francis I; it created a large new apartment on the first floor, and a number of small apartments on the ground floor, but also blocked the windows on the north side of the Gallery of Francis I.

 

The apartments of Queen Marie-Antoinette were redone, a Turkish-style salon was created for her in 1777, a room for games in 1786–1787, and a boudoir in the arabesque style. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette made their last visit to Fontainebleau in 1786, on the eve of the French Revolution.

 

The Château During the Revolution and the First Empire

 

During the French Revolution the Château did not suffer any significant damage, but all the furniture was sold at auction. The buildings were occupied by the Central School of the Department of Seine-et-Marne until 1803, when Napoleon I installed a military school there.

 

As he prepared to become Emperor, Napoleon wanted to preserve as much as possible of the palaces and protocol of the Old Regime. He chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with Pope Pius VII, who had travelled from Rome to crown Napoleon Emperor.

 

Napoleon had a suite of rooms decorated for the Pope, and had the entire Château refurnished and decorated. The bedroom of the Kings was transformed into a throne room for Napoleon. Apartments were refurnished and decorated for the Emperor and Empress in the new Empire style.

 

The Cour du Cheval Blanc was re-named the Cour d'Honneur. One wing facing the courtyard, the Aile de Ferrare, was torn down and replaced with an ornamental iron fence and gate, making the façade of the Palace visible.

 

The gardens of Diane and the gardens of the Pines were replanted and turned into an English landscape garden.

 

Napoleon's visits to Fontainebleau were not frequent, because he was occupied so much of the time with military campaigns. Between 1812 and 1814, the Château served as a very elegant prison for Pope Pius VII. On the 5th. November 1810, the chapel of the Château was used for the baptism of Napoleon's nephew, the future Napoleon III, with Napoleon serving as his godfather, and the Empress Marie-Louise as his godmother.

 

Napoleon spent the last days of his reign at Fontainebleau, before abdicating there on the 4th. April 1814. On the 20th. April, after failing in an attempt to commit suicide, he gave an emotional farewell to the soldiers of the Old Guard, assembled in the Court of Honor. Later, during the One Hundred Days, he stopped there on the 20th. March 1815.

 

In his memoires, written while in exile on Saint Helena, he recalled his time at Fontainebleau:

 

"The true residence of Kings, the house of

the centuries. Perhaps it was not a rigorously

architectural palace, but it was certainly a place

of residence well thought out and perfectly

suitable. It was certainly the most comfortable

and happily situated palace in Europe.”

 

The Château during the Restoration and the Reign of Louis-Philippe (1815–1848)

 

Following the restoration of the Monarchy, Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X each stayed at Fontainebleau, but neither made any major changes to the palace. Louis-Philippe was more active, both restoring some rooms and redecorating others in the style of his period.

 

The Hall of the Guards and Gallery of Plates were redecorated in a Neo-Renaissance style, while the Hall of Columns, under the ballroom, was remade in a neoclassical style. He added new stained glass windows, made by the royal manufactory of Sèvres.

 

The Château During the Second Empire

 

Emperor Napoleon III, who had been baptised at Fontainebleau, resumed the custom of long stays at the Château, particularly during the summer. Many of the historic rooms, such as the Galerie des Cerfs, were restored to something like their original appearance, while the private apartments were redecorated to suit the tastes of the Emperor and Empress.

 

Numerous guest apartments were squeezed into unused spaces within the buildings. The old theatre of the palace, built in the 18th. century, was destroyed by a fire in the wing of the Belle Cheminée 1856. Between 1854 and 1857 the architect Hector Lefuel built a new theatre in the style of Louis XVI.

 

On the ground floor of the Gros Pavilion, the Empress Eugénie built a small but well-stocked museum, containing gifts from the King of Siam in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the Summer Palace in Beijing.

 

The museum also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and the sculptor Charles Henri Joseph Cordier. Close by, in the Louis XV wing, the Emperor established his office, and the Empress made her Salon of Lacquer.

 

These were the last rooms created by the royal residents of Fontainebleau. In 1870, during the Franco-German War, the Empire fell, and the Château was closed.

 

The Château from the Third Republic to the Present Day

 

During the Franco-Prussian War, the palace was occupied by the Prussians on the 17th. September 1870, and briefly used as an army headquarters by Frederic Charles of Prussia from March 1871.

 

Following the war, two of the buildings became the home of the advanced school of artillery and engineering of the French Army, which had been forced to leave Alsace when the province was annexed by Germany.

 

The Château was occasionally used as a residence by the Presidents of the Third Republic, and to welcome state guests including King Alexander I of Serbia (1891), King George I of Greece (1892) Leopold II of Belgium (1895) and King Alphonse XIII of Spain (1913).

 

It also received a visit by the last survivor of its royal residents, the Empress Eugenie, on the 26th. June 1920.

 

The façades the major buildings received their first protection by classification as historic monuments on the 20th. August 1913.

 

In 1923, following the Great War, the Château became the home of the Écoles d'Art Américaines, schools of art and music, which still exist today. In 1927 it became a national museum. Between the wars the upper floors of the wing of the Belle Cheminée, burned in 1856, were rebuilt by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

 

During World War II, Fontainebleau was occupied by the Germans on the 16th. June 1940, and occupied until the 10th. November 1940, and again from the 15th. May to the end of October 1941.

 

Following the war, part of the Château became a headquarters of the Western Union and later NATO's Allied Forces Central Europe/Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, until 1966.

 

The general restoration of the Château took place between 1964 and 1968 under President Charles De Gaulle and his Minister of Culture, Andre Malraux. It was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture purchased the royal stables, and began their restoration.

 

Beginning in 2007, restoration began of the theatre of the Château, created by Napoleon III during the Second Empire. The project was funded by the government of Abu-Dhabi, and in exchange the theater was renamed after Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan. It was inaugurated on the 30th. April 2014.

 

On the 1st. March 2015, the Chinese Museum of the Château was robbed by professional thieves. They broke in at about six in the morning, and, despite alarms and video cameras, in seven minutes stole about fifteen of the most valuable objects in the collection, including the replica of the crown of Siam given by the Siamese government to Napoleon III, a Tibetan mandala, and an enamel chimera from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795).

 

The Grand Apartments at Fontainebleau

 

The Gallery of Francis I

 

The Gallery of Francis I is one of the first and finest examples of Renaissance decoration in France. It was originally constructed in 1528 as a passageway between the apartments of the King with the oval courtyard and the great chapel of the convent Trinitaires, but in 1531 Francis I made it a part of his royal apartments, and between 1533 and 1539 it was decorated by artists and craftsmen from Italy, under the direction of the painter Rosso Fiorentino, in the new Renaissance style.

 

The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi; they are decorated with the coat of arms of France and the salamander, the emblem of the King. The upper walls are covered by frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco. The frescoes used mythological scenes to illustrate the virtues of the King.

 

On the side of the gallery with windows, the frescoes represent Ignorance Driven Out; The Unity of the State; Cliobis and Biton; Danae; The Death of Adonis; The Loss of Perpetual Youth; and The Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapithes.

 

On the side of the gallery facing the windows, the frescoes represent: A Sacrifice; The Royal Elephant; The Burning of Catane; The Nymph of Fontainebleau (painted in 1860–61 by J. Alaux to cover a former entry to the gallery); The Sinking of Ajax; The Education of Achilles and The Frustration of Venus.

 

The Ballroom

 

The Ballroom was originally begun as an open passageway, or loggia, by Francis I. In about 1552 King Henry II closed it with high windows and an ornate coffered ceiling, and transformed it into a room for celebrations and balls.

 

The 'H', the initial of the King, is prominent in the decor, as well as figures of the crescent moon, the symbol of Henry's mistress Diane de Poitiers.

 

At the western end is a monumental fireplace, decorated with bronze statues originally copied from classical statues in Rome. At the eastern end of the room is a gallery where musicians played during balls.

 

The decor was restored many times over the years. The floor, which mirrors the design of the ceiling, was built by Louis-Philippe in the first half of the 19th. century.

 

The frescoes on the walls and pillars were painted beginning in 1552 by Nicolo dell'Abate, following drawings by Primatice. On the garden side of the ballroom, they represent: The Harvest; Vulcan forging weapons for Love at the request of Venus; Phaeton begging the sun to let him drive his chariot; and Jupiter and Mercury at the home of Philemon and Baucis.

 

The frescoes on the side of the Oval Courtyard represent: The feast of Bacchus; Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus; The Three Graces dancing before the gods; and The wedding feast of Thetis and Peleus.

 

St. Saturnin's Chapel

 

Behind the ballroom, there is St. Saturnin's Chapel. The lower chapel was originally built in the 12th. century, but was destroyed and completely rebuilt under Francis I. The windows made in Sèvres were installed during Louis Philippe's period, and were designed by his daughter Marie, an artist herself.

 

The upper chapel was the royal chapel decorated by Philibert de l'Orme. The ceiling, made in the same style as the ballroom, ends with a dome.

 

Room of the Guards

 

A room for the guards was always located next to the royal bedchambers. The Salle des Gardes was built during the reign of Charles IX. Some traces of the original decor remain from the 1570's, including the vaulted ceiling and a frieze of military trophies attributed to Ruggiero d'Ruggieri.

 

In the 19th. century Louis Philippe turned the room into a salon, and redecorated it with a new parquet floor of exotic woods echoing the design of the ceiling, along with a monumental fireplace (1836), which incorporates pieces of ornament from demolished rooms that were built the 15th. and early 16th. century.

 

The bust of Henry IV, attributed to Mathieu Jacquet, is from that period, as are the two figures on either side of the fireplace. The sculpted frame around the bust, by Pierre Bontemps, was originally in the bedchamber of Henry II.

 

The decorations added by Louis Philippe include a large vase decorated with Renaissance themes, made by the Sèvres porcelain manufactory in 1832.

 

During the reign of Napoleon III, the hall was used as a dining room.

 

Stairway of the King

 

The stairway of the King was installed in 1748 and 1749, in the space occupied during the reign of Francis I by the bedroom of Anne de Pisseleu, the Duchess of Étampes, a favorite of the King.

 

It was designed by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, who used many decorative elements from the earlier room, which had originally been decorated by Primatice.

 

The upper portion of the walls is divided into panels, oval and rectangular, with scenes representing the love life of Alexander the Great. The paintings are framed by large statues of women by Primatice. The eastern wall of the room was destroyed during the reconstruction, and was replaced during the reign of Louis Philippe in the 19th. century with paintings by Abel de Pujol.

 

The Queen's Bedroom

 

All of the Queens and Empresses of France from Marie de Medici to the Empress Eugènie slept in the bedchamber of the Queen. The ornate ceiling over the bed was made in 1644 by the furniture-maker Guillaume Noyers for the Dowager Queen Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis XIV, and bears her initials.

 

The room was redecorated by Marie Leszczynska, the Queen of Louis XV in 1746–1747. The ceiling of the alcove, the decoration around the windows and the wood panelling were made by Jacques Vererckt and Antoine Magnonais in the rocaille style of the day. The decoration of the fireplace dates to the same period.

 

The doors have an arabesque design, and were made for Marie-Antoinette, as were the sculpted panels over the doors, installed in 1787. The bed was also made especially for Marie Antoinette, but did not arrive until 1797, after the Revolution and her execution. it was used instead by Napoleon's wives, the Empress Josephine and Marie-Louise of Austria.

 

The walls received their ornamental textile covering, with a design of flowers and birds, in 1805. It was restored in 1968–1986 using the original fabric as a model.

 

The furniture in the room all dates to the First Empire. The balustrade around the bed was originally made for the throne room of the Tuileries Palace in 1804. The armchairs with a sphinx pattern, the consoles and screen and the two chests of drawers were placed in the room in 1806.

 

The Boudoir of Marie-Antoinette

 

The boudoir next to the Queen's bedroom was created for Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1786, and permitted the Queen to have a measure of privacy.

 

The room is the best surviving example of the decorative style just before the French Revolution, inspired by ancient Roman models, with delicately painted arabesques, cameos, vases, antique figures and garlands of flowers against a silver background, framed by gilded and sculpted woodwork.

 

The room was made for the Queen by the same team of artists and craftsmen who also made the game room; the design was by the architect Pierre Rousseau (1751-1829); the wood panelling was sculpted by Laplace, and painted by Michel-Hubert Bourgeois and Louis-François Touzé.

 

Eight figures of the Muses were made in plaster by Roland; the ornate mantle of the fireplace was made by Jacques-François Dropsy, and decorated with glided bronze works by Claude-Jean Pitoin.

 

The mahogany parquet floor, decorated with the emblems of the Queen, was made by Bernard Molitor, and finished in 1787. The painted ceiling, by Jean-Simon Berthélemy, shows Aurora with a group of angels.

 

The furnishings were designed for the room by Jean-Henri Riesener, using the finest materials available; mother of pearl, gilded bronze, brass, satin and ebony. Some of the original furnishings remain, including the cylindrical desk and the table, which were made between 1784 and 1789.

 

The two armchairs are copies of the originals made by Georges Jacob which are now in the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, while the footstool is the original.

 

The Throne Room of Napoleon (former bedroom of the King)

 

The Throne Room was the bedroom of the Kings of France from Henry IV to Louis XVI.

 

In 1808 Napoleon decided to install his throne in the former bedroom of the Kings of France in the location where the royal bed had been. Under the Old Regime, the King's bed was a symbol of royal authority in France and was saluted by courtiers who passed by it. Napoleon wanted to show the continuity of his Empire with the past monarchies of France.

 

The majority of the carved wood ceiling, the lower part of the wood panelling, and the doors date to the reign of Louis XIII. The ceiling directly over the throne was made at the end of the reign of Louis XIV.

 

Louis XV created the portion of the ceiling directly over the throne, a new chimney, sculpted wooden medallions near the fireplace, the designs over the doors, and the fine carved woodwork facing the throne (1752–54).

 

He also had the ceiling painted white and gilded and decorated with mosaics, to match the ceiling of the bedroom of the Queen.

 

Napoleon added the standards with his initial and the Imperial eagle. The decoration around the throne was originally designed in 1804 by Jacob-Desmalter for the Palace of Saint-Cloud, and the throne itself came from the Tuileries Palace.

 

The chimney was originally decorated with a portrait of Louis XIII painted by Philippe de Champaigne, which was burned in 1793 during the French Revolution. Napoleon replaced it with a portrait of himself, by Robert Lefèvre. In 1834, King Louis-Philippe took down Napoleon's picture and replaced with another of Louis XIII.

 

The Council Chamber

 

The Council Chamber, where the Kings and Emperors met their closest advisors, was close to the Throne Room. It was originally the office of Francis I, and was decorated with painted wooden panels showing following designs of Primatice, the virtues and the heroes of antiquity.

 

The room was enlarged under Louis XIV, and the decorator, Claude Audran, followed the same theme.

 

The room was entirely redecorated between 1751 and 1754 by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, with arcades and wooded panels showing the virtues, and allegories of the seasons and the elements, painted by Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Carle van Loo.

 

The painter Alexis Peyrotte added another series of medallions to the upper walls depicting floral themes, the sciences and arts. The five paintings on the vaulted ceiling were the work of François Boucher, and show the seasons and the sun beginning its journey and chasing away the night.

 

A half-rotonda on the garden side of the room was added by Louis XV in 1773, with a painted ceiling by Lagrenée depicting Glory surrounded by his children.

 

The room was used as a council chamber by Napoleon I, and the furnishings are from that time. The armchairs at the table for the ministers are by Marcion (1806) and the folding chairs for advisors are by Jacob-Desmalter (1808).

 

Apartment of the Pope and of the Queen-Mothers

 

The apartment of the Pope, located on the first floor of the wing of the Queen Mothers and of the Gros Pavillon, takes its name from the 1804 visit of Pope Pius VII, who stayed there on his way to Paris to crown Napoleon I the Emperor of France.

 

He stayed there again, involuntarily, under the close supervision of Napoleon from 1812 to 1814. Prior to that, beginning in the 17th. century it was the residence of the Queen Mothers Marie de' Medici and Anne of Austria.

 

It was also the home of the Grand Dauphin, the oldest son of Louis XIV. In the 18th. century it was used by the daughters of Louis XV, and then by the Count of Provence, the brother of Louis XVI.

 

During the First Empire it was used by Louis, the brother of Napoleon, and his wife Queen Hortense, the daughter of the Empress Josephine. During the reign of Louis-Philippe, it was used by his eldest son, the Duke of Orleans.

 

During the Second Empire, it was occupied by Stephanie de Bade, the adopted niece of Napoleon I. It was restored in 1859–1861, and used thereafter for guests of high rank. It was originally two apartments, which were divided or joined over the years depending upon its occupants.

 

The Grand Salon, the Antechamber to the Bedroom of the Queen-Mother (Mid-17th. century)

 

The Salon de Reception was the anteroom to the bedroom of Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV. It features a gilded and sculpted ceiling divided into seven compartments, representing the sun and the known planets, along with smaller compartments for military trophies.

 

The room was created in 1558 by Ambroise Perret as the bedroom of Henry II in the pavilion des Poeles, a section of the Château that was later destroyed. Anne had it moved and decorated with her own emblems, including a pelican. The wood paneling in the room is probably from the same period.

 

The decor of the bedroom dates largely to the 1650's; it includes grotesque paintings in compartments on the ceiling, attributed to Charles Errard; richly carved wood paneling featuring oak leaves and putti; and paintings over the doors of Anne of Austria costumed as Minerva and Marie-Therese of Austria costumed as Abundance, both painted by Gilbert de Sève.

 

The bedroom was modified in the 18th. century by the addition of a new fireplace and sculptured borders of cascades of flowers around the mirrors added in 1784. During the Second Empire, painted panels imitating the style of the 17th. century were added above the mirrors and between the mirrors and the doors.

 

The Gallery of Diana

 

The Gallery of Diana, an eighty-metre (242 feet) long corridor now lined with bookcases, was created by Henry IV at the beginning of the 17th. century as a place for the Queen to promenade. The paintings on the vaulted ceiling, painted beginning in 1605 by Ambroise Dubois and his workshop, represented scenes from the myth of Diana, goddess of the Hunt.

 

At the beginning of the 19th. century, the gallery was in ruins. In 1810 Napoleon decided to turn it into a gallery devoted to the achievements of his Empire. A few of the paintings still in good condition were removed and put in the Gallery of Plates.

 

The architect Hurtault designed a new plan for the gallery, inspired by the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, featuring paintings on the ceiling illustrating the great events of Napoleon's reign.

 

By 1814 the corridor had been rebuilt and the decorative frames painted by Moench and Redouté, but the cycle of paintings on the Empire had not been started when Napoleon fell from power.

 

Once the monarchy was restored, King Louis XVIII had the gallery completed in a neoclassical style. A new series of the goddess Diana was done by Merry-Joseph Blondel and Abel de Pujol, using the painted frames prepared for Napoleon's cycle.

 

Paintings were also added along the corridor, illustrating the history of the French monarchy, painted in the Troubador style of the 1820's and 1830's, painted by a team of the leading academic painters.

 

Beginning in 1853, under Napoleon III, the corridor was turned into a library and most of the paintings were removed, with the exception of a large portrait of Henry IV on horseback by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse. The large globe near the entrance of the gallery, placed there in 1861, came from the office of Napoleon in the Tuileries Palace.

 

The Apartments of Napoleon

 

In 1804 Napoleon decided that he wanted his own private suite of apartments within the Palace, separate from the old state apartments. He took over a suite of six rooms which had been created in 1786 for Louis XVI, next to the Gallery of Francis I, and had them redecorated in the Empire style.

 

The Emperor's Bedroom

 

Beginning in 1808, Napoleon had his bedroom in the former dressing room of the King. From this room, using a door hidden behind the drapery to the right of the bed, Napoleon could go directly to his private library or to the offices on the ground floor.

 

Much of the original decor was unchanged from the time of Louis XVI; the fireplaces, the carved wooden panels sculpted by Pierre-Joseph LaPlace and the sculpture over the door by Sauvage remained as they were.

 

The walls were painted with Imperial emblems in gold on white by Frederic-Simon Moench. The bed, made especially for the Emperor, was the summit of the Empire style; it was crowned with an imperial eagle and decorated with allegorical sculptures representing Glory, Justice, and Abundance.

 

The Emperor had a special carpet made by Sallandrouze in the shape of the cross of the Legion of Honor; the branches of the cross alternate with symbols of military and civilian attributes.

 

The chairs near the fireplace were specially designed, with one side higher than the other, to contain the heat from the fire while allowing the occupants to see the decorations of the fireplace.

 

The painting on the ceiling of the room was added later, after the downfall of Napoleon, by Louis XVIII. Painted by Jean-Baptiste Regnault, it is an allegory representing The clemency of the King halting justice in its course.

 

The study was a small room designated as Napoleon's work room. In 1811 he added the camp bed, similar to the bed he used on his military campaigns, so he could rest briefly during a long night of work.

 

The salon of the Emperor was simply furnished and decorated. It was in this room, on the small table on display, that the Emperor signed his abdication in 1814.

 

The Theatre

 

Concerts, plays and other theatrical productions were a regular part of court life at Fontainebleau. Prior to the reign of Louis XV these took place in different rooms of the palace, but during his reign, a theatre was built in the Belle-Cheminée wing. It was rebuilt by the architect Gabriel, but was destroyed by a fire in 1856.

 

It had already been judged too small for the court of Napoleon III, and a new theatre was begun in 1854 at the far eastern end of the wing of Louis XIV. It was designed by architect Hector Lefuel in the style of Louis XVI, and was inspired by the opera theatre at the palace of Versailles and that of Marie-Antoinette at the Trianon Palace.

 

The new theatre, with four hundred seats arranged in a parterre, two balconies and boxes in a horseshoe shape, was finished in 1856. It has the original stage machinery, and many of the original sets, including many transferred from the old theatre before the fire of 1856.

 

The theatre was closed after the end of the Second Empire and was rarely used. A restoration began in 2007, funded with ten million Euros by the government of Abu-Dhabi. In exchange, the theatre was renamed after Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan.

 

It was inaugurated on the 30th. April 2014. The theatre can be visited, but it no longer can be used for plays because some working parts of the theater, including the stage, were not included in the restoration.

 

The Chinese Museum

 

The Chinese Museum, on the ground floor of the Gros Pavillon close to the lake, was among the last rooms decorated within the Chateau while it was still an imperial residence.

 

In 1867, the Empress Eugenie had the rooms remade to display her personal collection of Asian art, which included gifts given to the Emperor by a delegation sent by the King of Siam in 1861, and other objects taken during the destruction and looting of the Old Summer Palace near Beijing by a joint British-French military expedition to China in 1860.

 

The objects displayed in the antechamber include two royal palanquins given by the King of Siam, one designed for a King and the other (with curtains) for a Queen. Inside the two salons of the museum, some of the walls are covered with lacquered wood panels in black and gold, taken from 17th. century Chinese screens, along with specially designed cases to display antique porcelain vases.

 

Other objects on display include a Tibetan stupa containing a Buddha taken from the Summer Palace in China; and a royal Siamese crown given to Napoleon III.

 

The salons are lavishly decorated with both Asian and European furnishings and art objects, including silk-covered furnishings and Second Empire sculptures by Charles Cordier and Pierre-Alexandre Schoenewerk. The room also served as a place for games and entertainment; an old bagatelle game and a mechanical piano from that period are on display.

 

In addition to the Chinese Museum, the Empress created a small office in 1868, the Salon of Lacquerware, which was also decorated with lacquered panels and Asian art objects, on the ground floor of the Louis XV wing. This was the last room decorated before the fall of the Empire, and the eventual transformation of the Chateau into a museum.

 

The Chapel of the Trinity

 

The Chapel of the Trinity was built at the end of the reign of Francis I to replace the old chapel of the convent of the Trinitaires. It was finished under Henry II, but was without decoration until 1608, when the painter Martin Freminet was commissioned to design frescoes for the ceiling and walls.

 

The sculptor Barthèlemy Tremblay created the vaults of the ceiling out of stucco and sculpture. The paintings of Freminet in the central vaults depict the redemption of Man, from the appearance of God to Noah at the launching of the Ark (Over the tribune) to the Annunciation.

 

They surrounded these with smaller paintings depicting the ancestors of the Virgin Mary, the Kings of Judah, the Patriarchs announcing the coming of Christ, and the Virtues.

 

Between 1613 and 1619 Freminet and Tremblay added paintings in stucco frames between the windows on the sides of the chapel, depicting the life of Christ. Freminet died in 1619, and work did not resume until 1628.

 

The Trinity chapel, like Sainte-Chapelle in Paris other royal chapels, had an upper section or tribune, where the King and his family sat, with a separate entrance; and a lower part, where the rest of the Court was placed.

 

Beginning in 1628, the side chapels were decorated with iron gates and carved wood panelling, and the Florentine sculptor Francesco Bordoni began work on the marble altar. The figure to the left depicts Charlemagne, with the features of Henry II, while the figure on the right depicts Louis IX, or Saint Louis, with the features of Louis XIII, his patron.

 

Bordoni also designed the multicolored marble pavement before the altar and on the walls of the nave. The painting of the Holy Trinity over the altar, by Jean Dubois the Elder, was added in 1642.

 

In the mid-17th. century the craftsman Anthony Girault made the sculpted wooden doors of the nave. while Jean Gobert made the doors of the tribune where the Royal family worshipped.

 

In 1741 the royal tribune was enlarged, while ornate balconies of wrought iron were added between the royal tribune and the simpler balconies used by the musicians and those who chanted the mass. In 1779, under Louis XVI, the frescoes of Freminet illustrating the life of Christ, which had deteriorated with time, were replaced by new paintings on the same theme. The paintings were done in the same style by about a dozen painters from the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.

 

Under Napoleon, the old tabernacle of the chapel, which had been removed during the Revolution, was replaced by a new one designed by the architect Maximilien Hurtault.

 

Beginning in 1824, the chapel underwent a program of major renovation and restoration that lasted for six years. The twelve paintings of the life of Christ were removed, as well as the gates to the side chapels.

 

During the Second Empire, the wood panelling of the side chapels was replaced. The restoration was not completed until the second half of the 20th. century, when the twelve paintings, which had been scattered to different museums, were brought together again and restored in their stucco frames. Between 1772 and 1774, a small organ made by François-Henri Cilquot was installed on the left side of the chapel, near the altar.

 

On the 5th. September 1725, the chapel was the setting for the wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska. Napoleon III was baptized there on 4 November 1810, and Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orleans, the son of King Louis-Philippe, was married there to Helene de Mecklembourg Schwerin on the 30th. May 1837.

 

The Gardens and the Park at Fontainebleau

 

From the time of Francis I, the palace was surrounded by formal gardens, representing the major landscaping styles of their periods; the French Renaissance garden, inspired by Italian Renaissance gardens; the French formal garden, the favorite style of Louis XIV; and, in the 18th. and 19th. century, the French landscape garden, inspired by the English landscape garden.

 

The Garden of Diana

 

The Garden of Diana was created during the reign of Henry IV; it was the private garden of the King and Queen, and was visible from the windows of their rooms.

 

The fountain of Diana was originally in the centre of the garden, which at that time was enclosed by another wing, containing offices and later, under, Louis XIV, an orangery. That building, and another, the former chancellery, were demolished in the 19th. century, thereby doubling the size of the garden.

 

From the 17th. until the end of the 18th. century, the garden was in the Italian and then the French formal style, divided by straight paths into rectangular flower beds centred on the fountains, and decorated with statues, ornamental plants and citrus trees in pots.

 

It was transformed during the reign of Napoleon I into a landscape garden in the English style, with winding paths and trees grouped into picturesque landscapes, and it was enlarged during the reign of Louis-Philippe. it was opened to the public after the downfall of Napoleon III.

 

The fountain in the centre was made by Tommaso Francini, the master Italian fountain-maker, whose work included the Medici Fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.

 

The bronze statue of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, with a young deer, was made by the Keller brothers in 1684 for another royal residence, at Marly. It is a copy of an antique Roman statue, Diana of Versailles, which was given by the Pope to King Henry IV, and which is now in the Louvre.

 

The original statue of the fountain, made by Barthelemy Prieur in 1602, can be seen in the Gallery of the Cerfs inside the palace. The sculptures of hunting dogs and deer around the fountain were made by Pierre Biard.

 

The Carp Lake, English Garden, Grotto and Spring

 

The lake next to the palace, with an area of four hectares, was made during the reign of Henry IV, and was used for boating parties by members of the Court, and as a source of fish for the table and for amusement.

 

Descriptions of the palace in the 17th. century tell of guests feeding the carp, some of which reached enormous size, and were said to be a hundred years old. The small octagonal house on an island in the center of the lake, Pavillon de l'Étang, was added during the reign of Louis XIV, then rebuilt under Napoleon I, and is decorated with his initial.

 

The English garden also dates back to the reign of Henry IV. In one part of the garden, known as the garden of pines, against the wing of Louis XV, is an older structure dating to Francis I; the first Renaissance-style grotto to be built in a French garden, a rustic stone structure decorated with four statues of Atlas.

 

Under Napoleon, his architect, Maximilien-Joseph Hurtault, turned this part of the garden into an English park, with winding paths and exotic trees, including catalpa, tulip trees, sophora, and cypress trees from Louisiana, and with a picturesque stream and boulders.

 

The garden also features two 17th. century bronze copies of ancient Roman originals, the Borghese gladiator and the Dying Gladiator. A path leads from the garden through a curtain of trees to the spring which gave its name to the palace, next to a statue of Apollo.

 

The Parterre and Canal

 

On the other side of the Château, on the site of the garden of Francis I, Henry IV created a large formal garden, or parterre Along the axis of the parterre, he also built a grand canal 1200 metres long, similar to one at the nearby château of Fleury-en-Biere.

 

Between 1660 and 1664 the chief gardener of Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre, and Louis Le Vau rebuilt the parterre on a grander scale, filling it with geometric designs and paths bordered with boxwood hedges and filled with colourful flowerbeds.

 

They also added a basin, called Les Cascades, decorated with fountains, at the head of the canal. Le Nôtre planted shade trees along the length of the canal, and also laid out a wide path, lined with elm trees, parallel to the canal.

 

The fountains of Louis XIV were removed after his reign. More recently, the Cascades were decorated with works of sculpture from the 19th. century. A large ornamental fountain was installed in the central basin in 1817.

 

A bronze replica of an ancient Roman statue, "The Tiber", was placed in the round basin in 1988. It replaced an earlier statue from the 16th. century which earlier had decorated the basin.

 

Two statues of sphinxes by Mathieu Lespagnandel, from 1664, are placed near the balustrade of the grand canal.

 

Black locust thorn.

© 2012 cumaarte. © Copyright – Marcelo Moreno©. Photos are copyrighted. All rights reserved. Pictures can not be used without explicit permission by the creator.

© 2012 cumaarte. © Copyright – Marcelo Moreno©. Estas fotos tienen derechos de autor. Todos los derechos reservados. Las imágenes no pueden ser utilizadas sin autorización expresa del autor.

© Copyright – Marcelo Moreno©.

The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use outside FlickR, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved."

 

i'm not sure that they actually do & I am not sure that believing in supernatural stuff is a recipe for a more harmonious world (if that is what it even means)

 

....but I suppose it is a more wholesome message than the initial graffiti

 

someone has written "IRA" in black and someone else has modified it.

 

Or maybe it is a reference to the Good Friday Agreement and peace process? That would be a better interpretation to my mind.

 

As i walked along (dog walking) I thought about alternative modifications that could have been made. I like "inspIRAtion is everywhere" but will probably think of something better next time I walk the dogs here.

      

Modified version of the LEGO Brick Bank (#10251).

 

There's now an ATM and the additional floor provides room for an insurance agent, who might not be the most respectable one.

My sewing scissors (actual size and all). Old picture taken right after it was done, a new one should be up soon :)

la modification consiste à offrir a cette dame des jambes beaucoup plus articulées que d'origine.aucune figurines n'a souffert durant l'opération ( c'est ce qu'il m'a semblais! )

  

the change is to offer this lady has much more articulated legs that original. no figures have suffered during the operation (that is what it seemed to me!)

AT-LP120USB with heatshrink tubing and cotton inside arm.

This is probably one of my best pictures I've taken so far. I took this for my portraits assignment at my photography school (International Center for Photography). This was taken in SoHo, NY. Believe it or not, these two guys were the nicest guys i met that day

His "dragon ears" were really pretty in their own way, but nothing I can work with character-wise. They don't make sense for him, so off they go!

  

Modifying the Voigtlander Nokton 40mm lens to bring up the 35mm framelines in a Leica/Hexar/Zeiss Ikon is a very simple procedure. A few light strokes of a file on the correct flange on the lens mount is all that it takes to toggle the 35mm framelines. I've seen other examples of this modification on the web where far too much metal has been taken off; really, in only amounts to about a millimeter.

 

Remember to remove the lens mount or tape up all the glass surfaces and possible entry point for metal shavings before filing.

only took 20 minutes but thus far is my most painful tat.

 

For those cretins who don't know what this is, it's the Tolkien symbol (see the JRRT?)

Will sent me some shortshots of the M1917A1 machine gun barrel awhile ago, and I really had no clue what to do with them.. So I tried drilling a hole in one of them to use as a regular blaster. I kind of like it, but if I wanted it to stay, I'd have to glue it on. It's not very tight right now. Oh, and the red tron disk is an energy blast powering up. Lol

 

I just got an AWESOME drill set for Christmas, so I've been using them for modding. ^_^ I have to get the feel of how big to make holes though, so that I can make them nice and snug.

 

Feedback is appreciated! And if you favorite, why not comment? ;)

How to get the front off an Argus C3 "Brick" to repair, flash sync, or otherwise tinker with the innards.

Cathédrale de l'Incarnation (Grenade)

 

source WIKIPEDIA

 

La cathédrale de l'Incarnation de Grenade est un édifice de la Renaissance, bâti à partir du xvie siècle dans la ville espagnole de Grenade, en Andalousie. Cette cathédrale, considérée comme la toute première église construite en style Renaissance en Espagne1, fut envisagée dès le règne des Rois catholiques, et sa construction fut commencée sous Charles Ier, pour s’achever en 1704, sous le règne de Philippe V.

 

Dédiée au mystère de l'Incarnation, elle est le siège de la province ecclésiastique de Grenade, dont l'archevêque étend son autorité sur les diocèses d'Almería, Carthagène, Guadix, Jaén et Malaga. La cathédrale est classée Monument national depuis 1929.

 

Suite à la reconquête de la ville en 1492, les Rois Catholiques envisagent la construction d'une cathédrale sur le site de l'ancienne grande mosquée nasride de Grenade. Dès le 21 mai 1492 est fondée l'église cathédrale de Grenade, siège du nouveau diocèse. En 1505, la construction est projetée, et sa conception est confiée à Juan Gil de Hontañón et à Enrique Egas, qui travaillent déjà sur la Chapelle royale de la ville. Les travaux commencent en 1518. Les deux architectes prévoient la construction d'un édifice gothique, sur le modèle de la Cathédrale de Tolède, comme cela est encore le cas en de nombreux endroits d'Espagne (Ségovie, Salamanque...). Leur projet est néanmoins abandonné en 1523, peu après le début du chantier.

 

On adopte alors les plans de l'architecte Diego de Siloé, qui travaille déjà sur le monastère de San Jerónimo à Grenade4. Diego de Siloé prévoit de reprendre les bases du dessein antérieur, et d'élever à parptir de celui-ci un édifice pleinement renaissance. Il va mener les travaux de 1528 jusqu'à sa mort, en 1563. Divers architectes se succèdent pour diriger le chantier, selon les plans maniéristes élaborés par leur prédécesseur : Juan de Maeda, Alonso Cano et Teodoro Ardemans.

 

En 1590, une première modification importante du plan initial intervient. En raison des fondations trop fragiles, le projet d'élever deux hautes tours de 80 mètres pour encadrer la façade, est abandonné en 1590 sur ordre de Philippe II. Seule une tour a été bâtie ; elle est arasée, sa hauteur se limitant à 51 mètres. En 1665, Alonso Cano parvient à convaincre le chapitre de modifier le projet initial. La construction prend alors une allure plus baroque. Suite au décès de Cano en 1667, la direction du chantier est confiée à Melchior de Aguirre, qui achève l’œuvre en juillet 1703.

 

La cathédrale de Grenade prend place au cœur du centre historique de la ville, entre la Gran vía Colón et la Calle Reyes Católicos. Entourée par des édifices d'importance comme la Chapelle royale (Capilla Real), la bourse de commerce (Lonja) ou l'ancien marché de la soie (Alcaicería), elle trône sur la place de las Pasiegas, qui offre bien peu de recul pour contempler la grandiose façade de l'édifice. Diego de Siloé a conçu un vaste édifice de 115 mètres sur 67, qui constitue : « "(…)un ensemble alliant pureté, élégance des formes, et blancheur immaculée de la pierre." »

 

Le monument représente un des sommets de l'architecture de la Renaissance en Espagne, tout en intégrant des éléments décoratifs puisés dans l'art gothique (plan et voûtes) et l'art baroque (façade), témoignant de la longueur du chantier, qui s'est étalé sur près de deux-cents ans. Son influence fut très importante dans les constructions de ce type postérieures en Andalousie.

 

ENGLISH

 

Granada Cathedral

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The cathedral of Granada.

Granada Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Incarnation (Spanish: Catedral de Granada, Catedral de la Anunciación) is the cathedral in the city of Granada, capital of the province of the same name in the Autonomous Region of Andalusia, Spain. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Granada.

 

Unlike most cathedrals in Spain, construction of this cathedral had to await the acquisition of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada from its Muslim rulers in 1492; while its very early plans had Gothic designs, such as are evident in the Royal Chapel of Granada by Enrique Egas, the construction of the church in the main occurred at a time when Spanish Renaissance designs were supplanting the Gothic regnant in Spanish architecture of prior centuries. Foundations for the church were laid by the architect Egas starting from 1518 to 1523 atop the site of the city's main mosque; by 1529, Egas was replaced by Diego de Siloé who labored for nearly four decades on the structure from ground to cornice, planning the triforium and five naves instead of the usual three. Most unusually, he created a circular capilla mayor rather than a semicircular apse, perhaps inspired by Italian ideas for circular 'perfect buildings' (e.g. in Alberti's works). Within its structure the cathedral combines other orders of architecture. It took 181 years for the cathedral to be built.

 

Subsequent architects included Juan de Maena (1563-1571), followed by Juan de Orea (1571-1590), and Ambrosio de Vico (1590-?). In 1667 Alonso Cano, working with Gaspar de la Peña, altered the initial plan for the main façade, introducing Baroque elements. The magnificence of the building would be even greater, if the two large 81 meter towers foreseen in the plans had been built; however the project remained incomplete for various reasons, among them, financial.

 

The Cathedral had been intended to become the royal mausoleum by Charles I of Spain of Spain, but Philip II of Spain moved the site for his father and subsequent kings to El Escorial outside of Madrid.

 

The main chapel contains two kneeling effigies of the Catholic King and Queen, Isabel and Ferdinand by Pedro de Mena y Medrano. The busts of Adam and Eve were made by Alonso Cano. The Chapel of the Trinity has a marvelous retablo with paintings by El Greco, Jusepe de Ribera and Alonso Cano.

 

ESPANOL

 

La Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Anunciación de Granada es un templo católico de la ciudad española de Granada, comunidad autónoma de Andalucía, sede de la archidiócesis de la ciudad. El templo es una de las obras cumbres del Renacimiento español.

 

Nave central, capilla mayor y bóvedas de la catedral de Granada.

Durante el renacimiento, el Reino de Granada, al igual que Galicia, conformó un centro artístico independiente del estilo predominante en el resto de la península, el herrerianismo.

 

Con el reinado de Carlos I de España se llevarán a cabo numerosas construcciones en la ciudad de Granada, dada la intención del monarca en convertir a la urbe en el modelo de ciudad del siglo XVI. Así la construcción de la catedral de Granada será coetánea a las de el palacio cristiano de la Alhambra, la Universidad y la chancillería (actual sede del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía - TSJA).

 

Columnas y bóvedas de la catedral de Granada.

El primer proyecto fue encomendado en 1506 a Enrique Egas que concibió un templo de estilo gótico, tomando como modelo la Catedral de Toledo. Las obras comenzaron, bajo la dirección del propio Egas, con la colocación solemne de la primera piedra el 25 de marzo de 1523. Sin embargo, fue Diego de Siloé quien, en 1529, se encargó de las obras, que se concluirán en 1563, presentando un nuevo proyecto mucho más ambicioso. El autor trazó las líneas renacentistas de todo el edificio sobre los cimientos góticos, con girola y cinco naves en lugar de las tres habituales, combinando en su estructura elementos de otros órdenes arquitectónicos.

 

Con la llegada de la política centralista de Felipe II y, especialmente, con la expulsión de los moriscos de 1609, la región perdió gran parte de su fuerza económica y quedó relegada frente a otros centros locales. Sin embargo, sí se continuó desarrollando proyectos artísticos de importancia. Es el caso de la reforma de la fachada principal emprendida por Alonso Cano (1601 – 1667) en 1664 en la que se introdujeron elementos barrocos.

 

La magnificencia del proyecto hubiese sido aún mayor si se hubieran erigido las dos grandes torres de ochenta y un metros de altura previstas en los planos. El proyecto no fue terminado por diversos problemas, entre ellos la muerte de Alonso Cano en 1667, y otros económicos, por lo que finalmente, en 1684, la Catedral quedó con una torre, formada solo por tres cuerpos en lugar de los seis previstos y con un total de cincuenta y siete metros de altura.

 

Interior de la catedral de Granada antes de que se suprimiera el coro. Fotografía de J. Laurent, ca. 1881.

En 1706 Francisco de Hurtado Izquierdo y posteriormente su colaborador José Bada construyeron el actual sagrario de la catedral. En él, el autor rompió su tendencia rococó, respetando la sobriedad de líneas y la estructura clásica del resto del conjunto.

 

La catedral de Granada es de planta rectangular debido a que sus cinco naves cubren por completo el crucero, que no llega a destacar sobre la planta. Las cinco naves están escalonadas en alturas, siendo mayor la central. En los pies de la catedral, se sitúan las dos torres, siendo la del lado izquierdo, llamada torre de san Miguel, un contrafuerte que sustituyó a la torre prevista en ese lado.

 

La capilla mayor está compuesta por una serie de columnas corintias sobre cuyo capitel se encuentra el entablamento y sobre éste, la bóveda, que alberga, al igual que los espacios inferiores sobre las columnas, una serie de ventanales con delicadas vidrieras.

 

La fachada está constituida por una estructura encuadrada en forma de arco del triunfo con portadas y lienzos de empotrados. Está formada por tres ejes coronados por arcos de medio punto sostenidos sobre pilastras, de forma similar a San Andrés de Mantua de Leon Battista Alberti. Las pilastras no tienen capiteles sino resaltes esculpidos en la pared, así como medallones de mármol adosados. Encima de la puerta principal se ubica un tondo en mármol de José Risueño sobre la Anunciación. Destaca también la presencia en la parte superior de un jarrón con azucenas, aludiendo al carácter virginal y puro de la madre de Dios.

 

El sagrario, elevado entre 1706 y 1759, sigue las proporciones clásicas del conjunto, manteniendo las columnas múltiples del crucero las formas del orden compuesto de Siloé.

or modification of a (1,1)hex+(1,2)hex stacked hexagon twist tessellation

 

This is similar to the windmills tessellation. This time the second hexagonal twist is one step larger. The connectors between the molecules have here a width of 4 grid points.

And I pulled out everything that I can pull out. At first the small hexagon at the center and then I can also pull out paper at the wings of the windmill. Now it looks for me more like a flower. So I named it after the small anemone nemorosa, which often has six petals.

 

Folder and designer: Dirk Eisner

duocolor wrapping paper

Grid: 1 : 64

My slightly famous corset piercing, which has graced numerous body mod sites and e-zines. I was even called out for it on the streets of NY whilst shopping! (I was wearing normal clothes too)

 

Even though I only had it for a year and a half it will always be apart of me. I have the scars to remind me. I will always look back with fondness.

 

Photo was taken by me, with the help of an ex-boy. There is a red sheet tacked to the wall behind me and the camera was propped up on a stack of drums with the timer on. Despite all of that, it came out to be a pretty nice photo and the cover to my book.

 

Color balance was corrected in PS to make reds pop.