Approaching the Duomo. (Note reflection of the bottom of the campanile in the windows on the right.)
These Baptistry doors predate The Gates of Paradise.
A couple of closeups.... No wonder these took decades to make.
Inside the Baptistry. The interior of the dome. When most people can't read, important stories can be conveyed in pictures. If you know the stories, these pictures do a good job of reminding you to think about the messages in those stories.
These open spaces look like the sort of places rich people might sit. We wondered how people get up there.....
Were all these mosaic artists lying on their backs on scaffolding, sticking up one tiny tile after another? I wonder.............. I also wonder what was/is used to stick them up, and how many centuries it lasts, before needing restoration.
This building was built on the site of a previous baptistry. This one was consecrated in 1059, if I remember correctly.
Wikipedia says the earliest mosaics date from 1225, and that they probably weren't finished until the 14th century.
The goal of these images was to remind people to think about what they'd been taught, rather than to realistically depict people, animals, or weight and volume.
This is an active church -- there is an altar and there are pews.
It was quite dark inside. I have lightened every pic. Here's an example of what the camera captured.
Here's an example of the result of my manipulations.
Another look at the open spaces above.
I wonder if the black and white inside those spaces is paint, or mosaic.
The floor of the Baptistry is definitely not paint.
So much work! Finding the right stone, quarrying the stone, cutting all those perfect curves (surely the stone was cut in slices, from which tiles were cut?), setting all the tiles.....
One more look up. This mosaic must be later than the ones in the dome itself. You can see an attempt at portrayal of muscles on the guy who is holding up the roof....
One last set of details......
In order to facilitate chronological traversal of these posts, here is a link to the next post.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment