View allAll Photos Tagged polychrome
"Polychrome Summer Snow" Polychrome Mountains, Denali National Park, Alaska. While backpacking in the park a July snow blanket fell upon the mountains. We had set up camp right at the breakover point from rain to snow. As we broke camp the spectacle was fantastic, looking in any direction and seeing mountains as they might appear in the winter with a clear line showing where summer still held its ground. I wanted to pause after every few steps to capture more images, but we had miles to go and arduous terrain to cover.
San Pedro & San Pablo
Early 19th Century
Baticuling, Polychrome and Gold Leaf
San Pedro:
H:39 1/2” x L:13 1/4” x W:9 1/4” (100 cm x 34 cm x 23 cm)
San Pablo:
H:39 1/2” x L:17” x W:11 1/2” (100 cm x 43 cm x 29 cm)
Opening bid: P 800,000
Provenance:
Northern Luzon, probably Pangasinan
Lot 74 of the Leon Gallery Auction on 9 September 2017. Please see leon-gallery.com/ for more details.
St. Peter, whose original name was Simon, was born in Bethsaida but settled in Capharnaum, where he was living with his mother-in-law in his own house. A fisherman with his own boat, he pursued his profitable occupation in Lake Genesareth. It was his brother Andrew, attracted by the Baptist's preaching of penance, who brought him to Jesus. The latter, upon seeing him, said: "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas (Aramaic for rock, petrus in Latin.)" After the first meeting, Peter and the other early disciples remained with Jesus for some time, accompanying Him to Galilee, Judaea, and Jerusalem, then through Samaria back to Galilee, where Peter resumed his occupation of fisherman for a short time. He soon received the definitive call of the Savior to become one of His permanent disciples. Peter and Andrew were engaged at their calling when Jesus met and addressed them: "Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men". From then on, Peter remained always beside Our Lord and a little later Christ chose His Twelve Apostles as His constant associates in preaching the kingdom of God. Christ accentuated Peter's precedence among the Apostles, when, while journeying along with His Apostles, Jesus asked them: "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" The Apostles answered: "Some John the Baptist, others say Elias, while others Jeremias or one of the prophets". Jesus said to them: "But who do you say that I am?" Simon said: "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God". And Jesus answering said to him: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven". By the word "rock" the Savior meant Peter, and His wish to make Peter the head of the whole community of those who believed in Him as the true Messiah. Thus, Peter was personally installed as Head of the Apostles by Christ Himself. The statue above is that of San Pedro or St. Peter, the apostle. Being ranked first among the apostles in importance, his statue is often placed together with St. Paul on either side of the main portal in the façade of almost every church.
The pieces were made during the first half of the 19th century and closely resembles the huge statues in the main altar of the church of Calasiao, Pangasinan. It is of a size that must have originally been in the main altar of a chapel in a convent or an important visita or barrio chapel. The carving of the hair, particularly the curly beard, is admirable and displays the inventiveness of the santero.
The image is clad in a green tunic and a yellow cape, the liturgical colors of St. Peter, the gilding of which are largely intact. The image stands with one foot forward in typical Philippine stance and carries a book on his left hand and a pair of keys, signifying the Gates of Heaven, on his right.
Paul the Apostle, whose original name was Saul, was a Greek-speaking Jew from Tarsus, a major city in the Roman province of Syria by the time of Paul’s adulthood. Two of the main cities of Syria, Damascus and Antioch, played a prominent part in his life and letters. Considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe and took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences. Prior to his conversion, Paul spent much of the first half of his life persecuting the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem and was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem", when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.
Following this revelation, which convinced Paul that God had indeed chosen Jesus to be the promised messiah, he went into Arabia, then returned to Damascus and, three years later, he went to Jerusalem to become acquainted with the leading apostles there. After this meeting he began his famous missions to the west, preaching first in his native Syria and Cilicia. During the next 20 years or so, he established several churches in Asia Minor and at least three in Europe.
During the course of his missions, Paul realized that his preaching to Gentiles was creating difficulties for the Christians in Jerusalem, who thought that Gentiles must become Jewish in order to join the Christian movement. To settle the issue, Paul returned to Jerusalem and struck a deal. It was agreed that Peter would be the principal apostle to Jews and Paul the principal apostle to Gentiles. Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 are attributed to Paul, and approximately half of another, Acts of the Apostles, deals with Paul’s life and works. Thus, about half of the New Testament stems from Paul and the people whom he influenced. Only 7 of the 13 letters, having been dictated by Paul himself, can be accepted as being entirely authentic. The others were written by followers in his name, who often used material from his surviving letters and who may have had access to letters written by Paul that no longer survive. The seven undoubted letters constitute the best source of information, and his epistles continue to be vital roots of the theology, worship and pastoral life in the Catholic and Protestant traditions of the West, as well as the Orthodox traditions of the East.
The statue above is that of San Pablo or St. Paul. He was not actually one of the twelve apostles, but was so zealous in spreading the Word of God that he is numbered among them. St. Paul is always portrayed carrying a book to signify his writings and a sword, the symbol of his martyrdom. The carving of the hair, particularly the long and flowing beard, is admirable and displays the inventiveness of the santero. The image is clad in a green tunic and a red cape decorated with estofado gilding, which is largely intact.
The green tunic, however, has discolored with age. The image stands with one foot forward in typical Philippine stance and carries a book on his left hand. The sword that he originally carried in his right hand is now missing.
-Martin I. Tinio, Jr.
Rectangular fragment (one of three) of a polychrome tomb-painting representing a banquet scene, divided into two registers: upper - three seated couples are attended by serving women and boys; lower - a group of women, seated apart from the men, are attended by a standing serving woman.
An entire wall of the tomb-chapel showed a feast in honour of Nebamun. Naked serving-girls and servants wait on his friends and relatives. Married guests sit in pairs on fine chairs, while the young women turn and talk to each other. This erotic scene of relaxation and wealth is something for Nebamun to enjoy for all eternity. The richly dressed guests are entertained by dancers and musicians, who sit on the ground playing and clapping. All the guests wear elaborate linen clothes.
The artists have painted the cloth as if it were transparent, to show that it is very fine. These elegant sensual dresses fall in loose folds around the guests' bodies. The words of their song in honour of Nebamun are written above them:
The earth-god has caused
his beauty to grow in every body...
the channels are filled with water anew,
and the land is flooded with love of him.
Egyptian, Thebes, 18th dynasty, ca. 1350 BCE.
British Museum, London (.37986)
Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., and with roughly 35,000 people in just under 2 square miles (5 km2), it is also one of the most densely populated.
As a geographic feature, Capitol Hill rises near the center of the District of Columbia and extends eastward. Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant, as he began to develop his plan for the new federal capital city in 1791, chose to locate the "Congress House" (the Capitol building) on the crest of the hill at a site that he characterized as a "pedestal waiting for a monument". The Capitol building has been the home of the Congress of the United States and the workplace of many residents of the Capitol Hill neighborhood since 1800.
The Capitol Hill neighborhood today straddles two quadrants of the city, Southeast and Northeast. A large portion of the neighborhood is now designated as the Capitol Hill Historic District.
The name Capitol Hill is often used to refer to both the historic district and to the larger neighborhood around it. To the east of Capitol Hill lies the Anacostia River, to the north is the H Street corridor, to the south are the Southeast/Southwest Freeway and the Washington Navy Yard, and to the west are the National Mall and the city's central business district.
The Capitol building is surrounded by the Capitol Hill Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Capitol Hill Historic District was expanded in 2015 to the north to include the blocks bordered by 2nd Street, F Street, 4th Street, and just south of H Street, NE, collectively known as the Swampoodle Addition.
Capitol Hill's landmarks include not only the United States Capitol, but also the Senate and House office buildings, the Supreme Court building, the Library of Congress, the Marine Barracks, the Washington Navy Yard, and Congressional Cemetery.
It is, however, largely a residential neighborhood composed predominantly of rowhouses of different stylistic varieties and periods. Side by side exist early 19th century manor houses, Federal townhouses, small frame dwellings, ornate Italianate bracketed houses, and the late 19th century press brick rowhouses with their often whimsical decorative elements combining Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Eastlakian motifs. In the 1990s, gentrification and the booming economy of the District of Columbia meant that the neighborhood's non-historic and obsolete buildings began to be replaced. New buildings, which have to comply with height limits and other restrictions, are often done in a decorative modernist style, many by Amy Weinstein, whose designs feature polychrome brickwork set in patterned relief.
There are multiple schools within the boundaries, including Brent Elementary School, the main primary school, St. Peter's School on Capitol Hill, the only Catholic school, Capitol Hill Day School, Stuart-Hobson Middle School, Elliot-Hine Jr.High School, Eastern High School and many others. Compared to other DC neighborhoods, it has an abnormally large number of schools.
The main non-residential corridor of Capitol Hill is Pennsylvania Avenue, a lively commercial street with shops, restaurants and bars. Eastern Market is an 1873 public market on 7th Street SE, where vendors sell fresh meat and produce in indoor stalls and at outdoor farmers' stands. It is also the site of an outdoor flea market every weekend. After a major fire gutted the main market building on April 30, 2007, it underwent restoration and reopened on June 26, 2009. One of the most beloved stores, Fragers Hardware, has been based on Pennsylvania Avenue for nearly 100 years before it suffered a fire similar in destructiveness to the Eastern Market fire. It has successfully rebuilt on the same location.
Barracks Row (8th Street SE), so called because of its proximity to the U.S. Marine Barracks, is one of the city's oldest commercial corridors. It dates to the late 18th century and has recently been revitalized.
A new addition to Capitol Hill is a community center named Hill Center. Hill Center is housed in the restored Old Naval Hospital at the corner of 9th and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. The rehabilitation of the Old Naval Hospital combines the restoration of a historically significant landmark with the cutting edge technologies of modern “green” architecture. Hill Center is a vibrant new home for cultural, educational, and civic life on Capitol Hill.
from Wikipedia
Polychrome Pass is one of my favorite places in Denali National Park. Iron in the rhyolite rocks provide color all summer long. The fall colors add to the color in this shot.
This tile once decorated the palace of Ramesses II in Piramesse, which he made into one of the greatest royal cities of ancient Egypt. Thanks to the royal favor and its strategic location, Piramesse soon became an important international trade center and a cosmopolitan metropolis, boasting a harbor, a military base, and temples dedicated to various gods like Amun-Re-Harakhty-Atum, Seth, Astarte, etc. Poems were written in the city's praise, and its name, which translates as "The House of Ramesses, Beloved of Amun, Great of Victories" when fully written, came to us through the Old Testament as ‘Raamses.’
The tiles bear the names of Seti I, Ramesses II and later Ramesside kings, who renovated the palace and changed its decoration through the reigns. New tiles were made, and the old tiles may be have been dismantled and buried together. Based on the tiles, we can still reconstruct quite a number of the features of the palace that are now completely lost, including throne podiums, steps, windows of appearance, and faience sculptures.
Pastoral and domestic scenes, including this pool liberally stocked with fish and waterfowl and ringed with papyrus and other marsh plants, are assumed to come from the private apartments of the Egyptian palace.
Polychrome faience, New Kingdom, Ramesside, ca. 1279–1213 BCE.
From Egypt, Eastern Delta, Qantir (Piramesse), Palace of Ramesses II, Private apartments.
Met Museum, New York (35.1.104)
The marble relief, with substantial remains of the original colour and gilding, shows a tauroctonia, the slaughtering of the bull by the god Mithras. It belonged to the sculptural decoration of the second phase of the Castra Peregrinorum Mithraeum, when the building was restored and the marble relief replaced the previous one in stucco.
Mithras’ flesh, Phrygian cap, and tunic cuffs are gilded, indicating divinity and possibly relating to his close relationship with Sol Invictus - the Unconquered Sun. As is usual with a tauroctony scene, Mithras is plunging his dagger into the shoulder of the bull, and a dog and snake lick up the blood; a scorpion feeds on the bull’s life-giving testicles. Mithras’ servants, Cautes - on the left, holding up his torch - and Cautopates - on the right, holding his torch downwards - are dressed almost identically to the god. The torch symbolism might have to do with sunrise and sunset or the spring and autumn equinoxes.
In the upper left of the relief can be seen the god Sol, rising into the sky in his chariot - the sun about to start its daily ride across the sky. In the upper left, we can see his sister Luna, the moon, descending in her chariot, as a new day begins. A black raven stands over the horses of Sol - the imagery is unclear.
Quite a bit of pigment and gilding survives on this relief. We can see that the tunics and leggings of Mithras and his servants were bright red, as well as the cape of Sol. The scorpion and raven were black, and the snake appears to have been yellow and red.
Rome, Basilica of Santa Stefano Rotondo, Mithraeum of the Castra Peregrinorum
End of the 3rd c. CE
Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme di Diocleziano (Baths of Diocletian, inv. 205837), Rome
After 3 days of rain and snow, Monday broke clear and warmer, so our Monday trip into Denali was greeted with blue skies and wonderful vistas.
This Dall Sheep Lamb was making its first excursions on snow near PolyChrome Pass.
three consecutive frames taken with a Canon Demi C half frame camera, negatives scanned to include the sprocket holes
San Pedro & San Pablo
Early 19th Century
Baticuling, Polychrome and Gold Leaf
San Pedro:
H:39 1/2” x L:13 1/4” x W:9 1/4” (100 cm x 34 cm x 23 cm)
San Pablo:
H:39 1/2” x L:17” x W:11 1/2” (100 cm x 43 cm x 29 cm)
Opening bid: P 800,000
Provenance:
Northern Luzon, probably Pangasinan
Lot 74 of the Leon Gallery Auction on 9 September 2017. Please see leon-gallery.com/ for more details.
St. Peter, whose original name was Simon, was born in Bethsaida but settled in Capharnaum, where he was living with his mother-in-law in his own house. A fisherman with his own boat, he pursued his profitable occupation in Lake Genesareth. It was his brother Andrew, attracted by the Baptist's preaching of penance, who brought him to Jesus. The latter, upon seeing him, said: "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas (Aramaic for rock, petrus in Latin.)" After the first meeting, Peter and the other early disciples remained with Jesus for some time, accompanying Him to Galilee, Judaea, and Jerusalem, then through Samaria back to Galilee, where Peter resumed his occupation of fisherman for a short time. He soon received the definitive call of the Savior to become one of His permanent disciples. Peter and Andrew were engaged at their calling when Jesus met and addressed them: "Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men". From then on, Peter remained always beside Our Lord and a little later Christ chose His Twelve Apostles as His constant associates in preaching the kingdom of God. Christ accentuated Peter's precedence among the Apostles, when, while journeying along with His Apostles, Jesus asked them: "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" The Apostles answered: "Some John the Baptist, others say Elias, while others Jeremias or one of the prophets". Jesus said to them: "But who do you say that I am?" Simon said: "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God". And Jesus answering said to him: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven". By the word "rock" the Savior meant Peter, and His wish to make Peter the head of the whole community of those who believed in Him as the true Messiah. Thus, Peter was personally installed as Head of the Apostles by Christ Himself. The statue above is that of San Pedro or St. Peter, the apostle. Being ranked first among the apostles in importance, his statue is often placed together with St. Paul on either side of the main portal in the façade of almost every church.
The pieces were made during the first half of the 19th century and closely resembles the huge statues in the main altar of the church of Calasiao, Pangasinan. It is of a size that must have originally been in the main altar of a chapel in a convent or an important visita or barrio chapel. The carving of the hair, particularly the curly beard, is admirable and displays the inventiveness of the santero.
The image is clad in a green tunic and a yellow cape, the liturgical colors of St. Peter, the gilding of which are largely intact. The image stands with one foot forward in typical Philippine stance and carries a book on his left hand and a pair of keys, signifying the Gates of Heaven, on his right.
Paul the Apostle, whose original name was Saul, was a Greek-speaking Jew from Tarsus, a major city in the Roman province of Syria by the time of Paul’s adulthood. Two of the main cities of Syria, Damascus and Antioch, played a prominent part in his life and letters. Considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe and took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences. Prior to his conversion, Paul spent much of the first half of his life persecuting the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem and was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem", when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.
Following this revelation, which convinced Paul that God had indeed chosen Jesus to be the promised messiah, he went into Arabia, then returned to Damascus and, three years later, he went to Jerusalem to become acquainted with the leading apostles there. After this meeting he began his famous missions to the west, preaching first in his native Syria and Cilicia. During the next 20 years or so, he established several churches in Asia Minor and at least three in Europe.
During the course of his missions, Paul realized that his preaching to Gentiles was creating difficulties for the Christians in Jerusalem, who thought that Gentiles must become Jewish in order to join the Christian movement. To settle the issue, Paul returned to Jerusalem and struck a deal. It was agreed that Peter would be the principal apostle to Jews and Paul the principal apostle to Gentiles. Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 are attributed to Paul, and approximately half of another, Acts of the Apostles, deals with Paul’s life and works. Thus, about half of the New Testament stems from Paul and the people whom he influenced. Only 7 of the 13 letters, having been dictated by Paul himself, can be accepted as being entirely authentic. The others were written by followers in his name, who often used material from his surviving letters and who may have had access to letters written by Paul that no longer survive. The seven undoubted letters constitute the best source of information, and his epistles continue to be vital roots of the theology, worship and pastoral life in the Catholic and Protestant traditions of the West, as well as the Orthodox traditions of the East.
The statue above is that of San Pablo or St. Paul. He was not actually one of the twelve apostles, but was so zealous in spreading the Word of God that he is numbered among them. St. Paul is always portrayed carrying a book to signify his writings and a sword, the symbol of his martyrdom. The carving of the hair, particularly the long and flowing beard, is admirable and displays the inventiveness of the santero. The image is clad in a green tunic and a red cape decorated with estofado gilding, which is largely intact.
The green tunic, however, has discolored with age. The image stands with one foot forward in typical Philippine stance and carries a book on his left hand. The sword that he originally carried in his right hand is now missing.
-Martin I. Tinio, Jr.
The Diocesan Museum is in the former sacristy of the cathedral in Arezzo and contains these very fine C12 polychrome life sized crucifixes .
This mosaic appears to show a polychrome statue of a naked boxer in a niche, or in front of a balustrade. He wears two elbow-length boxing gloves known as cesti (cestus or caestus, singular), woven leather straps which frequently include padded leather knuckle protectors (which may also contain metal). There’s a red fence behind the pedestal and a blue background, so perhaps this is a window? Below the statue is a still life depicting a rooster, pinecone, a fig (or garlic?), and … a carrot? A beautiful frame of stylized palmettes is more frequently seen in frescos.
Villa San Marco, Stabiae (near Pompeii)
1st century CE
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples (inv.
Polychromed wood, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, (1570 - 1293 BC)
Coffin lid of a womwn wearing a trpartite wigand usekh collar ending in lotuses from which the hands emerge Different funerary deities are depicted on the surface.
The Daughters of the Nile:Women in Ancient Egypt. The material for this exhibition comes from museums all over the world. However my photographic record, although comprehensive, is incomplete because not all the lending institutions permit photos!
Spent the last 4 days in Denali National Park. The weather was quasi-bad which made for some dramatic scenery. Animals weren't too bad either, but I've yet to go thru them.
Mixedmedia: watercolours and polychromes.
Pool> www.flickr.com/groups/portraitparty/pool/
Discussion> www.flickr.com/groups/portraitparty/discuss/7215769335796...
The Diocesan Museum is in the former sacristy of the cathedral in Arezzo and contains these very fine C12 polychrome life sized crucifixes .
Cimitero Staglieno Genova
SE15 Polychrome developer (Lith&Siena):
Easy Lith 1+15 4 min.
Siena ( 50:40:40:1000 +10ml Lith D )
MT1 Selenium toner 1+20 2 min.
Polychrome wooden statue depicting Saint George fighting the dragon by an anonymous author. - Photograph taken during the exhibition "Man the Dragon and Death" at Mac's in Hornu (Belgium).
UNESCO World Heritage Site
----
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Trier
----
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trierer_Dom
----
Nikon AF Nikkor 28-105mm 1:3.5-4.5D
DSC_3308 Anx2 1600h Q90 0.5k-1.5k
Polychrome figures (Sancai), 618–907 C.E. (Tang Dynasty), white clay, lead oxide flux and glazes colored with copper, iron, manganese, and cobalt; fired at 800 degrees celsius (Shanghai Museum)
Polychrome stucco relief - a mix of dimensional stucco relief and fresco.
The stucco reliefs underline the architectural elements and the offerors. In the central aedicula Dionysus is supported by Satyrs; in the left panel there are Hylas and a Nymph, in the right one Diana and Atteone; in the middle one there are Cupid hunters. In the lower left, a man carrying a situla peers around a folding shuttered door; the wooden door is painted yellow, with orange insets.
Pompeii, House of Meleagro, VI 9, 2-13, tablinum 8.
62-79 CE
MANN (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli - National Archeological Museum of Naples) inv. 9596
Terracotta Attic gilded polychrome hydria with lead lid showing battle of Greeks and Amazons (Amazonomachy). The vase had been used as a cinerary urn. While the Hellenistic excelled in jewelry and architecture, vase painting degenerated at the end of the Classical Period. Late Classical, c. 325 BC - 300 BC. Kastri (Amphipolis), Greece. From the Archaeological Museum, Amphipolis. Special Exhibition: Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World. Metropolitan Museum. New York, New York, USA. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.
The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart of Montmartre), commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte of Montmartre. From the dome, two hundred meters above the Seine, it is possible to see all of Paris, and the countryside for fifty kilometres around, It is the second-most visited monument in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower. Sacré-Cœur Basilica has maintained a perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist since 1885.
The Basilica was first proposed by Felix Fournier, the Bishop of Nantes, on 4 September, 1870, following the defeat of France and the capture of Napoleon III at the Battle of Sedan, in the Franco-Prussian War, and six months before the Paris Commune. He blamed the defeat of France upon the "moral decline" of France since the Revolution, and proposed a new Paris church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Christ.The site chosen was the butte of Montmartre, overlooking the whole city, and the traditional location of the martrydom of Saint Denis, the patron saint of Paris.
The basilica was designed by Paul Abadie, whose Neo-Byzantine-Romanesque plan was selected from among seventy-seven proposals. Construction began in 1875, and continued for forty years, under five successive architects. It was completed in 1914, but, because of World War I, it was not formally consecrated until 1919.
The site of the church was politically controversial, since Montmartre was also the site of beginning of the Paris Commune where, on March 18, 1871, Communard soldiers killed two French army generals and seized a park full of artillery. On the last day of the Commune, one of its leaders, the socialist and anarchist Eugène Varlin, was executed there. There was (and remains) a feeling of resentment on the French left against the church.
The plan to build a new Parisian church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was first proposed on September 4, 1870, by Felix Fournier, the Bishop of Nantes, following the defeat of France and the capture of Emperor Napoleon III by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War. Until his death in 1877, Fournier was an active builder who completed the long-delayed restoration of Nantes Cathedral. He wrote that the defeat of France in 1870 was a divine punishment for the moral decline of the country since the French Revolution.
In January 1871, Bishop Fournier was joined by the philanthropist Alexandre Legentil, who was a follower of Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Legentil declared that France had been justly punished for its sins by the defeat of the French Army at Sedan and the imprisonment of the Pope in Italy by Italian nationalists. He wrote, "We recognize that we were guilty and justly punished. To make honourable amends for our sins, and to obtain the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ and the pardon of our sins, as well as extraordinary aid which alone can delivery our sovereign Pontiff from captivity and reverse the misfortune of France, we promise to contribute to the erection in Paris of a sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." The influence of Legentil led to a successful fundraising campaign based entirely on private contributions.
Montmarte was selected as the site of the new Basilica due to its prominent height and visibility from many parts of the city. Since the location included land belonging to the local government as well as private owners, the French parliament assisted in securing the site by declaring that the construction of the Basilica was in the national interest. In July 1873, the proposal was finally brought forward and approved in the National Assembly with the official statement that "it was necessary to efface by this work of expiation the crimes which have crowned our sorrows." The groundbreaking for the new church finally took place in 1875.
Apart from its physical attributes, Montmartre or the "Hill of the Martyrs" was also chosen for its association with the early Christian church. According to tradition, it was the place where the patron saint of Paris, Saint Denis of Paris, was beheaded by the Romans. His tomb became the site of the Basilica of Saint Denis, the traditional resting place for the Kings of France until the French Revolution.
In addition, Montmartre was the birthplace of the Society of Jesus, one of the largest and most influential religious orders in the history of the Catholic Church. In 1534, Ignatius of Loyola and a few of his followers made their vows in Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, one of the oldest churches in Paris. The church survived the Revolution although the Montmartre Abbey to which it belonged was destroyed.
A competition was held for the design of the Basilica and attracted seventy-seven proposals. Architect Paul Abadie was selected, and the cornerstone finally laid on June 16, 1875.
The early construction was delayed and complicated by unstable foundations. Eighty-three wells, each thirty meters deep, had to be dug under the site and filled with rock and concrete to serve as subterranean pillars supporting the Basilica.[8] Construction costs, estimated at 7 million francs drawn entirely from private donors, were expended before any above-ground structure became visible. A provisional chapel was consecrated on March 3, 1876, and pilgrimage quickly brought in additional funding.
Not long after the foundation was completed in 1884, Abadie died and was succeeded by five other architects who made extensive modifications: Honoré Daumet (1884–1886), Jean-Charles Laisné (1886–1891), Henri-Pierre-Marie Rauline (1891–1904), Lucien Magne (1904–1916), and Jean-Louis Hulot (1916–1924).
During construction, opponents of the Basilica were relentless in their effort to hinder its progress. In 1882, the walls of the church were barely above its foundations when the left-wing coalition led by Georges Clemenceau won the parliamentary election. Clemenceau immediately proposed halting the work, and the parliament blocked all further funding for the project. However, faced with enormous liabilities of twelve million francs from project cancellation, the government had to allow the construction to proceed.
In 1891, the interior of the Basilica was completed, dedicated and opened for public worship. Still, in 1897, Clemenceau made another attempt to block its completion in the parliament, but his motion was overwhelmingly defeated since the cancellation of the project would require repaying thirty million francs to eight million people who had contributed to its construction.
The dome of the church was completed in 1899, and the bell tower finished in 1912. The Basilica was completed in 1914 and formally dedicated in 1919 after World War 1.
Criticism of the church by leftist journalists and politicians for its alleged connection with the destruction of the Paris Commune continued from the late 19th century into the 20th and 21st centuries, even though the church had been proposed before the Paris Commune took place. In 1898, Emile Zola wrote sarcastically, "France is guilty. It must do penitence. Penitence for what? For the Revolution, for a century of free speech and science, and emancipated reason... for that they built this gigantic landmark that Paris can see from all of its streets, and cannot be seen without feeling misunderstood and injured."
Shortly after the completed Statue of Liberty was transported from France to the United States, opponents of Sacre-Coeur came up with a new strategy. They proposed installing a full-size copy of the Statue of Liberty on top of Montmartre, directly in front of the Basilica, which would entirely block the view of the church. This idea was eventually dropped as expensive and impractical.
A bomb was exploded inside the church in 1976. To make the government opposition to the church clear, the socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin in 2004 renamed the square in front of and below the church for Louise Michel, the prominent anarchist and participant in the Paris Commune. He expressed his wish that the basilica be demolished as a symbol of "obscurantism, bad taste and reactionism."
In 2021, to avoid celebrating the church's history in the same year as the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, leftist members of the French parliament blocked a measure to declare the church a national historic monument and postponed it until 2022.
The church is 85 meters long and thirty-five meters wide. It is composed of a large central rotunda, around which are placed a small nave, two transepts, and an advance-choir, which form a cross. The porch of the church has three bays, and is modelled after the porch of Périgueux Cathedral. The dominant feature is the immense elongated ovoid cupola, 83.33 meters high, surrounded by four smaller cupolas. At the north end is the campanile, or bell tower, 84 meters high, containing the "Savoyarde", the largest bell in France.
The overall style of the structure is a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine architecture. This was an unusual architectural style at the time, and was in part a reaction against the neo-Baroque of the Palais Garnier opera house by Charles Garnier, and other buildings of the Napoleon III style. The construction was eventually handed on to a series of new architects, including Garnier himself, who was a counsellor to the architect Henri-Pierre Rauline between 1891 and 1904,
Some elements of the design, particularly the elongated domes and the structural forms of the windows on the south facade, are Neo-classical, and were added by the later architects Henri-Pierre Rauline and Lucien Magne.
The campanile, or bell tower, on the north front, houses the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell (one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy. It alludes to the attachment of Savoy to France in 1860.
The porch of the south façade, the main entrance, is loaded with sculpture combining religious and French national themes. It is topped with a statue representing the Sacred Heart of Christ. The arches of the façade are decorated with two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefèbvre.
The white stone of Sacré-Cœur is travertine limestone of a type called Chateau-Landon, quarried in Souppes-sur-Loing, in Seine-et-Marne, France. The particular quality of this stone is that it is extremely hard with a fine grain, and exudes calcite on contact with rainwater, making it exceptionally white.
The nave is dominated by the very high dome, which symbolises the celestial world, resting upon a rectangular space,symbolising the terrestrial world. The two are joined by massive columns, which represent the passage between the two worlds.
The plan of the interior is a Greek cross, with the altar in the center, modelled after Byzantine churches. More traditional Latin features, the choir and the disambulatory, were added around the altar. The light in interior of the church is unusually dim, due to the height of the windows above the altar, and this contributes to the mystical effect. Other Byzantine features in the interior include the designs of the tile floor and the glasswork.
The mosaic over the choir, entitled The Triumph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the largest and most important work of art in the church. It was created by Luc-Olivier Merson, H. M. Magne and R. Martin, and was dedicated in 1923. The mosaic is composed of 25,000 enamelled and gilded pieces of ceramic, and covers 475 square meters, making it one of the largest mosaics in the world.
The central figure is Jesus Christ, dressed in white, with open arms offering his heart, decorated with gold. He is joined by his mother, the Virgin Mary, and by the Archangel Michael, the protector of the church and of France. At his feet, kneeling, is Saint Joan of Arc offering him a crown. A figure of Pope Leo XIII offers a globe to Christ, symbolising the world.
To the right of Christ is a scene titled "The Homage of France to the Sacred Heart;" a group of popes and cardinals present a model of the basilica to Christ. On his left is "The Homage of the Catholic Church to the Sacred Heart": where people in the costumes of the five continents pay their homage to the Sacred Heart. At the base of the mosaic is a Latin inscription, stating that the basilica is a gift from France. "To the Sacred Heart of Jesus, France fervent, penitent and grateful." The word "grateful" was added after World War I.
At the top of the mosaic is another procession, called "the Saints of France and Saints of the Universal Church". In all of the mosaic, the artists adapted elements of Byzantine art in the organization of the figures, the altered perspective, and the use of polychrome colors enhanced with silver and gold.
The basilica complex also includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which spreads out to the south of the basilica.
The use of cameras and video recorders is forbidden inside the basilica.
The interior of the basilica is surrounded by a series of chapels, mostly offered by professional groups or religious orders. The chapels are decreed with sculpture, relief sculpture, and tapestries, often relating to the professions of the donors. For example, the Chapel of the Order of Notre Dame of the Sea is decorated with tapestries illustrating Christ walking on the water and the Miraculous Catch of fish.
Beginning to the right of the main entrance, they are:
The Chapel of the Archangel Michael, or Chapel of the Armies
The Chapel of Saint Louis (Louis IX) or the Attorneys
The Tribune of Commerce and Industry (end of the East transept)
The Chapel of Marguerite-Marie Alacoque
the Chapel of Notre Dame of the Sea
The apse itself is ringed by an additional seven chapels.
The Chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi
The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, offered by Canada and the Knights of Malta
The Chapel of Saint Joseph
The Chapel of the Virgin Mary
The Chapel of Saint Luke the Evangelist, Comé and Damien, or the Doctors
The Chapel of Ignace de Loyola
Th Chapel of Saint Ursula of Cologne
The Chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul
The Tribune of Agriculture (at the end of the west transept)
The chapel of the Queens of France
The crypt below Sacré-Cœur is different from traditional crypts, which are usually underground. At Sacré-Cœur, the crypt has stained glass windows, thanks to a "saut-de-loup", a trench about four meters wide around it, which allows light to enter through windows and oculi of the crypt wall. In the centre of the crypt is the chapel of the Pieta, whose central element is a monument statue of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, at the altar. The statue was made by Jules Coutain in 1895. A series of seven chapels is placed on the east side and seven on the west side of crypt, corresponding to the chapels on the level above. The crypt contains the tombs of important figures in the creation of the basilica, including Cardinals Guibert and Richard.
Art and decoration
Decoration covers the walls, the floor, and the architecture. Much of the decoration is in a distinctly neo-Byzantine style, with intricate patterns, and abundant color.
The basilica contains a large and very fine pipe organ built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the most celebrated organ builder in Paris in the 19th century. His other organs included those of Saint-Denis Basilica (1841), Sainte-Clotilde Basilica (1859), Saint-Sulpice church and Notre Dame de Paris (1868). The organ is composed of 109 ranks and 78 speaking stops spread across four 61-note manuals and the 32-note pedalboard (unusual before the start of the 20th century; the standard of the day was 56 and 30), and has three expressive divisions (also unusual for the time, even in large organs).
The organ was originally built in 1898 for the Biarritz chateau of the Baron Albert de L'Espée. It was the last instrument built by Cavaillé-Coll. The organ was ahead of its time, containing multiple expressive divisions and giving the performer considerable advantages over other even larger instruments of the day. It was almost identical (tonal characteristics, layout, and casework) to the instrument in Sheffield's Albert Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1937. However, when installed in Paris in 1905 by Cavaillé-Coll's successor and son-in-law, Charles Mutin, a much plainer case was substituted for the original ornate case.
The organ was recognised as a national landmark in 1981. It has undergone several restorations. The most recent, begun in 1985, replaced only the most severely damaged pneumatic parts, but others have deteriorated and some are no longer usable. The pipes are now covered with a thick layer of dust which impacts the pitch and timbre. Both the organ and the church itself have been recognized as national landmarks.
Bells
The belfry of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre houses five bells. The four small bells named from largest to smallest are Félicité, Louise, Nicole and Elisabeth, which were the original bells of the church of Saint-Roch and moved to the basilica in 1969.
Below the four bells is a huge bourdon called "The Savoyarde", the biggest bell in France. The full name of the bourdon is “Françoise Marguerite of the Sacred Heart of Jesus". It was cast on May 13, 1891, by the Paccard foundry (Dynasty of Georges, Hippolyte-Francisque and Victor or "G & F") in Annecy-le-Vieux.
The Savoyarde itself only rings for major religious holidays, especially on the occasion of Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, Christmas, Assumption and All Saints. One exception was on the night of August 24, 1944 when La Nueve – 9th Company, Régiment de marche du Tchad of the French 2nd Armored Division – broke into Paris and arrived at the Hôtel de Ville during the Liberation of Paris from Nazi German occupation, becoming the first French Army troops to return to the city since 1940. The bell then rang when Pierre Schaeffer broadcast the news on a Radiodiffusion Nationale broadcast and then, after a playing of "La Marsellaise", asked any priests who were listening to ring their churches' bells. The Savoyarde can be heard from 10 km away.
This bell is the fifth largest in Europe, ranking behind the Petersglocke of Cologne (Germany), the Olympic Bell of London, Maria Dolens of Rovereto (Italy), and the Pummerin of Vienna (Austria). It weighs 18,835 kg, measures 3,03 m of diameter for 9.60 m of outer circumference, with a base thickness of 22 cm and a leaf of 850 kg. With its accessories, its official weight reaches 19,685 kg. It was offered by the four dioceses of Savoy. It was transported to the basilica on October 16, 1895, pulled by a team of 28 horses. In the late 1990s, a crack was noticed in the bell.
Role in Catholicism
The church is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular devotion after the visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690) in Paray-le-Monial. In response to requests from French bishops, Pope Pius IX promulgated the feast of the Sacred Heart in 1856. The basilica itself was consecrated on 16 October 1919.
Since 1885 (before construction had been completed) the Blessed Sacrament (Christ's body, consecrated during the Mass) has been continually on display in a monstrance above the high altar. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted in the basilica since 1885.
Christian de Chergé, one of the killed monks of Tibherine, was chaplain at the basilica in the years 1964-1969.
Tourists and others are asked to dress appropriately when visiting the basilica and to observe silence as much as possible, so as not to disturb persons who have come from around the world to pray in this place of pilgrimage, especially since the Blessed Sacrament is displayed. Photos are not allowed to be taken in the basilica.
Access
The basilica is accessible by bus or metro line 2 at Anvers station. Sacré-Cœur is open from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. The dome is accessible from 09:00 to 19:00 in the summer and to 18:00 in the winter.
Copy in Martinique
A much smaller version of the basilica, Sacré-Cœur de la Balata, is located north of Fort-de-France, Martinique, on N3, the main inland road. Built for the refugees driven from their homes by the eruption of Mount Pelée, it was dedicated in 1915.
Provence, mai 2013
Un bel alignement très coloré de maisons dans le village de Collobrières dans le Massif des Maures (Var)
SE15 Polychrome developer combination was originally made for Forte papers.
Lith 1+6 3 mins - stop/wash - Siena developer (Glycine) 80+30+30+1000ml 1 min
Oil or perfume flasks in the form of human figures were popular in the 4tj century BCE. They combine the red-figured technique at the rear with the polychrome decoration at the front that is usually associated with terracottas. This vessel is brightly painted and the helmet and jewelry were gilded, some of which survives.
The bust is modelled in a large style, and rests on a black glazed plinth immediately below the breasts; the hair is in snaky locks modelled almost in the round. A mantle, green with a pink border, passes over the shoulders and the back of the head, and on this the helmet is placed tilted back; it has the crest (blue edged with red) running from side to side, and is decorated with two rows of beads; on the cheek-pieces are two rams' heads in relief confronted; the aegis has the scales, snakes, and Gorgoneion (with protruding tongue) modelled in relief; the necklace consists of two rows of beads and a row of pendants. The flesh is coloured naturally, the lips red, the eyes a bluish grey; the hair, necklace, aegis, and markings of the helmet are all gilt; the ground of the helmet is white. Beneath the handle is painted with a fine palmette pattern, with central dots gilt.
Greek, Attic, 400-350 BCE. Said to have been found in Athens.
Height: 20.50 cm (8.07 in.)
British Museum, London (1893,1103.4)