tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63836129713373346622024-03-14T19:27:27.067+08:00GroteskologyGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.comBlogger276125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-5590229701692903962015-01-06T17:15:00.000+08:002015-01-06T17:15:03.002+08:002015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've not had time to blog properly in a long while, but <a href="https://twitter.com/peatyg" target="_blank">this</a> has become my main repository for the grotesque.<br />
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If you're interested, please drop in. I don't follow many people, but always happy to say hello.<br />
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Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-87671074443205569542013-11-26T18:15:00.001+08:002013-11-26T18:25:16.392+08:00Più Grottesche Del Vaticano<div style="text-align: center;">
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My <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/le-grottesche-del-vaticano.html" target="_blank">last post</a> about the Vatican grotesques did not include all my discoveries, so here are a few more I felt like sharing.<br />
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Brain is dried and shriveled as an old date, so I've no power left for proper words today. But perhaps these images speak for themselves. So many colours. (Click to enlarge.)<br />
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The Vatican gardens...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdfdczw2C2lVULU5MS1N5PaXxQYYFmphzSC7MRaSazWzjkFoB9bxyQ7h4j6jOoe8eQJF9uondakSyLHU0GbphXBJbcGF_bi47fgMjK5hR3QIKn8nl46qgEJiNd4j_sOHWRele36nREwA/s1600/Rome+961.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdfdczw2C2lVULU5MS1N5PaXxQYYFmphzSC7MRaSazWzjkFoB9bxyQ7h4j6jOoe8eQJF9uondakSyLHU0GbphXBJbcGF_bi47fgMjK5hR3QIKn8nl46qgEJiNd4j_sOHWRele36nREwA/s320/Rome+961.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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*You can only tour with an official guide, so there's no funny business in the holy shrubbery.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcE5EICHr7VvM4ifWMmPNPZdqBfaRpboEz3cYIXac1WXotezL7CpIeuB4Yx359qjoj4_Yus6hMA-S-KknoWcsuKtdu3BqQBOQM1KbfRj_mCzS5ZJM3LWkKCVPXtWeoE3dKGHdyOuGJrbA/s1600/Rome+1009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcE5EICHr7VvM4ifWMmPNPZdqBfaRpboEz3cYIXac1WXotezL7CpIeuB4Yx359qjoj4_Yus6hMA-S-KknoWcsuKtdu3BqQBOQM1KbfRj_mCzS5ZJM3LWkKCVPXtWeoE3dKGHdyOuGJrbA/s320/Rome+1009.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzw_sO-avGCiDk98fEhPi0aNSQ2rfow0ol_Y7vjd5aPg4Cs-nWoWvmOKcg7q00Psc_f9_72GvWxAV9_dpWFCKCcZSqoyw08lvOmd0nqAx_nCjEaLE9umjRlhaU5p_quYwm5gwd77G0v8/s1600/Rome+986.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-nIfVvrtjge9P4y12Xn3QQMPffHB7NR8lQUAyP6PJCN2HN1zf83Xy807yPvIOjpnIA7bM5yS-de5t7FBjTk3pMSPVLbFYrd63-SakQPRO7uaVsYajW0rU4q4QWJA8o4HSjr2S4gEASk/s1600/Rome+966.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-nIfVvrtjge9P4y12Xn3QQMPffHB7NR8lQUAyP6PJCN2HN1zf83Xy807yPvIOjpnIA7bM5yS-de5t7FBjTk3pMSPVLbFYrd63-SakQPRO7uaVsYajW0rU4q4QWJA8o4HSjr2S4gEASk/s320/Rome+966.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I love the idea of acolytes carefully trimming around this portrait to keep the ivy away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6xuOHWh86GSqGck0UR6F4xZqIiuIvzWCbfxXbTC6Saw3zLV0BM56gA50kV12lm4uj2Dx54LA9mQ2R9tqOnq9Xv0ySrpftXd1ds0vQe8pp8SHkInwTf90XD7rnCtu0io8gCyWucXAof74/s1600/Rome+995.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6xuOHWh86GSqGck0UR6F4xZqIiuIvzWCbfxXbTC6Saw3zLV0BM56gA50kV12lm4uj2Dx54LA9mQ2R9tqOnq9Xv0ySrpftXd1ds0vQe8pp8SHkInwTf90XD7rnCtu0io8gCyWucXAof74/s320/Rome+995.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirlvBHiFrNRz6OaJMYkBX5U_HTjwOFEPmkkB_488ZeapQV-Cgfw_gNdTRq0ZH9m1XGvLcxMEOlT-KIflbQTycZs8CgbooldnzAwspQtNczby9MjCDeJ4tOog0Zom7HpoHb_N4PWYpe6g/s1600/Rome+998.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirlvBHiFrNRz6OaJMYkBX5U_HTjwOFEPmkkB_488ZeapQV-Cgfw_gNdTRq0ZH9m1XGvLcxMEOlT-KIflbQTycZs8CgbooldnzAwspQtNczby9MjCDeJ4tOog0Zom7HpoHb_N4PWYpe6g/s320/Rome+998.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The Fontana Della Peschiera is a definite highlight, built during the reign of Pope Pius IV (Giovanni Angelo Medici), somewhere between 1560 and1565.<br />
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Also, there was a turtle. <br />
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And another. <i>Two turtles.</i><br />
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Eccellente. <br />
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I didn't get many close-ups of the mosaic, thanks to the relentless pace set by our tour guide, but here is a nice one I found online:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlY6iFmPX1tTaCY2NtnS71PsSbll5t-Vornuo_K-5wm3XK8Dcg_PYlUyUYhD71RJl1VAsIZY0RhnSPXi8VyKACuppcnMtwe12mPkd1jYunGuE5zQnASAxUPrbRMebAdq_I4VdVrHG49o/s1600/File-Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences,_Vatican_City_-_Fontana_della_Peschiera_-_Fish_mosaic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlY6iFmPX1tTaCY2NtnS71PsSbll5t-Vornuo_K-5wm3XK8Dcg_PYlUyUYhD71RJl1VAsIZY0RhnSPXi8VyKACuppcnMtwe12mPkd1jYunGuE5zQnASAxUPrbRMebAdq_I4VdVrHG49o/s320/File-Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences,_Vatican_City_-_Fontana_della_Peschiera_-_Fish_mosaic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:File-Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences,_Vatican_City_-_Fontana_della_Peschiera_-_Fish_mosaic.jpg" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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From the presence of tiny baby turtles in the design, I'm guessing they've inhabited that pond for many generations now.<br />
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*******</div>
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NB: Late last month a very interesting and talented person passed away. Hasan Niyazi was a big fan of Renaissance art and his blog <a href="http://www.3pipe.net/" target="_blank">Three Pipe Problem</a> is excellent. We weren't close friends, but we bonded over our mutual interests in <a href="http://www.3pipe.net/2010/04/medici-assassin-in-digital-renaissance.html" target="_blank">video games</a> and <a href="http://www.3pipe.net/2010/08/digital-palette-interview-with-gilles.html" target="_blank">digital art</a>.<br />
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If you haven't checked out his site, I highly recommend that you do. I'm sad he's gone, and you will be too after reading some of his work. RIP.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-40904060420662822162013-10-07T16:38:00.001+08:002013-10-07T16:38:34.451+08:00Mask of the Beast<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHfcbNIqK9H3C3uxzEF2EsCs2rWFPMC4OohMoXckAfL6ZzMxU67dMZhs-UgH4S0s0gsEYNhsfAYcsNA7r7AhlYKB6m00Ui8vAjLwCsGOtquGKUNYgqSRf_6OiTVGlS8Nkg-ul7UyvGt0/s1600/Venice+296.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHfcbNIqK9H3C3uxzEF2EsCs2rWFPMC4OohMoXckAfL6ZzMxU67dMZhs-UgH4S0s0gsEYNhsfAYcsNA7r7AhlYKB6m00Ui8vAjLwCsGOtquGKUNYgqSRf_6OiTVGlS8Nkg-ul7UyvGt0/s320/Venice+296.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Masks can be a wee bit creepy, and many <a href="http://www.totalfilm.com/features/50-magnificent-movie-masks" target="_blank">famous horror movie characters wear them</a>, so in the spirit of Halloween (which Australians don't actually celebrate but who cares) I've decided to post some of the masks I found in Venice last year. <br />
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*This is also an excuse to share more photos from Venice - which I think I only blogged about <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/the-most-beautiful-bookshop-in-world.html" target="_blank">once</a>, meaning there are roughly eleventy million pictures left over.<br />
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But I guess everyone knows that Venice is lovely.<br />
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It is a city with water instead of roads, and boats instead of cars. I don't see how you can improve on that.<br />
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Venice is a relatively small place, with a tangle of interconnecting pathways and bridges that defy any kind of sensible mapping. If you are accustomed to moving confidently in straight lines and always knowing where you are going, you might not enjoy navigating so much. But it's perfect for people who like to go in random directions and don't panic when lost. A weirdly liberating experience for those of us with no sense of direction.<br />
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Cool fashions are also present.<br />
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Um.<br />
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Anyway, on almost every street there are shops selling masks. These vary widely in complexity and quality, from cheaper and more generic tourist fare...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDLMvopnoDYuOOSBPNe8FWBng8LvoKATh1LFetXAUzx7al31eQTbuBytCAY3nT6rAW3ki9m4xPU-zMM5uoW0cblVIPjvfLRjO1mk2k5cuH65KHLMHp5LnmJZFImu9_BV86tX2d1UXF3U/s1600/Venice+381_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDLMvopnoDYuOOSBPNe8FWBng8LvoKATh1LFetXAUzx7al31eQTbuBytCAY3nT6rAW3ki9m4xPU-zMM5uoW0cblVIPjvfLRjO1mk2k5cuH65KHLMHp5LnmJZFImu9_BV86tX2d1UXF3U/s320/Venice+381_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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...to intricate deluxe masks made by true artists.<br />
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These are a few of the window displays, which often incorporate a combination of puppets, masks, and puppets wearing masks. Click to enlarge.<br />
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Some of the animal ones were truly exceptional. Just wow.<br />
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If you're getting a bit of an 'Eyes Wide Shut' vibe, this is no accident. In my wandering I stumbled across the very shop that provided the masks for that film (sorry, can't tell you where it is because I have no idea).<br />
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Here is a little intro to the proprietor.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7BDeR1r-jt4?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
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It goes without saying that the shop was magnificent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZl2z4KdFgH8eit5nOqgFQok0djS3xkQvX7gM3UCX4HaH7jWzrD-Y41Dw9ocSZC27OZLAL1Ayw_QON4dQ9p2fLD4IL1xhf2v3w4PRfXt1NjpawQO44eK1ZhmoeoFvxbneo1D2qIQ2vzM/s1600/Venice+290.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZl2z4KdFgH8eit5nOqgFQok0djS3xkQvX7gM3UCX4HaH7jWzrD-Y41Dw9ocSZC27OZLAL1Ayw_QON4dQ9p2fLD4IL1xhf2v3w4PRfXt1NjpawQO44eK1ZhmoeoFvxbneo1D2qIQ2vzM/s320/Venice+290.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
I like the wings lady.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy0P9wqhfBix5PMW5mpvpxbfHoKiwyPGcAIVmvKULb_SxKrGo4RhkViTA4CoU9s8hRN5GM38mSGHzwVckq-CcAPwOXIz4TyrHA6D3T7mGDvXPgy-H-Yk2h0k7nS1V13500ygmbuYrkYk/s1600/Venice+283_22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy0P9wqhfBix5PMW5mpvpxbfHoKiwyPGcAIVmvKULb_SxKrGo4RhkViTA4CoU9s8hRN5GM38mSGHzwVckq-CcAPwOXIz4TyrHA6D3T7mGDvXPgy-H-Yk2h0k7nS1V13500ygmbuYrkYk/s320/Venice+283_22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last but not least, one of the most impressive: a huge Medusa mask complete with snakes.<br />
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I mean, seriously. Settle down. You're making everyone else look bad.<br />
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If you can't make it to Venice for Halloween, you could always watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDD9jGMlxNQ" target="_blank">this documentary</a> instead.<br />
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If you do visit, beware of the waters. Even the local fishermen are wary these days...<br />
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<br />Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-78948959141106602172013-09-29T22:12:00.002+08:002013-09-29T22:23:05.888+08:00The Grotesques of the Luttrell Psalter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn59S9MkPRPRZ-l33SC6IRPZEzepj6G2iXrmmKpE8UgDyuis85lKmwCsT_IazlDKRAwocJeQXK4x8N_JWBA-oiYilkqLnmzzDXAJ4OPiAqWbMDZHCPUPOXUEWwmOBuJ8fiMnrW73wUIE/s1600/grotesques+f.195v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn59S9MkPRPRZ-l33SC6IRPZEzepj6G2iXrmmKpE8UgDyuis85lKmwCsT_IazlDKRAwocJeQXK4x8N_JWBA-oiYilkqLnmzzDXAJ4OPiAqWbMDZHCPUPOXUEWwmOBuJ8fiMnrW73wUIE/s320/grotesques+f.195v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 168r]</span></div>
<br />
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luttrell_Psalter" target="_blank">Luttrell Psalter</a> is a book that was commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell in the 14th century. It is best known for its outstanding marginalia, which combines religious events and iconography with scenes of everyday life in medieval times.<br />
<br />
Apparently they had squirrels as pets back then, which is a bit awesome.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 33r]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOOrAXxXmDU-BAFqDGjb1GAvXly9tQxMEnQfZZT1iA-Arhrp1odENDDVdHVe-MMhEVI_onuktfv56iTxEvcJHkmWyuaXZsVZaHuzXuVxo4MIg-70wElWr10e1m1Akp2QNJR19VKt7Eh0/s1600/grotesques+f.201r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOOrAXxXmDU-BAFqDGjb1GAvXly9tQxMEnQfZZT1iA-Arhrp1odENDDVdHVe-MMhEVI_onuktfv56iTxEvcJHkmWyuaXZsVZaHuzXuVxo4MIg-70wElWr10e1m1Akp2QNJR19VKt7Eh0/s320/grotesques+f.201r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 201r]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 164v]</span></div>
<br />
There is only one copy of this text in existence, however the British Library <a href="http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/09/the-luscious-luttrell-psalter.html" target="_blank">recently digitised</a> the manuscript, and you can check it out <a href="http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_42130" target="_blank">here</a>. So you can look at this priceless artifact without leaving your couch. Pretty cool.<br />
<br />
The online viewer reveals that the ancient pages have retained much of their original colour, as the imagery is bright and clear throughout.<br />
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<table border="1" style="width: 150px;"><tbody>
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As <a href="http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/luttrellpsalter.html" target="_blank">the British Library explains</a>, Psalters are religious texts:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Psalms are 150 ancient songs, grouped together to form one of the Old Testament books of the Bible. In the Middle Ages (and down to the present day) they formed a fundamental part of Christian and Jewish worship, for ecclesiastics and lay-people alike; many people learnt to read by being taught the Psalms. The Psalms were often written out separately from the rest of the Bible, preceded by a calendar of the Church’s feast-days, and followed by various types of prayers. Such a volume is known as a Psalter.
</blockquote>
Accordingly, the Luttrell Psalter contains many biblical scenes depicting the adventures of saints and angels, and includes the story of Jesus himself (click to enlarge all pictures).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KhImTgLfI54apfyuBZ3A7vWBsp2-MEoMyYkFlRWcxLkUHz5E2AZtSm4B3pfiamwXWH_qAzDhfk9WLJ4dbhgUq4EC4iVWmiBGmPzGXkYc51pP2YNa0WOBhVQkODY3_iCHjRNTBdJyXfw/s1600/grotesques+f.86v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KhImTgLfI54apfyuBZ3A7vWBsp2-MEoMyYkFlRWcxLkUHz5E2AZtSm4B3pfiamwXWH_qAzDhfk9WLJ4dbhgUq4EC4iVWmiBGmPzGXkYc51pP2YNa0WOBhVQkODY3_iCHjRNTBdJyXfw/s320/grotesques+f.86v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 86v]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmnpz_qErzbyWGbDWkMkxOXTuqD89cIfGlYHkU-Cmxu8XvRadz7A0HOh7hCAmxZswbGSdoE_8RSfauuRi3gWjgaFrP0lgGMVWPJ7uoOSq-87ehK89-DTRKo93icb5JARWuBsVLVEz2LM/s1600/grotesques+f.90v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmnpz_qErzbyWGbDWkMkxOXTuqD89cIfGlYHkU-Cmxu8XvRadz7A0HOh7hCAmxZswbGSdoE_8RSfauuRi3gWjgaFrP0lgGMVWPJ7uoOSq-87ehK89-DTRKo93icb5JARWuBsVLVEz2LM/s320/grotesques+f.90v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 90v]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 93r]</span></div>
<br />
Due to my limited religious knowledge, I can't identify precisely what is going on in many places, although some events are rather disturbing.<br />
<br />
E.g. is this a zombie execution? <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 108r]</span></div>
<br />
This naked man appears to be stuck on a cactus. Not that he is getting any sympathy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eKdU6480_0ubP_GzNNffGGSLOVAS_g8RcP9zOJi4VYM8zVmppEGOW5sfaVHw5SzNZjqRwauT6-taUCrpujt0wLQkjJRep46jrgsLbqqap0llRaVvOZZIuU9jQ_c2ZQUienE9vyfHB1Y/s1600/grotesques+f.106v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eKdU6480_0ubP_GzNNffGGSLOVAS_g8RcP9zOJi4VYM8zVmppEGOW5sfaVHw5SzNZjqRwauT6-taUCrpujt0wLQkjJRep46jrgsLbqqap0llRaVvOZZIuU9jQ_c2ZQUienE9vyfHB1Y/s320/grotesques+f.106v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 106v]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 60v]</span></div>
<br />
Who or what is this sinister hooded figure?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoiO4LPvwEZFErUfpbiwZUY7FXLy0KR4exbHqZoQOwzPV_up71Jjhm4vaXx9AESmbe-QoMRJJqrUr2jkHmUii2wBSwVorbzypOWC0K2xj4s1LxckHqiOPRP7wZbO4AbvTWddqwUo_kVQ/s1600/grotesques+f.60v+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoiO4LPvwEZFErUfpbiwZUY7FXLy0KR4exbHqZoQOwzPV_up71Jjhm4vaXx9AESmbe-QoMRJJqrUr2jkHmUii2wBSwVorbzypOWC0K2xj4s1LxckHqiOPRP7wZbO4AbvTWddqwUo_kVQ/s320/grotesques+f.60v+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 60v detail]</span></div>
<br />
Why is this two-faced werewolf being told off?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 54v]</span></div>
<br />
I don't remember any of this happening in the Bible. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 47r]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 38r]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 34r]</span></div>
<br />
Excuse me what.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC8EefENhIeJbVuVZMnFYwqAWfO4uHgiuAt7noPoOo48sEIrA-edk6hGaBfzRMiYqszlI7SFVQVPs5HyhRhz9JGDzTrpjXASiWSxziJnpDilpR9ovvpJcHbdGHS54uxLC1OPseMknNgo/s1600/grotesques+f.55v+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC8EefENhIeJbVuVZMnFYwqAWfO4uHgiuAt7noPoOo48sEIrA-edk6hGaBfzRMiYqszlI7SFVQVPs5HyhRhz9JGDzTrpjXASiWSxziJnpDilpR9ovvpJcHbdGHS54uxLC1OPseMknNgo/s320/grotesques+f.55v+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 155v]</span></div>
<br />
At this point it's probably obvious that the Luttrell Psalter is much more than 'just' a book of Psalms. As well as many scenes of rural life in the 1300s, it is packed with rude and beautiful medieval grotesques.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimnquWGMbGjUOK_FS14aIGWFUahUXZ-ZyoymQiR2NyNLZaAeC-7xZoXa159FXhmpYRGUOg5a3lKVO_itklZjcsar2AjBy3ZFCEIc7Hb1RZIVNVp3ib5Lej478eX4ZKqgRJD3759j6iBc/s1600/grotesques+f.154r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimnquWGMbGjUOK_FS14aIGWFUahUXZ-ZyoymQiR2NyNLZaAeC-7xZoXa159FXhmpYRGUOg5a3lKVO_itklZjcsar2AjBy3ZFCEIc7Hb1RZIVNVp3ib5Lej478eX4ZKqgRJD3759j6iBc/s320/grotesques+f.154r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 154r]</span></div>
<br />
A number of anonymous artists participated in illustrating this text, but it seems one very imaginative person in particular may have been responsible for the creatures. The <a href="http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/luttrellpsalter.html" target="_blank">British Library again</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The finest decoration is in the central section of the manuscript, painted by the most gifted of the artists. His pictures display acute observation and attention to detail - he even tidied up some of the other painters' work. His clear talent for inventiveness and gentle humour is expressed in the so-called 'grotesques': hybrid monstrosities that may combine a human head, an animal/fish/bird body, and a plant tail.
The animals have attracted the interest of scholars and public alike. Many of these must have been products of the artist's imagination, and seem unrelated to the text they accompany. </blockquote>
And there are so many. Big ones. Small ones. Ones with bird hats.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8SiKpb27lINLd4LWtOaE308JWguAen3M7T7s8mUChZnMVRD3kquDH5VCLl-y1MDS_ro-lNcb0wWwGI6jga9J_xaKyRbISJx1cyNSQ2lzc6yWkZgyBgVwS67zkRj1FjTh6o8nsypXRPk/s1600/grotesques+f30r.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8SiKpb27lINLd4LWtOaE308JWguAen3M7T7s8mUChZnMVRD3kquDH5VCLl-y1MDS_ro-lNcb0wWwGI6jga9J_xaKyRbISJx1cyNSQ2lzc6yWkZgyBgVwS67zkRj1FjTh6o8nsypXRPk/s1600/grotesques+f30r.bmp" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 30r] </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxiV-P9yHbf6BACQOBaHNzhzINN5rg-zdgCw0HGeD-XKaO0V8Wf4WCqtQqVehJJoyUp_qEeYu4RB0USUdm6Hx4F5AluTuP1R4NQqokT5T3CzYEph3nQf8RJ_8QpJWScKIubblUkNImU3A/s1600/grotesques+f.212r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxiV-P9yHbf6BACQOBaHNzhzINN5rg-zdgCw0HGeD-XKaO0V8Wf4WCqtQqVehJJoyUp_qEeYu4RB0USUdm6Hx4F5AluTuP1R4NQqokT5T3CzYEph3nQf8RJ_8QpJWScKIubblUkNImU3A/s320/grotesques+f.212r.jpg" width="175" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 212r] </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0V1Ky2upcbH4EFQ4ICRp6VACUfSvOg_1mi0gCh4fcGQ8vvTBaHfU9MBp0B_J2pCkh90JXHhCNxO3JkZo87JhQuc-MMLVeyfr-4j4hujAjzI1syBX8m-wRNEiC2lNZfw4I4nBko8ehQ6Y/s1600/grotesques+f.201v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0V1Ky2upcbH4EFQ4ICRp6VACUfSvOg_1mi0gCh4fcGQ8vvTBaHfU9MBp0B_J2pCkh90JXHhCNxO3JkZo87JhQuc-MMLVeyfr-4j4hujAjzI1syBX8m-wRNEiC2lNZfw4I4nBko8ehQ6Y/s320/grotesques+f.201v.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 201v]</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgR5cACM2l0JcJZlerJNdElq_zDk3fXnd-M-TNCI3aulgHwRs7wx5FbbyNVeSILxCk8dJAKWgp2qmGyAQUD3ro3Y0TSYLYIksGkECFkBaSjzMxp9BV3y7_bttOUTtVQ9pngSYFSYsIjU/s1600/grotesques+f.58r+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgR5cACM2l0JcJZlerJNdElq_zDk3fXnd-M-TNCI3aulgHwRs7wx5FbbyNVeSILxCk8dJAKWgp2qmGyAQUD3ro3Y0TSYLYIksGkECFkBaSjzMxp9BV3y7_bttOUTtVQ9pngSYFSYsIjU/s320/grotesques+f.58r+3.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 58r]</span></div>
<br />
Or birds with hats on...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrz3aAnd_flyC7LfTVtb6zoREJPN6NQzvrzFHI67HdgOnFcCX5EMh1E_P39ah_tduTaG5wOFdK3ZbLnoCPzrHum9kHkBlt1PRoOffS6SW8qu2H_MALxCOpxG8SPqX67Zrgg2D6oYZHpY/s1600/grotesques+f.185r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrz3aAnd_flyC7LfTVtb6zoREJPN6NQzvrzFHI67HdgOnFcCX5EMh1E_P39ah_tduTaG5wOFdK3ZbLnoCPzrHum9kHkBlt1PRoOffS6SW8qu2H_MALxCOpxG8SPqX67Zrgg2D6oYZHpY/s320/grotesques+f.185r.jpg" width="117" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 185r]</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GKbGCkiT0z99VsjF4uYK2T0v6GoH8-DDRmcqrOhyT9WMPO84gVgmh0cl_z0-ewwpdxr9pnbTzEyuWe6iqx_6NOZo9xCItDBUftIliUrl8b8nk7LgjbMsepEzuhsJ8J4a-Kf-I9i6tlE/s1600/grotesques+f.186v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GKbGCkiT0z99VsjF4uYK2T0v6GoH8-DDRmcqrOhyT9WMPO84gVgmh0cl_z0-ewwpdxr9pnbTzEyuWe6iqx_6NOZo9xCItDBUftIliUrl8b8nk7LgjbMsepEzuhsJ8J4a-Kf-I9i6tlE/s320/grotesques+f.186v.jpg" width="93" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 186v]</span></div>
<br />
That guy above seems to be wearing the medieval version of a fedora.<br />
<br />
I can't emphasise enough: if you are a fan of grotesquerie, surreal
art, animals, or weirdly wonderful things in general, you need to check out the
Luttrell Psalter.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EJYjmSv6hEXFi8uZM0UGJlamUgzjEsu6B6GJeOgCYiW2n7vzzAXzDFvZDrcXrrACF6fjveUaWAwGaFE4tNZle8qH8zTq-nEzJaXvU_xnECQ4XSkjnpPfOHGAlBoGfT7RodykrMR780M/s1600/grotesques+f.168r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EJYjmSv6hEXFi8uZM0UGJlamUgzjEsu6B6GJeOgCYiW2n7vzzAXzDFvZDrcXrrACF6fjveUaWAwGaFE4tNZle8qH8zTq-nEzJaXvU_xnECQ4XSkjnpPfOHGAlBoGfT7RodykrMR780M/s320/grotesques+f.168r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 168r]</span></div>
<br />
It's really difficult to try and pick my favourites, but here are a few more amazing ones (there are many others):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4MnOPW2iCRHoCNm9SxIQSb6JzWSbtRbUYnbvAb9ZBXct7-LKGY8bqHYd0u91PqaCWHOgfcboAS-cQ-VBrDthGBaLWiHi2V3uZJfi7UQvOVVEdySyO_kdDAiVDlZtTaWpuXFBty83mwE/s1600/grotesques+f.48r.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4MnOPW2iCRHoCNm9SxIQSb6JzWSbtRbUYnbvAb9ZBXct7-LKGY8bqHYd0u91PqaCWHOgfcboAS-cQ-VBrDthGBaLWiHi2V3uZJfi7UQvOVVEdySyO_kdDAiVDlZtTaWpuXFBty83mwE/s320/grotesques+f.48r.JPG" width="257" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> [f. 48r]</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSj0dH1gMo4w7_I4Iba0xUrTFzsEldFzjg0dXXRYDeMTRHFxuSpgcQdc0YdA7K4IdjwIjSzkA5gDb9r9YfnnoMsMdvdRLawfQT2u50SkdI9wpPTkrB_jJPRO3phJhl1mhOtlJgTT8KHug/s1600/grotesques+f.27r.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSj0dH1gMo4w7_I4Iba0xUrTFzsEldFzjg0dXXRYDeMTRHFxuSpgcQdc0YdA7K4IdjwIjSzkA5gDb9r9YfnnoMsMdvdRLawfQT2u50SkdI9wpPTkrB_jJPRO3phJhl1mhOtlJgTT8KHug/s320/grotesques+f.27r.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 27r] </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnIuOFi_0jXMzWwlZGTodd_FIE7CZQ5_mVcokzG-kRHv-bFOy_z4byre6ookYT2sDmBBW3T_1MWsbOGoD3hw2PzgQkiQaJj7l0QSg0T2Y37B9xHWKPr0eFhLGg-5Ozx1X3egf4uE60G0/s1600/grotesques+f.50r+4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnIuOFi_0jXMzWwlZGTodd_FIE7CZQ5_mVcokzG-kRHv-bFOy_z4byre6ookYT2sDmBBW3T_1MWsbOGoD3hw2PzgQkiQaJj7l0QSg0T2Y37B9xHWKPr0eFhLGg-5Ozx1X3egf4uE60G0/s320/grotesques+f.50r+4.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> [f. 50r]</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIuSfIev_PDdBhlph12NqPHSODuGxkLEONDH4NYbbD46rHPEVMUdf6OGqsOl_Dj331X0irdJYjg7aWou5kA5MbB-uEKbMAwHaeyPUPjdTuLVpUwC6AhgtwM5s5aeQqxmqL3Zj_opE6wU/s1600/grotesques+f.203v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIuSfIev_PDdBhlph12NqPHSODuGxkLEONDH4NYbbD46rHPEVMUdf6OGqsOl_Dj331X0irdJYjg7aWou5kA5MbB-uEKbMAwHaeyPUPjdTuLVpUwC6AhgtwM5s5aeQqxmqL3Zj_opE6wU/s320/grotesques+f.203v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 203v]</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfHGSsp4e_adLUgQb545oEKAj0MQCS_2W2vtc5TFBWslRyJcrgaOGVsdBP1pph_dx_CcIpX_j7wycEH309YAqSpC_bAG-DCV5U6ox21DsGoNe-uwx47H6Ddp2zR6WfOqjxY4nQLsD-i0/s1600/grotesques+f.56v+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfHGSsp4e_adLUgQb545oEKAj0MQCS_2W2vtc5TFBWslRyJcrgaOGVsdBP1pph_dx_CcIpX_j7wycEH309YAqSpC_bAG-DCV5U6ox21DsGoNe-uwx47H6Ddp2zR6WfOqjxY4nQLsD-i0/s320/grotesques+f.56v+2.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> [f. 56v]</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NRvjhIJr_L9OnryQl09tj5g5jkcQYgWDu-YLguM3vaicSlYa_UE3HTJ1pgM-HatOBfNWwN8OFIuts5wHP5clhCnr92SyLTd78TXDPR_UPfKu_kX4cFqvn1QwEk_nXR8yZs-tvgvnFIE/s1600/grotesques+f.81r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NRvjhIJr_L9OnryQl09tj5g5jkcQYgWDu-YLguM3vaicSlYa_UE3HTJ1pgM-HatOBfNWwN8OFIuts5wHP5clhCnr92SyLTd78TXDPR_UPfKu_kX4cFqvn1QwEk_nXR8yZs-tvgvnFIE/s320/grotesques+f.81r.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 81r]</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4PUAo_k5NcWl6nUy2oB3bNJHlUvo6TBFPXEddUyHCHeSr2Memml5BUu5d3PXXru4eNYPO3wR8Qitw_8e-CpVyBZSJGYuv5-HFdy4QFfwEe9QQqJAtLtav78aj5fCm_hEdo3QyydjdUo/s1600/grotesques+f.82v+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4PUAo_k5NcWl6nUy2oB3bNJHlUvo6TBFPXEddUyHCHeSr2Memml5BUu5d3PXXru4eNYPO3wR8Qitw_8e-CpVyBZSJGYuv5-HFdy4QFfwEe9QQqJAtLtav78aj5fCm_hEdo3QyydjdUo/s320/grotesques+f.82v+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 82v]</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSX71yI8Iy-SYmW9_qzk1UIpYy9agem9lWW4zfSh7B8JYTxLQUl6YQ29Hcn3MKIK2SuSnxsPC4M4RUzPCu6vxM82PNGJsWbDjYNZT5YSdnwI1_Q3vZ4Psm9mLeqN5j8GkXCT7TqbB_ueE/s1600/grotesques+f.50r.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSX71yI8Iy-SYmW9_qzk1UIpYy9agem9lWW4zfSh7B8JYTxLQUl6YQ29Hcn3MKIK2SuSnxsPC4M4RUzPCu6vxM82PNGJsWbDjYNZT5YSdnwI1_Q3vZ4Psm9mLeqN5j8GkXCT7TqbB_ueE/s320/grotesques+f.50r.JPG" width="187" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 50r]</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxPbNRgDYrMz-uQP9ikQACaBOppwtfRaNwwTQUYt4TWn0shmu7gjDZRUQ9YL5CaMuKz4AJBjvv-t7-xVO8XhIIOB4gJSNk57syxv5liT2ZqQ3OM9RgGJy_7oLjjqP8w80wzY-WYxIRFI/s1600/grotesques+f.58r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxPbNRgDYrMz-uQP9ikQACaBOppwtfRaNwwTQUYt4TWn0shmu7gjDZRUQ9YL5CaMuKz4AJBjvv-t7-xVO8XhIIOB4gJSNk57syxv5liT2ZqQ3OM9RgGJy_7oLjjqP8w80wzY-WYxIRFI/s320/grotesques+f.58r.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f.58r]</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMnomHOyPUwIL8EF_Is8xGw4NN7ZH9_IjOF5Hn-5BV5BTGwIvygKfQNzNe2e6Y5iwAKkm6Mnyi4YYqK92ALPAGlTLKOwPe1AMYYbE9piOh0UNQLDvSgaM0Hl6Jv9JsXKZ1JzqCmOg-LQ/s1600/grotesques+f.182v.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMnomHOyPUwIL8EF_Is8xGw4NN7ZH9_IjOF5Hn-5BV5BTGwIvygKfQNzNe2e6Y5iwAKkm6Mnyi4YYqK92ALPAGlTLKOwPe1AMYYbE9piOh0UNQLDvSgaM0Hl6Jv9JsXKZ1JzqCmOg-LQ/s320/grotesques+f.182v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 182v] </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuheJ3VfNYK6KDbdDXW0ezU3qFhPDOT-6OnaLY6W038L_Ph2yp2uajQjXDbgu14ITCfYFx00Zoo1seKxLMA7VUpMh5ap639XFBcXhyphenhyphenhuxcsTyYuE6KIBsuF5uOBKIJdufJa4wMEYiKZO0/s1600/grotesques+f.72v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuheJ3VfNYK6KDbdDXW0ezU3qFhPDOT-6OnaLY6W038L_Ph2yp2uajQjXDbgu14ITCfYFx00Zoo1seKxLMA7VUpMh5ap639XFBcXhyphenhyphenhuxcsTyYuE6KIBsuF5uOBKIJdufJa4wMEYiKZO0/s320/grotesques+f.72v.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 72v]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeg3YUmFPgiVV6hETZQxhp2UPKSIsbHb1iUAxYFhIKIM9-eRL-Cyxgzc-C08yIglvGPn1uC9QTziXw5AJ5a3Fyw6ZHrCWc-XZKkgKlh1yd6K0jR-YrxzglNNpiq6h-xa6_BqI3x0C5d4/s1600/grotesques+f.61r+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeg3YUmFPgiVV6hETZQxhp2UPKSIsbHb1iUAxYFhIKIM9-eRL-Cyxgzc-C08yIglvGPn1uC9QTziXw5AJ5a3Fyw6ZHrCWc-XZKkgKlh1yd6K0jR-YrxzglNNpiq6h-xa6_BqI3x0C5d4/s320/grotesques+f.61r+2.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 61r]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5zt0rqPvNxNjlZE5s_Zg_euDkKnr501SZG5tSmkJxBKk9QqEPt85-QampncFyiLARpsLIh1R5Y7OWCysMm1ROclLHqnIdLODK3vNw460cwe_9JVemmc0sv2GZbwwpOSTQCV5SPZxliE/s1600/grotesques+f.74r+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5zt0rqPvNxNjlZE5s_Zg_euDkKnr501SZG5tSmkJxBKk9QqEPt85-QampncFyiLARpsLIh1R5Y7OWCysMm1ROclLHqnIdLODK3vNw460cwe_9JVemmc0sv2GZbwwpOSTQCV5SPZxliE/s320/grotesques+f.74r+2.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 74r]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaVOlUKlR3kEEam9BSDvGpCmZEdRQ9zTZpwAaYRZUyjZ3z6sEn1LaCzhNQbh8qRPyhnCOg6zUh_ZyOe3uFuuUjdjVwCaQ_NM-QhkdJoxnns1mqCh5l60rL1Hlq9tCarV_zjJ0bNAGheE/s1600/grotesques+f.200v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaVOlUKlR3kEEam9BSDvGpCmZEdRQ9zTZpwAaYRZUyjZ3z6sEn1LaCzhNQbh8qRPyhnCOg6zUh_ZyOe3uFuuUjdjVwCaQ_NM-QhkdJoxnns1mqCh5l60rL1Hlq9tCarV_zjJ0bNAGheE/s320/grotesques+f.200v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 200v]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1MN8KrTvze4_Q3X2Bts8l5shPztNL1Qwg5eB-DZ7P304Qb57bpzDQLFS03cTKjPn4Kimeo415Kuic2IR8r9uIsFnG03Fn-oPPCQ_FkBo7yCseNxLJouPbyVCl4Q3REIPBdYnkiulWv0/s1600/grotesques+f.191r.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1MN8KrTvze4_Q3X2Bts8l5shPztNL1Qwg5eB-DZ7P304Qb57bpzDQLFS03cTKjPn4Kimeo415Kuic2IR8r9uIsFnG03Fn-oPPCQ_FkBo7yCseNxLJouPbyVCl4Q3REIPBdYnkiulWv0/s320/grotesques+f.191r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> [f. 191r]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmLm5T53ltUp_Bszqb23CffXTxjgTxxVaPLsAF7kZmPGsAnZ1TrYsn0X4uXjU2gAlU9CL4VZLrMqViTEiZU2krOtw4h3GCG-5hEU2GWoC1r2-t8BOuYtScMO3ElDshyphenhyphenvzH-9rqrGB2Qg/s1600/grotesques+f.188v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmLm5T53ltUp_Bszqb23CffXTxjgTxxVaPLsAF7kZmPGsAnZ1TrYsn0X4uXjU2gAlU9CL4VZLrMqViTEiZU2krOtw4h3GCG-5hEU2GWoC1r2-t8BOuYtScMO3ElDshyphenhyphenvzH-9rqrGB2Qg/s320/grotesques+f.188v.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 188v]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZKV1T6l2J8HMy6VHAaRWmydk_BUaCRKp4Lguf5e08_qLduRFeu6CaADa5GJKPF7bf3bogPz0IJ3K0Vf2uU73mco48vEpE8nHaXlUMPyMkKYff1mdlBE1pTzHIuFrrHYJnGRtNYR36P8/s1600/grotesques+f.194v.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZKV1T6l2J8HMy6VHAaRWmydk_BUaCRKp4Lguf5e08_qLduRFeu6CaADa5GJKPF7bf3bogPz0IJ3K0Vf2uU73mco48vEpE8nHaXlUMPyMkKYff1mdlBE1pTzHIuFrrHYJnGRtNYR36P8/s320/grotesques+f.194v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 194v]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
For first-time users of the BL digital archive, please note - to access the Luttrell Psalter, first go <a href="http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_42130" target="_blank">here</a>, then scroll down and click 'View: bindings':</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuWeIjco4xoY4OQN_8vCEE6Y8glWF3rQR3BXlv_8jxledQ697oBjBq6rR8hxgSf-54DbqRYtx2Xuu7c65lSDur80aC4pVV82xrMvOFuHpY4Amz14U81dsddP1RoWgz87RjpHjPvbWrH8/s1600/luttrell+psalter+online.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuWeIjco4xoY4OQN_8vCEE6Y8glWF3rQR3BXlv_8jxledQ697oBjBq6rR8hxgSf-54DbqRYtx2Xuu7c65lSDur80aC4pVV82xrMvOFuHpY4Amz14U81dsddP1RoWgz87RjpHjPvbWrH8/s320/luttrell+psalter+online.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Then you can use the buttons on the upper right to turn the pages and explore the book. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPn7QdzByE9N1kZziXiI1T-jjXXi25trSFhl6RB37AYps4MyD40elhyp_xdCMkCGT4w1d3Hu2-FkWHfKdD-ydeII32S5c-4A5yOgCnAXtNAaPS0nHy-svCwGSOgBjc2RXNim9kh0bNUJE/s1600/luttrell+psalter+online+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPn7QdzByE9N1kZziXiI1T-jjXXi25trSFhl6RB37AYps4MyD40elhyp_xdCMkCGT4w1d3Hu2-FkWHfKdD-ydeII32S5c-4A5yOgCnAXtNAaPS0nHy-svCwGSOgBjc2RXNim9kh0bNUJE/s320/luttrell+psalter+online+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
To find specific pages, use the drop down menu on the furthest right. You can see the reference number for each page - e.g. f. 56r - and you can chase up all the grotesques I've posted here that way as well.</div>
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(Adding
these instructions because it took me a little while to work it out the
first time. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.)</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fH-2g0fet78u-86MRKf_kKvzyQ4qWEbob9ztzPt_9jVZvpPU2yXMGYS2pD_L2ucEW0R9rVJmJB5biQJdIpB85QroRV6BJ9Vg1XQdCl9tMHNpNh8U36euz6R5n8jCLfTz5gxtA1HWHso/s1600/grotesques+f.77r.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fH-2g0fet78u-86MRKf_kKvzyQ4qWEbob9ztzPt_9jVZvpPU2yXMGYS2pD_L2ucEW0R9rVJmJB5biQJdIpB85QroRV6BJ9Vg1XQdCl9tMHNpNh8U36euz6R5n8jCLfTz5gxtA1HWHso/s320/grotesques+f.77r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> [f. 77r]</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Right, I think that's enough gushing from me. If you're interested in these kinds of texts and images, I would encourage you to follow the British Library's medieval manuscripts people on <a href="https://twitter.com/BLMedieval" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. Click the 'traditional grotesque' keyword tag below if you want to read other posts about these kinds of beasties.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqofKclfoqx3PAKDVjmXbUNArSBwGYnA76iQLepGa_9yB5NwvBjMc-Zn0T_9Ndq4MdDBipOvBahsGIvwvDonEpwmH43gcZ7TD7cJ04hYF9GP3hD59Tcj0OTQz4e3biKsqWcnVfRA342M/s1600/grotesques+f.52v.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqofKclfoqx3PAKDVjmXbUNArSBwGYnA76iQLepGa_9yB5NwvBjMc-Zn0T_9Ndq4MdDBipOvBahsGIvwvDonEpwmH43gcZ7TD7cJ04hYF9GP3hD59Tcj0OTQz4e3biKsqWcnVfRA342M/s320/grotesques+f.52v.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[f. 52v]</span></div>
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</div>
Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-32109575176577139262013-09-17T23:44:00.001+08:002013-09-17T23:44:11.831+08:00Down In The Grotto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yONew-PjfxuSjB_u7qzEn7ZEuGCKdenJrjh9MDDD5x0GZDvNBaZcJFHVgzBamKB9Q4lh_hdtTlwhTjFMondzLKS7ce0RDU7tOWCFwlAwo-qCSnlupZZpFHAYrALg34NqEl3rZ86w2HU/s1600/Florence+367_detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yONew-PjfxuSjB_u7qzEn7ZEuGCKdenJrjh9MDDD5x0GZDvNBaZcJFHVgzBamKB9Q4lh_hdtTlwhTjFMondzLKS7ce0RDU7tOWCFwlAwo-qCSnlupZZpFHAYrALg34NqEl3rZ86w2HU/s320/Florence+367_detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hello there. Been a while. <br />
<br />
Got a bit overwhelmed with other things and lost my blogging mojo this year. Oh well, it's nearly over. Bring on 2014.<br />
<br />
But I have been missing my grotesques, and recently remembered that I hadn't blogged about the Medici grottos in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboli_Gardens" target="_blank">Boboli Gardens</a>. So let's try this, for a gentle re-entry into grotesquerie...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0KlZxAQmYwZ31tfZ_Asz9WiQYnjtVSEMPPavuaFcI0zNbCYXk4tSNOX8fFfGjK0RnslBfTGdr7i0SahNOqGCMybl-770dsFNpFvMLSgQ9heF9989DNKjVjlhxcd8EihjEpy5Q5XO6U/s1600/Florence+415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0KlZxAQmYwZ31tfZ_Asz9WiQYnjtVSEMPPavuaFcI0zNbCYXk4tSNOX8fFfGjK0RnslBfTGdr7i0SahNOqGCMybl-770dsFNpFvMLSgQ9heF9989DNKjVjlhxcd8EihjEpy5Q5XO6U/s320/Florence+415.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In addition to the incredible Palazzo Vecchio, which I posted about <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/palazzo-vecchio-linterno-magnifico.html" target="_blank">here</a>, the Boboli gardens were one of the highlights of my stay in Florence. Not only are the grounds utterly magnificent, but they stretch for miles and you can explore all day if you want (and have the fitness for some extreme hills).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCx6CX77E-KZILFTT4G4TRVwvmeCTi0DqpBGfGY_gArvKCxfHCJLE3UfHNu5ThnD8-6o1nC7JDQvBV38jCmEdKxxdtMhSyv7nI039H2AzUgr39OgSVjBX6VfavNo-D9m_C8jz5KX8jFk/s1600/Florence+509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCx6CX77E-KZILFTT4G4TRVwvmeCTi0DqpBGfGY_gArvKCxfHCJLE3UfHNu5ThnD8-6o1nC7JDQvBV38jCmEdKxxdtMhSyv7nI039H2AzUgr39OgSVjBX6VfavNo-D9m_C8jz5KX8jFk/s320/Florence+509.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnzHTlrUOGS4VjE2szyq46EBrL3y9WS69tn_yzR8ihm_UszQ7G3IVwMnzcb3cKoHzvtnrR5tlvVjohxKYDP5npSr8dN28Zs-606dzeJ9Ql4z-EOH5eJ11yjk7GnFBR-bDbSRAEn79JWs/s1600/Florence+426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnzHTlrUOGS4VjE2szyq46EBrL3y9WS69tn_yzR8ihm_UszQ7G3IVwMnzcb3cKoHzvtnrR5tlvVjohxKYDP5npSr8dN28Zs-606dzeJ9Ql4z-EOH5eJ11yjk7GnFBR-bDbSRAEn79JWs/s320/Florence+426.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sRScOCnOC3BhD5DvLCLd2QG7jKn6G_PrW7D7OSks-GqMcfdXrIXGwuVDHjgGzMTXZYIsKp4Ve5XrjvArJYZXdFKGmDi9XBCV-mJyvClCBFOKVqn9tRczAcY9lw0OZ6csgvS2N-3kM_8/s1600/Florence+496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sRScOCnOC3BhD5DvLCLd2QG7jKn6G_PrW7D7OSks-GqMcfdXrIXGwuVDHjgGzMTXZYIsKp4Ve5XrjvArJYZXdFKGmDi9XBCV-mJyvClCBFOKVqn9tRczAcY9lw0OZ6csgvS2N-3kM_8/s320/Florence+496.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqTCVZbVeKEt2avA7PA9Vm7QWmghpUL_gi8n8Dulwo07kRXRo79213uWyKyXTS9h6KVo7r-ckq2L9MUiP-moRQAbJNQW_0VDHVatv81vX96nuC9A5ALTiL10ltUy0-lsykGlepE__MpA/s1600/Florence+494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqTCVZbVeKEt2avA7PA9Vm7QWmghpUL_gi8n8Dulwo07kRXRo79213uWyKyXTS9h6KVo7r-ckq2L9MUiP-moRQAbJNQW_0VDHVatv81vX96nuC9A5ALTiL10ltUy0-lsykGlepE__MpA/s320/Florence+494.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeF-9WrvrdLbplGIdM475kdIo540CRqT3PpkN6NXN2fYTGwxuiYuH_T-5DJTLbXjBvNypNQ4dUUdZVpnT_3jvJLKGmZI3ZUlKdVfMCsNl64Oejr3_lL1F5NsmtSUqLWTSPTyXrW1N5sXw/s1600/Florence+577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeF-9WrvrdLbplGIdM475kdIo540CRqT3PpkN6NXN2fYTGwxuiYuH_T-5DJTLbXjBvNypNQ4dUUdZVpnT_3jvJLKGmZI3ZUlKdVfMCsNl64Oejr3_lL1F5NsmtSUqLWTSPTyXrW1N5sXw/s320/Florence+577.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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More importantly - at least from my biased perspective - the gardens are also a haven for sculptural grotesques.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg-vnRXWmPGw_YIegxh_7AJzzuONpqQUidskNHHM0HSOLXQWd1vLUIPbOdLiHEoiYJmKODtiJkeytB3K965GK4dQrHuX7nAbRKEht4_xOKWplhkD_za6UrdPyZwdpx-vM-nv83sgTadTI/s1600/Florence+474.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg-vnRXWmPGw_YIegxh_7AJzzuONpqQUidskNHHM0HSOLXQWd1vLUIPbOdLiHEoiYJmKODtiJkeytB3K965GK4dQrHuX7nAbRKEht4_xOKWplhkD_za6UrdPyZwdpx-vM-nv83sgTadTI/s320/Florence+474.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Possibly inspired by <a href="http://glassbox-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/fish-with-human-teeth-a.jpg" target="_blank">real life</a> rather than pure imagination...<br />
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This pathway had a drain running down the side - each step punctuated by a different grotesque head vomiting water into the channel below:<br />
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But for me these were all preambles to the real novelty - the Medici grottos.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkhjcuzjfVsmhSSY1p7O6mEEFNviNTcj3QfJ4niyqwB5_aYSny4bFwbvuvlV2LDQTEajljUXHfxlKO83BWobTctnG25XyvORoxKvzCH9M8lL_jdHEXzWGtJDfNDmM5KnlZUUYhbIApe0/s1600/Florence+390.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkhjcuzjfVsmhSSY1p7O6mEEFNviNTcj3QfJ4niyqwB5_aYSny4bFwbvuvlV2LDQTEajljUXHfxlKO83BWobTctnG25XyvORoxKvzCH9M8lL_jdHEXzWGtJDfNDmM5KnlZUUYhbIApe0/s320/Florence+390.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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By way of a quick <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotesque" target="_blank">reminder</a>:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "grotto", which originated from Greek krypte "hidden place," meaning a small cave or hollow.</blockquote>
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Of course, the dark places that inspired the creation of the term <i>grottesche </i>were not real caves at all, but the buried rooms of the Domus Aurea (which I also visited, <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/unbreak-my-domus.html" target="_blank">sort of</a>). For this reason I find the creation of <i>artificial </i>grottos during this time very interesting. It promises to reveal something of how 16th century artisans imagined the origin space of grotesquerie; the kind of environment in which grotesques emerge and belong. <br />
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And honestly, I had never seen anything quite like this before (click photos to enlarge):<br />
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Some contextual info via <a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-buontalenti-grotto" target="_blank">Atlas Obscura</a>:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[T]he Buontalenti Grotto was commissioned by Francesco I de’ Medici in order to complete the previous Vasari project, a complicated plan to create a huge nursery garden which was left unfinished.<br />
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[...] The facade is completely overlaid with concretions similar to stalagmites. The tympanum is displayed in the center and the Medici coat of arms is supported by two mosaic feminine figures symbolizing Peace and Justice. The background of the facade, on which all of this sits, is decorated by mosaic frames containing sea goats and other mythical designs.<br />
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Once inside, visitors notice that the Buontalenti Grotto is divided into three communicating rooms. The first, bigger than the other two, has walls decorated with fake stalactites and stalagmites, sponges, stones, and shells that are laid out to resemble anthropomorphic figures. Carved by Pietro Mati, these designs are meant to resemble a natural grotto - with a twist.<br />
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Here, in the main room of the Grotto, is a hole in the center of the ceiling where a fishpond was once set. (Before the restoration, the entire place was filled with waterworks, including sluices, which forces the water to create iridescent shimmers on the walls.) The hole is set in the center of ceiling frescoes that represent an arbor with wild animals and satyrs designed by Bernardino Poccetti.
</blockquote>
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The way the concrete has been applied makes everything look like it's dripping and oozing, yet frozen and hard at the same time. A very unique and uncanny effect. Especially with faces peering out from the depths.<br />
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Atlas Obscura use the term "concretions" to describe the style, which I love, because it does look like concrete is secreting from the walls. (The normal use of this term actually refers to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretion" target="_blank">natural formations</a>.)<br />
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While the Buontalenti Grotto is the largest of these man-made caverns, the gardens are full of smaller grottos, many of which are decorated in the same style. Some are closed, and it was difficult to get usable photographs of their dimly lit interiors through the bars.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNak192d9-o5CkAfuO4rocarS9T1hQirXhRHZed9hlgYZ3H6GQ0wjz070RDqUInONO2Ci5eyH2Vj9ZGN6x3mdz6wcsRYIkV1cGtNU0kDsthGq836rLxWAc2ONxx0aK_HwaKF514J38UJo/s1600/Florence+386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNak192d9-o5CkAfuO4rocarS9T1hQirXhRHZed9hlgYZ3H6GQ0wjz070RDqUInONO2Ci5eyH2Vj9ZGN6x3mdz6wcsRYIkV1cGtNU0kDsthGq836rLxWAc2ONxx0aK_HwaKF514J38UJo/s320/Florence+386.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Some had clearly been stripped and left to serve as party spots for locals.<br />
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Others had been more carefully preserved.<br />
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As shown above, more familiar grotesque forms are also present in some of these grottos, where "concretions" form the backdrop, or even provide textured frames for paintings and frescoes. <br />
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Beautiful.<br />
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I would recommend a visit to the Medici grottos if you ever get the chance. Just make sure you wear sensible shoes. The Boboli gardens eat high heels for breakfast.<br />
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Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-61004246706927980952013-02-09T16:52:00.000+08:002013-02-09T16:52:39.006+08:00Belispeak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm having a blogging break at the moment, because I've got a bit of non-internet writing to do.<br />
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Some of it involves <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dJhxCS3vec" target="_blank">this</a>, and some of it involves <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uQj7j8yG6A" target="_blank">this</a>. Slight difference in production values there... but both are amazing in their own way.<br />
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In the meantime, I recommend that anyone with a hankering for grotesquerie check out my new favourites:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GcWK_8kCJKY?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wVcOwVD4V30?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
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<br />
Like a baby Ellen Ripley emerging from the scum to join the monsters.<br />
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Love it.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-41666618372460913872013-01-16T15:45:00.001+08:002013-01-16T15:47:14.879+08:00Smack My Kitsch Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While I've posted about Grand Tours and eccentric <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/rivers-run-through-it.html" target="_blank">collections/collectors</a> a few <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/the-lovely-bones.html" target="_blank">times</a> recently, it has not escaped my attention that all the individuals involved so far have been male. <br />
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It's easy to assume that only men took part in such adventures, and the ladies sat at home and took tea in the drawing room. In fact, British and European women of the 18th century were increasingly interested in having their own tours and making their own collections (you can read more about it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ladies-Grand-Tour-Enlightenment-Eighteenth-Century/dp/0060185430" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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I encountered a brilliant example during my travels in the South West of England.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRfL_5aSQHSOBZXRZKqrcH50_cg-RnZ-v9ADzICqaaHZruOMIAm3G6Tqc-720jxCel4tDgqNANfk-SFXR6Knnzr0eRQIz9oylsWd1MNnlB8GTNDNQObZvgdaAM0250-jXavbEBA0FfOw/s1600/Cornwall+633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRfL_5aSQHSOBZXRZKqrcH50_cg-RnZ-v9ADzICqaaHZruOMIAm3G6Tqc-720jxCel4tDgqNANfk-SFXR6Knnzr0eRQIz9oylsWd1MNnlB8GTNDNQObZvgdaAM0250-jXavbEBA0FfOw/s320/Cornwall+633.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/a-la-ronde/" target="_blank">A la Ronde</a> is a 16-sided building in Exmouth, Devon, constructed to house Jane and Mary Parminter, a pair of daredevil cousins with an amazing collection of travel memorabilia.<br />
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A <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/devon/article_1.shtml" target="_blank">BBC article</a>
on the house explains that the octagonal shape is practical, as well as creative:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The
building's ingenious design was intended to catch maximum sunlight.
Sash windows were built on the angles and the rooms were laid out so
that the ladies could follow the sun around the house during the day.
They would start on the eastern side and move round to finish with tea
in an oval room on the west in the evening. Everything was designed to
conform to the building's unusual shape and awkward angles: cupboards
and bookshelves have sliding covers, doors slide back into the walls to
save space, and flaps come down between each of the doors in the octagon
to provide extra seating.
</blockquote>
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They were so obsessed with traveling that they toured their own house every day!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnJL5lrNdFowYwD0e8CG5K-NDOy1EJg65YPR08dYG1ROMcwbKI45Rn2cdXgUW5gjgcOfc5pGGbg__n4zFKSa-Z9jVAiXKH1sEIp7yxCeqoyi0LVlWiuxrGubikHZCJZU-EBVFFaPcukw/s1600/Cornwall+666.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnJL5lrNdFowYwD0e8CG5K-NDOy1EJg65YPR08dYG1ROMcwbKI45Rn2cdXgUW5gjgcOfc5pGGbg__n4zFKSa-Z9jVAiXKH1sEIp7yxCeqoyi0LVlWiuxrGubikHZCJZU-EBVFFaPcukw/s320/Cornwall+666.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The cousins masterminded a quirky interior that accommodates and maximises the circular space in clever ways, with some unique storage solutions.(Click to enlarge.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEt4HcPt8ZcOUB0doMvgDcdZq0QhZh5m5rHq0AFeTFq8JIxyDorQH-r7d5tW0u3Fpv-2YBjyLUVU10IkFaVZOhYFS76w1UwdlJNAaQI5MbBE9Hxb4FBlamQZwCyNxbvf1gxxqDniB1tI/s1600/Cornwall+641.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEt4HcPt8ZcOUB0doMvgDcdZq0QhZh5m5rHq0AFeTFq8JIxyDorQH-r7d5tW0u3Fpv-2YBjyLUVU10IkFaVZOhYFS76w1UwdlJNAaQI5MbBE9Hxb4FBlamQZwCyNxbvf1gxxqDniB1tI/s320/Cornwall+641.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PSQnM2-6Jx7srNJhmrzbVqL0Polo1MAXJbf8O7JbRHDvE9VVsQgZRPSLjPXw9vu8AXBbEGXa8xUURoyxTtjVyGqcbji92Aru6-TJDs31NeMU2UKmH-BT4-kLmbiPesZpkcHdw0z5V94/s1600/Cornwall+643.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PSQnM2-6Jx7srNJhmrzbVqL0Polo1MAXJbf8O7JbRHDvE9VVsQgZRPSLjPXw9vu8AXBbEGXa8xUURoyxTtjVyGqcbji92Aru6-TJDs31NeMU2UKmH-BT4-kLmbiPesZpkcHdw0z5V94/s320/Cornwall+643.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bjU1uOiYLyUZhU0Us2MHkqn5gmc8uNKUDYJZEzaCIoq-Hk_FGzpM2VIUQAOFBscEMII3NtmMW7SUo4naFQLHInrc3z4sWJg6HIZVhJTFXssjqTy74M7XZHCyHNE6l0_pVqfztp1gKHY/s1600/Cornwall+670.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bjU1uOiYLyUZhU0Us2MHkqn5gmc8uNKUDYJZEzaCIoq-Hk_FGzpM2VIUQAOFBscEMII3NtmMW7SUo4naFQLHInrc3z4sWJg6HIZVhJTFXssjqTy74M7XZHCyHNE6l0_pVqfztp1gKHY/s320/Cornwall+670.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The article points out that A la Ronde "bears witness to the
independence and resourcefulness of two women in an age when the early
feminists were only just stirring": <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In
1784, following the death of Jane's father - a wealthy Devon merchant -
Mary and Jane travelled throughout Europe for 10 years, together with
two other women. The 'Grand Tour' was a recognised way for wealthy young
men to finish their education in the 18th Century, but it was much more
unusual for women to travel alone in this way. Returning from their
tour in 1795, Jane and Mary decided to build a house to remind them of
their travels and provide a home for all the souvenirs they had
collected. </blockquote>
<br />
Tangent alert: it's interesting, because at the time I visited A la Ronde I was traveling in a group with three other women, including my own cousin.<br />
<br />
We did some adventurous stuff, and I like the historical parallel - the idea that the Parminters were pioneers of something that continues to this day. <br />
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Also, I saw a snail.<br />
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Lots of snails!<br />
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And this is why I'm always last... too much sitting around in the mud.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the sheer amount of stuff the Parminters and their friends brought back is impressive, but the ladies didn't stop there. They also used the natural objects they found (various shells, feathers, rocks and dried plants) to decorate walls, tables and cornices, and to construct pieces of art. <br />
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It seems they were fond of writing, which makes me like them even more. <br />
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<br />
The Parminters' feminist impulses were not confined to travel. As the BBC article explains:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The spinsters went to great lengths to keep A la Ronde in female hands, specifying in their will that it should only pass to unmarried female relatives. In almost 200 years, before the house was purchased by the National Trust in 1991, A la Ronde had only one male owner. The cousins used their unmarried status to their advantage in a world where marriage was seen as the only acceptable career for wealthy women.
</blockquote>
<br />
Good work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw0rYzUpEskf3ZIsDOJBSStYE1AIqml0aQ2TB56Tel-VIsgTXHjPduYPBGRQ96MxVlJEvgRzXMrVurHlyPyMIYdmVJXAh4GC2evQiEiLViW14XwCqSuPJleUbLxyOpahVBj2tKujXeXc/s1600/Cornwall+657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw0rYzUpEskf3ZIsDOJBSStYE1AIqml0aQ2TB56Tel-VIsgTXHjPduYPBGRQ96MxVlJEvgRzXMrVurHlyPyMIYdmVJXAh4GC2evQiEiLViW14XwCqSuPJleUbLxyOpahVBj2tKujXeXc/s320/Cornwall+657.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
All the horrific stories of violence against women recently - and the accompanying calls for ladies to watch themselves, be careful, don't go places alone, don't do risky things, etc. - have made me think about the Parminters again.<br />
<br />
They were privileged, they were gentlewomen and had money to travel, but I'm sure they would have been warned many times about the dangers of adventuring. I myself lost count of the people who tutted anxiously when they discovered I was traveling alone. <i>Stuff </i>might happen. Terrible stuff. Not a good idea. Bring a man next time.<br />
<br />
I find it sad how mobile women are framed as victims-in-waiting, rather than explorers. You can just as easily (and, statistically speaking, are much more likely to) be harmed in your own house than out roaming in the world. <br />
<br />
We need more female daredevils, not less. <br />
<br />
Who else is going to ship a crapton of shells across the globe and spend years gluing them to their wickity wack house?<br />
<br />
The highlight of A la Ronde runs around the interior of the upper gallery at its center. The cousins spent years fastening shells to the walls up here, creating an intricate DIY masterpiece.<br />
<br />
You can see a hint of it in this pic.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLk23DvpyDAkIdRC-EOhyphenhyphenUqmVwQtuia55s13iPnHEEMz7US5STV1fjGp8Fw-uPxvLa9zRCMLu72LI9v9k8NvHZnOANks7pcI8Cop8344HGOUMlJ_2bC9lm3R0hQRIl7x2mtYBcE7YlK4/s1600/Cornwall+671.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLk23DvpyDAkIdRC-EOhyphenhyphenUqmVwQtuia55s13iPnHEEMz7US5STV1fjGp8Fw-uPxvLa9zRCMLu72LI9v9k8NvHZnOANks7pcI8Cop8344HGOUMlJ_2bC9lm3R0hQRIl7x2mtYBcE7YlK4/s320/Cornwall+671.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Unfortunately, their glue wasn't the greatest, and the wall is now so delicate nobody is allowed up there in case they sneeze and half the shells drop off. <br />
<br />
This is as close as I could get.<br />
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<br />
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can take a virtual tour of the gallery <a href="http://www.rodedwards.co.uk/files/20634/alarondeshellgallery/A_La_Ronde_Shell_Gallery.html" target="_blank">right here</a>. I highly recommend having a look.<br />
<br />
<i>Do it now</i>. I'll just wait here.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
Amazing, eh.<br />
<br />
Get out there.<br />
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Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-18667770882025707322012-12-28T16:06:00.000+08:002012-12-28T16:16:34.824+08:00Painting The Roses Red<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At first glance, inner city Perth is not the most inviting or aesthetically pleasing location in the world; especially in summer, when it goes above 40°C in the shade and burning heat radiates off every surface. <br />
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Along the train line is often the worst, with all the wires and power poles and cement everywhere. Yet this is also where some of my favourite street art lives.<br />
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This huge mural, for instance, faces the tracks and can be seen through the left-hand windows of the train as you head into the city. <br />
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I've loved this since I was a child - but this was actually the first time I've gone to have a proper close look. (Click to enlarge.)</div>
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In many ways it reminds me of the angels and demons depicted in the Vatican Museums.<br />
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(See more pics <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/seven-devils.html" target="_blank">here</a>) <br />
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The use of colour is similar, although the angel figure is dark skinned in the mural. <br />
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The combatants are also on an equal footing. Neither is above the other, neither has the strategic (or moral?) advantage. <br />
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The contrast between cave paintings on the demonic side and a more classical art style on the angelic side suggests a battle between the 'primitive' and the 'civilised.' Yet both ride vampiric steeds, and both have their faces obscured. So interesting. <br />
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Of course, this painting is not housed in a controlled space. It isn't surrounded by guards and security cameras. It is exposed to the weather, and there are no opening hours. People can come along and do whatever they like to it at any time. <br />
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Despite the odd contribution from the public, the painting has remained bright and relatively unmolested, given the location. <br />
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So good. If anyone ever tries to paint over it (as happened to another of my favourites recently. Why replace an awesome image with a blank wall? Ever?) I will be getting a little bit shirty. <br />
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There is quite a lot of brilliant street art near the tracks in this area, including this amazing Alice in Wonderland themed mural, which runs along the outer wall of the <a href="http://perthcityfarm.org.au/" target="_blank">Perth City Farm</a>. <br />
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I love the way this painting merges the urban with the fantastical - incorporating graffiti style script into the landscape. <br />
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Uh-oh. I think the Tweedles have been out tagging.<br />
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Maybe not a good idea to have a bunny guarding the seedlings!<br />
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But wait - there's more...<br />
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These remind me of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78o8T36CxcY" target="_blank">Wormouths</a> in Commander Keen:<br />
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Nice work, <a href="http://www.artistswa.com/2009/09/20/deejo/" target="_blank">DeeJo</a>.<br />
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And last but not least, in a nearby car-park:.<br />
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<br />
Brilliant.<br />
<br />
People pass these paintings all day without even looking, like they're nothing special. (Although they do start paying attention once someone starts taking photos - funny that, how the camera bestows 'value' on its lowly subjects...)<br />
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If anyone has names for/links to more of the artists, please let me know and I'll add them. <br />
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P.S. Happy New Year - thanks for visiting, I appreciate ya.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-77720493570096209482012-12-19T22:50:00.000+08:002012-12-19T22:56:14.377+08:00Technicolour Dreams<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Nw9ErFiarh5GuBvBF88XDPQ8sv3UJbleaXCjgdrE_SSnWF4MrgWtxyDfzvaZvm4WNJ2yM0wRJVvDGBOXjpe8BeNRCiY8DSiDcOf4UiDCsm089MHmAuE-LaCtPRWEZwFMfPAq6bqSyp4/s1600/Paris+903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Nw9ErFiarh5GuBvBF88XDPQ8sv3UJbleaXCjgdrE_SSnWF4MrgWtxyDfzvaZvm4WNJ2yM0wRJVvDGBOXjpe8BeNRCiY8DSiDcOf4UiDCsm089MHmAuE-LaCtPRWEZwFMfPAq6bqSyp4/s320/Paris+903.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In Paris, the Grande galerie de l'évolution (Great Gallery of Evolution) is part of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and sits close by the Galerie de paléontologie et d’anatomie comparé (which I posted about <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/the-lovely-bones.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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On the outside, the Great Gallery is a large, stately building with a lovely facade - as befits an institution whose origins can be traced back to the 17th century.<br />
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On the inside, however... it's party time. <br />
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The huge hall is kept darkened, while the walls are aglow with vivid red light and the ceiling is a constantly shifting rainbow of reds, pinks, purples and blues. <br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Grande_galerie_de_l%27%C3%A9volution_-_L%27int%C3%A9rieur_du_b%C3%A2timent.jpg" target="_blank">This photograph</a> shows what the space looks like with the lights turned off. <br />
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When the lights are on, the psychedelic ecstasy of the roof offers a
surreal contrast with the displays of taxidermy in each gallery. (It's a bit like a taxidermy disco really.
Except, unlike a real nightclub, you don't get groped all the time and
it's actually fun.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbf9CPIHBseXWsBP6LDXS40AXMq41yQp25xsXPvcrLzBhyphenhyphenT2eu-b5zFC6iWMZaQYWWP-exTM4F7aqzYX19Gt7JEaUXGdWqRJiDP1-zp4d5y9OdxXWZK0ro6348IHE5jD-YjHPXCdagGOw/s1600/Paris+904.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbf9CPIHBseXWsBP6LDXS40AXMq41yQp25xsXPvcrLzBhyphenhyphenT2eu-b5zFC6iWMZaQYWWP-exTM4F7aqzYX19Gt7JEaUXGdWqRJiDP1-zp4d5y9OdxXWZK0ro6348IHE5jD-YjHPXCdagGOw/s320/Paris+904.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The ceiling reminds me of a dream I had once,* where I was standing overlooking this path down into a huge dark forest. The forest was really savage looking, full of sharp black spikes and brambles, but the sky above was the most brilliantly intense rainbow of colours I've ever seen. <br />
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(*Yes I realise that describing your dreams is one of the most socially awkward things a person can do with their clothes on. Whatever man, it's my blog. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzmTOCFnMgg" target="_blank"><i>I do what I want</i></a>.)<br />
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Anyway, that is what this space reminds me of - it's a technicolor dreamscape.<br />
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My favourite were the insects:<br />
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Some of the best beetles I've ever seen.<br />
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I want these so bad.<br />
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I did have a few questions after my visit.<br />
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For instance, why does the croc in the Australian section have a turd on it?<br />
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I'm struggling to think of any creature gutsy enough to get comfortable pooping near that snout. <br />
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Unless it wasn't a part of the original exhibit. Oh dear.<br />
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In any case, I'm hoping to visit the Museum of Natural History again, because I missed seeing the Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology this time around. The Jardin des Plantes was closing by the time I got to it, so I want to visit there as well. <br />
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Time to start saving again...<br />
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Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-49673064811630895612012-12-03T02:54:00.000+08:002013-01-18T16:57:48.512+08:00A Cunning Array Of Stunts <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ken_mayer/5525630717/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
<br />
My <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/gargoyles-in-paris.html" target="_blank">last post</a> about gargoyles reminded me of Raoul Servais' <i>Harpya</i> (1979).<br />
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In this short film, a man falls in love with a bird-woman and takes her home with him, only to become a victim of her ravenous appetite. It's both hilarious and super creepy. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z-knoKNAEaE?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
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<br />
Just take those squidgy shoes off, man. Seriously.<br />
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Watching this again made me think about how many grotesque frescoes involve women with wings. When you look, they all do. <br />
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As the figure below illustrates <i>in extremis</i>, female grotesque bodies are often reduced to three key features - head, breasts, and wings.<br />
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<br />
These are not harpies in the traditional sense, though.<br />
<br />
Harpies have their origins in Greek mythology. As E. M. Berens explains in <i>A Hand-book of Mythology</i> (1894):<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Harpies, who, like the Furies, were employed by the gods as instruments for the punishment of the guilty, were three female divinities, daughters of Thaumas and Electra, called Aello, Ocypete, and Celæno.<br />
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They were represented with the head of a fair-haired maiden and the body of a vulture, and were perpetually devoured by the pangs of insatiable hunger, which caused them to torment their victims by robbing them of their food; this they either devoured with great gluttony, or defiled in such a manner as to render it unfit to be eaten.<br />
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Their wonderfully rapid flight far surpassed that of birds, or even of the winds themselves. If any mortal suddenly and unaccountably disappeared, the Harpies were believed to have carried him off. Thus they were supposed to have borne away the daughters of King Pandareos to act as servants to the Erinyes.<br />
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The Harpies would appear to be personifications of sudden tempests, which, with ruthless violence, sweep over whole districts, carrying off or injuring all before them.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Uum2NghMXAK7zmTDYt1b6QKpXs-KMgRTkSD5cSEsGRJ9d4oJMsdGjs6NckShKkGgUrFwAjbUApxfKsipYcEXsY2_ALB5u5rsHrEhwaRezansz-uirssAAAt2A-RhyphenhyphenNe5-HVgIodmS60/s1600/harpy_statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Uum2NghMXAK7zmTDYt1b6QKpXs-KMgRTkSD5cSEsGRJ9d4oJMsdGjs6NckShKkGgUrFwAjbUApxfKsipYcEXsY2_ALB5u5rsHrEhwaRezansz-uirssAAAt2A-RhyphenhyphenNe5-HVgIodmS60/s320/harpy_statue.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/frenchieb/407803830/" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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Most contemporary representations of the harpy follow this early model, depicting the winged woman as a dangerous, hungry force of nature. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AD9YlbnGwpA?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
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<br />
Some are <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P7J1GK4iYQ">scarier than others</a>...<br />
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'Harpy' has also become a more general term for women who behave in an unacceptable manner towards men, who take too much and give too little, who 'harp on' about things.<br />
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As the Urban Dictionary's most popular definition <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=harpy" target="_blank">puts it</a>, a harpy is: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A word to describe a women [sic] who draws a man into her grasp by pleasing the victims biggest desire only to destroy all that makes him what he is.</blockquote>
Also:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A woman with an unbearable, shrewish, pain in the ass nature. In other words, a bitch or a harridan, especially a somewhat unappealing one.
</blockquote>
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Hmm.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://bubosblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/tornadic-mythology.html" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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In her book <i>The Female Grotesque</i>, Mary Russo suggests that women who fly offer a model of deviance that constitutes a potentially transgressive "grotesque" performance. She is particularly interested in female circus performers, acrobats and pilots, whose activities transcend the imagined limits of the female body and mind. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTvKY4OfUXXIGkK6UkCYDk818lJYXb_n_O4ol4o6YT2t6CyreesaGCAEBVkm_wbZlscXax9766aMPbZ3KOV76uPsem60VG4UodOHzwKdmnDwfl-WbYpT3sZS2jD6ltXZOw02qSdKD-QI/s1600/Human_cannonball03_-_melbourne_show_2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTvKY4OfUXXIGkK6UkCYDk818lJYXb_n_O4ol4o6YT2t6CyreesaGCAEBVkm_wbZlscXax9766aMPbZ3KOV76uPsem60VG4UodOHzwKdmnDwfl-WbYpT3sZS2jD6ltXZOw02qSdKD-QI/s320/Human_cannonball03_-_melbourne_show_2005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Stephanie Smith, human cannonball (2005). <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_cannonball03_-_melbourne_show_2005.jpg" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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Russo wonders if "instances of aerial leaps and falls may suggest an alternative to the notion of liberation as upward mobility and flight forward," while simultaneously warning that "they end badly" (30). The woman who performs daring stunts, who throws herself off the edges of things and defies gravity, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-09-01/human-cannonball-injured-after-missing-target/1253568" target="_blank">will often crash back down to earth</a>. <br />
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I like the idea that stunts and falling are a function of agency, rather than a sign of its failure. As Russo points out, "freedom is often uncritically conceived as limitless space, transcendence, newness, individualism, and upward mobility of various kinds" (50). In contrast, falling involves "a reversal of the usual metaphors." It is downward mobility - a rough, even deadly encounter with limits and universals. Yet it results from attempts to go beyond safe zones, to risk unsanctioned moves and try new shapes. I fancy it is this spirit that infects the winged grotesques, with their ridiculous and impossible bodies. <br />
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Perhaps not such a bad thing, then, to be a harpy.<br />
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Although eating someone's parrot is going too far. Don't do it, ladies.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-65271938670372013112012-11-27T01:44:00.000+08:002012-11-27T01:55:42.889+08:00Gargoyles In Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Paris is wonderful. There are so many beautiful buildings, shops, <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/the-lovely-bones.html" target="_blank">museums</a>, gardens and people to admire. But I really went to see the non-pretty things: the monsters. Specifically, the gargoyles of Notre-Dame de Paris.<br />
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Bishop Maurice de Sully conceived and supervised the initial stages of construction in the 12th century. Since then, the cathedral has born witness to many pivotal events, including the 1558 marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, the French Revolution, and the canonising of Joan of Arc. Not to mention a bunch of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolves_of_Paris" target="_blank">man-eating wolves</a> had their last stand there.<br />
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Even disregarding such history, the intricate detail and sheer Gothic splendour of this iconic building make it worth the trip. <br />
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The larger gargoyles that populate the high balconies are a more recent
addition than you might think. As Michael Camille explains in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Gargoyles-Notre-Dame-Medievalism-Modernity/dp/0226092453" target="_blank">this book</a>,
fifty-four stone creatures were attached during restoration in the 19th century - including the famous Galerie des
Chimères, which can be accessed via 387 (very steep) steps.<br />
<br />
Architects Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (mainly the
latter, apparently) got a bit over-excited during the reconstruction
and ended up covering the exterior gallery with monsters. Bit cheeky,
considering these additions were <i>not </i>included in the proposal that won them the job. <br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
(Tangent alert) I've always assumed that Victor Hugo's <i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> was inspired by the gargoyles we see today. Not so. The renovations began in the 1840s, while his book was published in 1831. In this, Hugo's work seems to support Viollet-le-Duc's claim that such beasts were present on the cathedral prior to restoration. <br />
<br />
In any case, my visit reminded me of Quasimodo the bell ringer, who is presented as a living gargoyle in the novel:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The
presence of this extraordinary being caused, as it were, a breath of
life to circulate throughout the entire cathedral. It seemed as though
there escaped from him, at least according to the growing superstitions
of the crowd, a mysterious emanation which animated all the stones of
Notre-Dame, and made the deep bowels of the ancient church to palpitate [...] And the cathedral did indeed seem a docile
and obedient creature beneath his hand; it waited on his will to raise
its great voice; it was possessed and filled with Quasimodo, as with a
familiar spirit. One would have said that he made the immense edifice
breathe. He was everywhere about it; in fact, he multiplied himself on
all points of the structure. Now one perceived with affright at the very
top of one of the towers, a fantastic dwarf climbing, writhing,
crawling on all fours, descending outside above the abyss, leaping from
projection to projection, and going to ransack the belly of some
sculptured gorgon; it was Quasimodo dislodging the crows. Again, in some obscure corner of the church one came in contact with a sort of
living chimera, crouching and scowling; it was Quasimodo engaged in
thought. (<a href="http://www.literaturepage.com/read/hunchbackofnotredame-152.html" target="_blank">Via</a>). </blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[<i>Quasimodo </i>by Antoine Wiertz. <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quasimodo_by_Antoine_Wiertz.jpg" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
<br />
Quasimodo has always been really interesting to me. He is often described as "grotesque"; indeed, the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/942910/Quasimodo" target="_blank">Encyclopedia Britannica</a> defines him as "a classic symbol of a courageous heart beneath a grotesque exterior."<br />
<br />
The novel is preoccupied with exteriors, human and nonhuman, and their relationships with interiors. Quasimodo is rejected for his deformities, so he becomes what others expect him to be:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"From his very first steps among men, he had felt himself, later on he had seen himself, spewed out, blasted, rejected. Human words were, for him, always a raillery or a malediction. As he grew up, he had found nothing but hatred around him. He had caught the general malevolence. He had picked up the weapon with which he had been wounded" (<a href="http://www.literaturepage.com/read/hunchbackofnotredame-149.html" target="_blank">Via</a>).
</blockquote>
<br />
Even Claude Frollo, the man who adopts and raises him, sees Quasimodo as subhuman. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[...] the poor little creature was incomplete, and hardly sketched out. In fact, Quasimodo, blind, hunchbacked, knock-kneed, was only an "almost" (<a href="http://www.literaturepage.com/read/hunchbackofnotredame-146.html" target="_blank">Via</a>).</blockquote>
<br />
Accordingly, the hunchback has only the bells of Notre Dame for company. Getting into the spirit, I visited le bourdon - the great bell - when I climbed the tower. <br />
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The doors to get inside are super tiny. I like that there are no warning signs for taller people. The French expect you to take care of yourself.<br />
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<br />
Massive.<br />
<br />
Anyway, some of the saddest passages in <i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> involve Quasimodo's conclusion that "'Tis only
necessary to be handsome on the outside." Despite his devotion, foxy love-interest Esmeralda cannot look past the 'grotesque' exterior, prompting this outburst:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Look not at the face, young girl, look at the heart. The
heart of a handsome young man is often deformed. There are
hearts in which love does not keep. Young girl, the pine is
not beautiful; it is not beautiful like the poplar, but it keeps
its foliage in winter. Alas! What is the use of saying that?
That which is not beautiful has no right to exist; beauty loves
only beauty; April turns her back on January. Beauty is perfect,
beauty can do all things, beauty is the only thing which does not
exist by halves" (<a href="http://www.literaturepage.com/read/hunchbackofnotredame-396.html" target="_blank">Via</a>).</blockquote>
<br />
Quasimodo and the cathedral appear as one at this point: both characterised by grotesque facades; both outsiders, distinct from the rest of the city. As a result, he is quite clearly the hero of the novel. Everyone else is an idiot. Except maybe the goat (who, incidentally, is the only character to get a happy ending). <br />
<br />
In any case, I was feeling the presence of the bell ringer inside the cathedral as well. The interior is as Gothic as you could hope for. I visited on a Sunday, so there was a special service going on, although that didn't stop visitors from flooding through the whole time. With all the prayers and rituals, it was a very eerie, unique atmosphere. <br />
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Priests lit fires for the ceremony, sending smoke up into the arches. <br />
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The Crown of Light, or Great Chandelier: <br />
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Just a few modern touches; including video screens for parishioners sitting further back... <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4HSvz1727JLzlHjR9JxUtARkbZniCD23Rowjo_4AxY7KtzuVZdqJJPbxeQLJDfZVd1Pqh-v-VOJux7DlPrkbt0-I3uq7_l1VUX4wea8dg2nOrPDa3dMX6njLHDARY0MVs77Z8_ha79I/s1600/Paris+058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4HSvz1727JLzlHjR9JxUtARkbZniCD23Rowjo_4AxY7KtzuVZdqJJPbxeQLJDfZVd1Pqh-v-VOJux7DlPrkbt0-I3uq7_l1VUX4wea8dg2nOrPDa3dMX6njLHDARY0MVs77Z8_ha79I/s320/Paris+058.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I recorded some of my favourite part of the service. You don't need to be religious to appreciate something like this. (Warning: could be loud.)<br />
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<audio controls="controls"><source src="https://sites.google.com/site/filestorage567/home/mp3s/Paris%20013.ogg?"></source>If you cannot see the audio controls, <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/filestorage567/home/mp3s/Paris%20013.ogg?">listen/download the audio file here</a></audio>
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Awesome. <br />
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P.S. I'll be talking about gargoyles and other stone monsters at the <a href="http://www.ganza.co.nz/conference" target="_blank">GANZA conference</a> in New Zealand soon, if anyone has an interest in the topic, or Gothic things in general. Come see me get all tangential in person, eh.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-5637970152992660952012-11-08T00:16:00.002+08:002012-11-08T17:35:46.686+08:00Le Grottesche Del Vaticano<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtlKB5D_xWvSheHFaiLOhcHd3RD-vXhyphenhyphenrPCtabbR_B7zUFnMZNsu3EEavwG2cgMhy1o0461dIvizYsqhEA3QomYYoi-JBYBLKgCVfXaiAaDXLaEfpbUJ23E7WGUlJdMerdIJJLHvAs3c/s1600/Rome+846.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtlKB5D_xWvSheHFaiLOhcHd3RD-vXhyphenhyphenrPCtabbR_B7zUFnMZNsu3EEavwG2cgMhy1o0461dIvizYsqhEA3QomYYoi-JBYBLKgCVfXaiAaDXLaEfpbUJ23E7WGUlJdMerdIJJLHvAs3c/s320/Rome+846.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My last <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/unbreak-my-domus.html" target="_blank">Rome post</a> was a bit forlorn, so I've been planning to share these pics for a while. Although my trip to the Domus Aurea wasn't super successful, the Vatican and its museums more than made up for it.<br />
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There were good examples of traditional grotesquerie everywhere, but the Galleria delle carte geografiche (Gallery of Maps) was an unexpected treasure trove. <br />
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The roof of the gallery is not gold. My camera had some kind of light-related spasm and refused to capture it correctly. Piece of rubbish.<br />
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Anyway, the real ceiling looks like this.<br />
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Grotesques everywhere.<br />
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The maps themselves were very nice. <br />
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The <a href="http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/The_Vatican_Museums/Gallery_of_Maps.htm" target="_blank">Vatican website</a> explains that the gallery:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"takes its name from the
40 maps frescoed on the walls, which represent the Italian regions and
the papal properties at the time of Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585). They
were painted between 1580 and 1585 on drawings by Ignazio Danti, a
famous geographer of the time. Considering the Apennines as a partition
element, on one side the regions surrounded by the Ligure and Tyrrhenian
Seas are represented; on the other, the regions surrounded by the
Adriatic Sea. The map of the main city accompanies each regional map." </blockquote>
<br />
Yes, yes. Very nice.<br />
<br />
But really, <i>stop wasting my time</i> <i>and talk about the grotesques</i>.<br />
<br />
Because they are incredible. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yOR5iI5S2Ju0cRmrPFkKe974glN-iOoo0ahF-xLDvi_Rl1wntmkdWsHxmWnXuYWrEu3HD5bXr2i3bW8LUyYboA0YnVpH5ucwtgzYqqUN4Cnd6ycqTofvbIvZ5nA2S04tdFEUg7p8S9c/s1600/Rome+880.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yOR5iI5S2Ju0cRmrPFkKe974glN-iOoo0ahF-xLDvi_Rl1wntmkdWsHxmWnXuYWrEu3HD5bXr2i3bW8LUyYboA0YnVpH5ucwtgzYqqUN4Cnd6ycqTofvbIvZ5nA2S04tdFEUg7p8S9c/s320/Rome+880.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoC9f9yHZ8rCspVShZAX2EK_UziybzOyofj6lBz7NOgQ0fm9fes-Ts7VORUzF0WRxbYNBu4trmyd5O2v5pk2uh6C9NW0C1Qbj1D1L9lHQTKiliudpOpISToAjyeOy1Bdg49TwBNL4buk/s1600/Rome+884.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoC9f9yHZ8rCspVShZAX2EK_UziybzOyofj6lBz7NOgQ0fm9fes-Ts7VORUzF0WRxbYNBu4trmyd5O2v5pk2uh6C9NW0C1Qbj1D1L9lHQTKiliudpOpISToAjyeOy1Bdg49TwBNL4buk/s320/Rome+884.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The best were around the recessed windows that line the hall, separating the maps. Running up the sides and across the tops of the windows, they are large, bright, and almost perfectly preserved. Say what you will about the church, they keep their stuff looking flash. <br />
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Because the windows are so large, and the decorations go right down to the ground, it gave me the opportunity to get what I'd been wanting for ages - clear, detailed close-ups. As a slightly, er, vertically-challenged person, it can be difficult to capture the features of wall frescoes. But these came right down to my eye level. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfQno6x60VAWcO5bjrrfPGVoVpAoz-SK9jctdZc3GPLc-_QwzLFFt4O-L5NkCFU8I7MqH3xWFbu5DtwE1YJ-RgCh5XfdKDiatQpD24U-UnRWD4ihTH_04BxrAa5n4DgOhm01I1w3HKx0/s1600/Rome+885.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfQno6x60VAWcO5bjrrfPGVoVpAoz-SK9jctdZc3GPLc-_QwzLFFt4O-L5NkCFU8I7MqH3xWFbu5DtwE1YJ-RgCh5XfdKDiatQpD24U-UnRWD4ihTH_04BxrAa5n4DgOhm01I1w3HKx0/s320/Rome+885.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Because they face each other on either side of each window, the vertical streams of grotesques are often mirrored, but not exactly. Some of the pics below might seem identical, but if you look closely, they are all different. (Unless I've screwed up and uploaded something twice, in which case feel free to tell me I'm an idiot.)</div>
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This is one of the things I love about the traditional grotesque - the refusal of perfect symmetry, and no lazy copying. Every figure is unique, given its own special weird something. </div>
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Without further ado (click to enlarge):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUC_-Vv52Xkz2ZfnRMIYugN_bwXZlrjCmpk9rYD-YgmMXHQ_N7E67ijA_05UYjbWrZdBVbGkqToKv1OoREuoq70tPJ2BBfVRvlroTo6OfCsGO0I7FJiZPICB_IhA7JTRDOQQaufV-NEM/s1600/Rome+881.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUC_-Vv52Xkz2ZfnRMIYugN_bwXZlrjCmpk9rYD-YgmMXHQ_N7E67ijA_05UYjbWrZdBVbGkqToKv1OoREuoq70tPJ2BBfVRvlroTo6OfCsGO0I7FJiZPICB_IhA7JTRDOQQaufV-NEM/s320/Rome+881.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQvOAQOdYJO_HrjUOsFS75fQ0E3fxiUF8Dg9QQBJt_Qc6NRRtdzYIbg3Q6NM566YrsXMbELuJcYf64IwvUzEihXQruVsWEBxQYz35aejh09q8iEna_HGurHQ53eKxw_S3zmSHk9_5Vj0/s1600/Rome+881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQvOAQOdYJO_HrjUOsFS75fQ0E3fxiUF8Dg9QQBJt_Qc6NRRtdzYIbg3Q6NM566YrsXMbELuJcYf64IwvUzEihXQruVsWEBxQYz35aejh09q8iEna_HGurHQ53eKxw_S3zmSHk9_5Vj0/s320/Rome+881.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj095FBR4EEj6PW6BDffQAJtMmU8wzyJEcLEgtDEibAgmmoPdVmzIfENhEvdm7hvdI6Pm3-nMspvPUlcnHPqZpjjuC0PUR_-uxyJl31_kO8dw9q7jyGgeBIiBXP-Mksm0qzMFkXam9TK9o/s1600/Rome+1069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj095FBR4EEj6PW6BDffQAJtMmU8wzyJEcLEgtDEibAgmmoPdVmzIfENhEvdm7hvdI6Pm3-nMspvPUlcnHPqZpjjuC0PUR_-uxyJl31_kO8dw9q7jyGgeBIiBXP-Mksm0qzMFkXam9TK9o/s320/Rome+1069.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1uiS2d3tJW4FMYgH2whjVJvtdvu6iQyv4Hy9cnwKY3dvacvJkX_0RWyTcJleM_Yu8DteJwtVU0D_XlFXPabMHCKlS1T0eKPXs-qvpHyJykbdy_I9pAcHMFfJSi_X-zQOoX7-ylzNWFvU/s1600/Rome+850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1uiS2d3tJW4FMYgH2whjVJvtdvu6iQyv4Hy9cnwKY3dvacvJkX_0RWyTcJleM_Yu8DteJwtVU0D_XlFXPabMHCKlS1T0eKPXs-qvpHyJykbdy_I9pAcHMFfJSi_X-zQOoX7-ylzNWFvU/s320/Rome+850.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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These look like cactus wings. They might not be. Let's pretend they are!<br />
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Saved my favourite till last. It isn't the best photograph of the lot, but I love how the female grotesques' hair erupts from the eyes of the central head. That's one twisted variation I haven't seen before.<br />
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I think that's all of them. If I find more photographs of other grotesques from this gallery, I will simply add them in.<br />
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Along with the <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/palazzo-vecchio-linterno-magnifico.html" target="_blank">Palazzo Vecchio</a> in Florence, this was one of the highlights that really made my trip worthwhile. Hope you like.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-84049437317584425522012-10-30T20:37:00.002+08:002012-10-30T20:37:44.577+08:00The Lovely Bones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Following on from <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/rivers-run-through-it.html" target="_blank">my last post</a> on the Pitt Rivers museum, here's another unique assemblage of artifacts accumulated by various explorers and scientists. This time, it's a French collection - or rather, two collections that share a building and vibe with each other - at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) in Paris. <br />
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Having exhausted myself in Italy, I didn't do much preparation for my week in France. Luckily, a friend recommended visiting this excellent place. The main building (seen in the distance above) is a feat of engineering and creative thinking. It's home to the Great Gallery of Evolution - which is definitely getting its own post in the future. It also houses the greatest insect collection ever. <br />
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I just love beetles. Then again, I'd like anything that spends its day rolling poo into a ball, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1-tdO7ine0" target="_blank">dancing</a> on it, then eating it. What a life.<br />
<br />
I digress.<br />
<br />
It was the Galerie de paléontologie et d’anatomie comparée (Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy) that really blew my mind, so it's getting special attention. <br />
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According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerie_de_pal%C3%A9ontologie_et_d%27anatomie_compar%C3%A9e" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The Gallery was inaugurated in 1898 as part of l' Expositions universelles de Paris of 1900 and was the creation of professors Albert Gaudry (Professor of Paleontology) and Georges Pouchet (Professor of Comparative Anatomy) who wished to preserve and present to the public collections of great historic and scientific importance. The collections derive from the great expeditions of the traveller-naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries as well as from the ménagerie' (zoo) of the Jardin des Plantes."
</blockquote>
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Those World's Fairs must have been so fun.<br />
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They even had booth babes.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Business_business.jpg" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
<br />
I digress again.<br />
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The first floor of the building hosts the Gallery of Comparative Anatomy. As in the Pitt Rivers museum, the presentation is quite unique - masses of full skeletons standing together in the center, loosely
organised by size and type, while others are grouped in cases and on shelves
around them. I've never seen so many bones in one place before...<br />
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Perhaps some might find this morbid or weird, but I loved it. The light coming through the windows gave everything a warm glow, while the skeletons themselves just looked really... cheerful. <br />
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Around the walls, organic specimens are preserved in carefully hand labeled jars, along with old models and diagrams intended to educate the viewer. <br />
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What is this? I have no clue, but it comes from inside a giraffe. <br />
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Looks a bit naughty.<br />
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Teratology is defined medically as the study of physiological anomalies, however it's interesting to note the word's <a href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=teratology&allowed_in_frame=0" target="_blank">etymological</a> origins as the "study of marvels and monsters."<br />
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The Gallery of Palaeontology is on the second floor and holds the oldest skeletons: the dinosaurs, extinct creatures, and inconceivably ancient fossils. <br />
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Verandas coast gently around the periphery of the second floor, and are beautifully dilapidated. It seems the French really understand the value of imperfection and age. Things don't need to be shiny and perfect and new all the time. It's nice to see the broken bits, the cracks and worn places. This is where character lives. <br />
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Third (and final) digression - these remind me of doing school projects, before the computer took over. Carefully drawing in the lines with a ruler, and writing everything by hand. Discovering things and sticking them to cardboard. Drawing wonky pictures - actually cutting and pasting. There is something magic about the process of creating with your own hands. The beautiful imperfection again. <br />
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A series of colourful posters were arranged on the walls above the veranda and I *think* they may have been made by local students. Whoever made them, they're awesome.<br />
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No idea what this is, but I like it.<br />
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Hope that gratuitous blzzard of images hasn't killed your computer. <br />
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Long story short - the Galerie de paléontologie et d’anatomie comparée is magnificent and you should visit if you ever get the chance. Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-11412461019251944812012-10-19T23:04:00.000+08:002012-10-22T10:38:23.715+08:00Rivers Run Through It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A whole month without blogging - oops. Ah well, the Grotesque Grand Tour is over and I'm back in Australia, so there should be more regular updates now. Especially since I have at least six months worth of material in travel pics alone.<br />
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So much cool stuff. So many museums. I got quite overexcited. So did my camera; it actually overheated a few times. Then of course there were all the things I couldn't photograph, because it was forbidden, or the light was bad, or some corpulent tourist got in the way. I'll try to remember those... <br />
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Speaking of grand tours, this trip has made me think about the practice of traveling, and what it means to go somewhere primarily to look and explore: to traverse new spatial and cultural landscapes with your body/eyes.<br />
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There is always that danger of framing the people and places you visit as pure spectacle - viewing foreign cultures as objects of entertainment and mystery, reducing their human complexity in favour of sheer Otherness. Generally being <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU" target="_blank">a bit of an ass</a>. I hope I haven't done this. But it seems difficult to avoid sometimes, even if you try. Especially through a camera lens. <br />
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This trip has also made me think about earlier examples of this practice: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour" target="_blank">grand tours</a> taken by nineteenth century gentlemen, colonials and other privileged white folk. These were wealthy individuals with money to spare. In addition to exploring and gazing, they actively collected items from all around the world, developing their own personal museums. <br />
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A few of these collections still exist. I visited some in London, including the Huntarian Museum, the Wellcome Collection, and the Cuming Museum. One of my favourites was the <a href="http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Pitt Rivers</a> museum in Oxford, which has everything from shrunken heads to playing cards and hand guns. <br />
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<a href="http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/pittrivers.html" target="_blank">The museum</a> - "was founded in 1884 when General Pitt Rivers, an influential figure in the development of archaeology and evolutionary anthropology, gave his collection to [Oxford] University. The General's founding gift contained more than 18,000 objects but there are now over half a million. Many were donated by early anthropologists and explorers."<br />
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Here is the main man himself, Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt Rivers (1827-1900):<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A-H-Pitt-Rivers.jpg" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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Dapper as hell.<br />
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As soon as you enter the Pitt Rivers, you notice how different it is to a typical museum space. Objects from different cultures and historical periods are bundled together in cases, grouped and piled under various general categories. The result is an overwhelming, ecstatic muddle that resembles a series of curiosity cabinets, rather than a 'serious' scientific or educational arrangement. In this way it replicates the mode of presentation that was popular in General Pitt River's time.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Yes I am incapable of taking a straight photograph. Whatever, man. Embrace the incline.</span><br />
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The collection includes children's toys from all over the world, some of which are relatively familiar...<br />
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...while others are a trifle different. According to the label, this tiny monkey skull was given to children in Borneo to prepare them for head hunting as adults.<br />
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My parents never gave me gifts like this. So unfair.<br />
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Ceremonial jewelry is on display as well. Most made from animal horns, claws, teeth and other body parts.<br />
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A nice selection of mummified birds, which were apparently kept and/or worn for good luck in various cultures.<br />
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In addition to the main museum floor, upper galleries run around the perimeter of the hall and are accessible via stairs. The highest gallery hosts a weapons collection, which is presented in a roughly historical progression from medieval swords and chainmail to more contemporary firearms.<br />
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My favourite pieces on this floor (and perhaps the whole museum) are those that make use of an animal's natural defenses, such as this helmet and war belt - both from Kiribati (Gilbert islands) in Micronesia, before 1878.<br />
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The war belt is made from spiky stingray skin. More generally, as the museum explains, "stingrays have been put to good defensive use in Kiribati. The razor-sharp barbs from the ray's tail were often used as <i>wete </i>(daggers) by the islanders, some even hiding them in the thatch of their homes to ward off intruders."<br />
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Likewise, the helmet is made from the skin of a porcupine fish, with its spines acting as a protective barrier around the head.<br />
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Also in this case is a breastplate from Southern Egypt, made prior to 1874, crafted from horned crocodile back plates. (Really reminds me of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. <i>I always knew they were real</i>. And not <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Urnzz-eXO8" target="_blank">this crappy kind of real</a>.)<br />
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I spent so long at this exhibit, the staff got suspicious and sent a security type person to sit near it.<br />
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Last but not least: the death cabinets, where various mutilated skulls and shrunken heads are gathered under the heading 'Treatment of Dead Enemies.'<br />
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Unusual to see this kind of artifact, much less a whole variety in together. It's really difficult to resist the spectacle offered here, even though it actively builds a sense of exoticism and draws on privileged modes of looking.<br />
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As a living relic of the Victorian era, Pitt Rivers offers a fascinating insight into the history of museums, exploration and collecting. I'd definitely recommend a visit, if you are ever nearby.<br />
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Then afterwards you can go to the natural history museum and visit my favourite bird.<br />
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Love that face.<br />
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Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-42653316054294526472012-09-21T18:17:00.001+08:002012-09-21T18:17:26.149+08:00Float Point<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
So, it's my birthday soon.*<br />
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This is a visual aid, just in case anyone is lost for gift inspiration. And has a spare £1,000 lying around.<br />
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I promise to feign the appropriate surprise and say "oh you shouldn't have," even though you absolutely should.<br />
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* Lies. It's still months away.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-41814269660188051222012-09-16T07:34:00.001+08:002012-09-16T07:46:05.158+08:00Seven Devils<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the best things I discovered in the Vatican Museums is the ceiling of the chapel in the house of Saint Pius V
(1566-1572). Painted by blog favourite Giorgio Vasari
and Federico Zucarri, this dome depicts a raging battle between angels and demons, heaven and hell. <br />
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The no holds barred brutality of these pairs struck me right away. The angels rip the hair of their opponents while stamping on their groins, bearing down upon them from above. For all their fluttering wings and soft pastel hues, these are muscular warriors mercilessly dominating lesser beings. Each is poised seconds before delivering the killing blow. For their part, the demons are frozen in their last desperate moments, alternately struggling and giving way; their part human, part animal bodies no match for the glorious power of the angelic army. <br />
<br />
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is the demons who attract my greater
interest here. But I like to think it isn't just me,
and that these figures invite some empathy and
connection with viewers. Their struggle and painful fall seems, to me at least, in many ways more 'human' than the righteous violence of the angels.<br />
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Blasphemy. I know.<br />
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Anyway, without further ado, here they are.<br />
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[Obviously these pics don't do justice to the brilliant colours of the real painting, but you get the idea.] <br />
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<br />
And my favourite:<br />
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<br />
This painting really stuck with me, partly because it feels so contemporary. Ideas of good and evil - who deserves to kill versus who deserves to be killed, who is more or less human - are as charged today as they were in the sixteenth century. More so, now that we possess the technologies to annihilate each other en masse.<br />
<br />
This continuing relevance was brought home to me two days ago when, all tangled up in a ladies fitting room, I first heard this song. <br />
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<br />
The lyrics are just perfect. It's as though she wrote them looking up at the dome.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Holy water cannot help you now<br />
A thousand armies couldn't keep me out<br />
I don't want your money<br />
I don't want your crown<br />
See I've come to burn
Your kingdom down<br />
<br />
Holy water cannot help you now<br />
See I've come to burn your kingdom down<br />
And no rivers and no lakes, can put the fire out<br />
I'm gonna raise the stakes; I'm gonna smoke you out<br />
<br />
Seven devils all around you<br />
Seven devils in my house<br />
See they were there when I woke up this morning<br />
I'll be dead before the day is done<br />
<br />
Seven devils all around you<br />
Seven devils in your house<br />
See I was dead when I woke up this morning,<br />
And I'll be dead before the day is done<br />
Before the day is done<br />
<br />
And now all your love will be exorcised<br />
And we will find your sayings to be paradox<br />
And it's an even sum<br />
It's a melody<br />
It's a battle cry<br />
It's a symphony<br />
<br />
Seven devils all around you<br />
Seven devils in my house<br />
See, they were there when I woke up this morning<br />
And I'll be dead before the day is done<br />
<br />
Seven devils all around you<br />
Seven devils in your house<br />
See I was dead when I woke up this morning,<br />
And I'll be dead before the day is done<br />
Before the day is done<br />
Before the day is done<br />
Before the day is done<br />
<br />
They can keep me alive<br />
'Til I tear the walls<br />
'Til I slave your hearts<br />
And they take your souls<br />
And what have we done?<br />
Can it be undone?<br />
In the evil's heart<br />
In the evil's soul<br />
<br />
Seven devils all around you<br />
Seven devils in your house<br />
See I was dead when I woke up this morning<br />
I'll be dead before the day is done<br />
Before the day is done</blockquote>
<br />
I think Florence + The Machine sound how Renaissance paintings look,
if that makes sense. To use an exhausted term: they are epic.<br />
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<br />
Very similar themes at work, also.<br />
<br />
I recommend more viewing/listening on ye olde <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/FlorenceMachineVEVO/videos?view=0" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-46501170633526263902012-09-11T23:29:00.001+08:002012-09-11T23:29:11.746+08:00Unbreak My Domus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of my main goals in visiting Rome was to see the ruins of the Domus Aurea - Emperor Nero's 'Golden House' - where, the story goes, the word "grotesque" was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domus_Aurea#Renaissance" target="_blank">first coined</a>.<br />
<br />
It would certainly be wonderful to see inside. Photographs taken by previous visitors show that many of the ancient frescoes are (or were) still visible.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/30224art1images.htm" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPPfqf5vFMtfljvycJI7qR0czU3qMTP321w3FsIi9YOPEOB0597XfmoZuIw0Uya1V6-GnteiQGcjfstM30WCMB9STdfPfYIdM0NNewK9KdtLDlsKlC14Uu8Zy8iJExOmOKFUU1SjpGQw/s1600/domus+aurea4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPPfqf5vFMtfljvycJI7qR0czU3qMTP321w3FsIi9YOPEOB0597XfmoZuIw0Uya1V6-GnteiQGcjfstM30WCMB9STdfPfYIdM0NNewK9KdtLDlsKlC14Uu8Zy8iJExOmOKFUU1SjpGQw/s320/domus+aurea4.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/30224art1images.htm" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-MSXPw4E8Lhx4cpg6OD-59zUYlQcjQ5quz45WN_FncrTIsDyo5j0cN8vKqHRb2vlBVwkjJO2jwx6VTGgOjp6T3smvYhr-8w7d7AwdrF_iK8fo7JgsURw9vCBY722iO3HDgFE1zKG63k/s1600/domus+aurea1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-MSXPw4E8Lhx4cpg6OD-59zUYlQcjQ5quz45WN_FncrTIsDyo5j0cN8vKqHRb2vlBVwkjJO2jwx6VTGgOjp6T3smvYhr-8w7d7AwdrF_iK8fo7JgsURw9vCBY722iO3HDgFE1zKG63k/s1600/domus+aurea1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://www.the-colosseum.net/history/domusaurea.htm" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xnzdm15G_Sgl6omb6kLOsAPVoYezsVm9ar8eqrgb3aPVXAGV9O__U962WniZ_oyGKMxhpYSM4hEF_kGLy0EhF_QZKMlfrGNSqTTUYu3-QN62xczc0-DqGxS_BZ_ZtsUrN0QM0pSgxfc/s1600/domus+aurea5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xnzdm15G_Sgl6omb6kLOsAPVoYezsVm9ar8eqrgb3aPVXAGV9O__U962WniZ_oyGKMxhpYSM4hEF_kGLy0EhF_QZKMlfrGNSqTTUYu3-QN62xczc0-DqGxS_BZ_ZtsUrN0QM0pSgxfc/s320/domus+aurea5.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/30224art1images.htm" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhwbMpb6V2C37ibh12HZK-5OBCvIxRCPyGmA18alCz5qYpr7i0hfLjHK8ty8jfdDIQ34Mke_vpiHPweG3gQFpz-Bq46B-m8m8YQEn32Y5IdJk-yy8CA2pzC3FzoRNE9V6u8iUT1HDr1Y/s1600/domus+aurea2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhwbMpb6V2C37ibh12HZK-5OBCvIxRCPyGmA18alCz5qYpr7i0hfLjHK8ty8jfdDIQ34Mke_vpiHPweG3gQFpz-Bq46B-m8m8YQEn32Y5IdJk-yy8CA2pzC3FzoRNE9V6u8iUT1HDr1Y/s320/domus+aurea2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[<a href="http://www.the-colosseum.net/history/domusaurea.htm" target="_blank">Via</a>]</span></div>
<br />
Pretty good condition, considering they were painted in 64-68AD. <br />
<br />
This video gives you a rough idea of how Nero's 'House' (which actually encompassed many buildings, a lake, and wide tracts of land) is positioned beneath the Rome of today.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/U4zVNmQWZjg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Unfortunately, the parts of the palace that have been excavated are no longer open to the public. Plagued by structural problems and cave-ins, the site is now out of bounds for safety reasons. <br />
<br />
As this tourist website <a href="http://www.tickitaly.com/blog/2010/10/domus-aurea-rome-is-it-still-closed/" target="_blank">explains</a>: <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Having finally been reopened to visitors in 1999, the Domus Aurea closed again in 2005 because of water damage, to reopen once more in January, 2006 and then close again in December of the same year. It became a building site and this was briefly open to visitors in 2009, only to close again as a result of collapses on the 30th March 2010. Nobody is even talking about when Nero’s ‘Golden Palace’ may reopen, but it will be years, for sure. There is no way to visit and we are unable to take bookings."
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QodzGeG9kM&feature=related" target="_blank">This video</a> shows some of the damage from the 2010 collapse.<br />
<br />
Not good.<br />
<br />
Of course, I knew all this before traveling to Rome. Ultimately, I decided to go anyway, because I figured just being there would be special. And it was.<br />
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<br />
The area around and over the Domus Aurea excavation has been turned into a shady park with lots of trees, seats, and drinking fountains. Many go there to escape the midday heat, lying around and even bathing. [No, I didn't take any pictures of that. For your own protection, people.]<br />
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<br />
In some places around the tunnels it does look like a building site.<br />
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<br />
You can look, but you can't touch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidF0OW_wRESJ5DMOS-160JIOokE4CiUYSiMdpenz8b2CC07k2s7xkkqx9hmZCvaMVkm7l1jnaz8FcDo76Pvbp47zKPeIITBxaAOvXDuR33VfD2gpUVTnU4BghRqsB2OzU0oTU4dNCnUUs/s1600/Rome+030.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidF0OW_wRESJ5DMOS-160JIOokE4CiUYSiMdpenz8b2CC07k2s7xkkqx9hmZCvaMVkm7l1jnaz8FcDo76Pvbp47zKPeIITBxaAOvXDuR33VfD2gpUVTnU4BghRqsB2OzU0oTU4dNCnUUs/s320/Rome+030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The entrances are all blocked off. Very sad.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHzpk-26JRMqwRygLD4yPheScdJ91JRH2B1LEZwY3gDIT-zcnCIFg0fyMf_B33720F-ZVoMA2s2h6PhL98g4ny63HFc7e0nnsTd14pNDpuNu5-R3lmc0XBSlAp45-GRNBFapbzZupcbc/s1600/Rome+011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHzpk-26JRMqwRygLD4yPheScdJ91JRH2B1LEZwY3gDIT-zcnCIFg0fyMf_B33720F-ZVoMA2s2h6PhL98g4ny63HFc7e0nnsTd14pNDpuNu5-R3lmc0XBSlAp45-GRNBFapbzZupcbc/s320/Rome+011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYgW-m8D1f4AlI5asV0HtOFzeYWAVdFcfoZpbBWS6OV3I9_EdpTU4TFGZPZ67D9DtivO01qF2pMv0k6gSRyERTm8cCTIpiY-WUV7PZMRAocmJOQLq573x40LcCNNeD34jogZ_e1yVnvc/s1600/Rome+018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYgW-m8D1f4AlI5asV0HtOFzeYWAVdFcfoZpbBWS6OV3I9_EdpTU4TFGZPZ67D9DtivO01qF2pMv0k6gSRyERTm8cCTIpiY-WUV7PZMRAocmJOQLq573x40LcCNNeD34jogZ_e1yVnvc/s320/Rome+018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
The grotesques... can't you hear them calling?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhk0B1hGkNephyphenhyphenNL8kM58Ikc-r1q9Q5oiwQlthyE5e9lW_iwjZLxYZC89JJiVso3KgPoaVM6ndltwoFyo0jDXY0iVT84b1k1Dr7txMSIs3Nl6Z2goy4s1USpfJZY_ZuuhbMSh57it1bgM/s1600/Rome+032.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhk0B1hGkNephyphenhyphenNL8kM58Ikc-r1q9Q5oiwQlthyE5e9lW_iwjZLxYZC89JJiVso3KgPoaVM6ndltwoFyo0jDXY0iVT84b1k1Dr7txMSIs3Nl6Z2goy4s1USpfJZY_ZuuhbMSh57it1bgM/s320/Rome+032.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Maybe it's just me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8HY5HH04mw3pm-wzncYbumNctDvjN5UWbQ_x2e2ROrNB7bI5F8iFE-95FclIb96zU3_AsJbzTO4CWn9quj_d82sEYS2ZEGyWuPw-NmRseYVwjcj1IK9xIZgpniUIm58l1Si9Ua69_Us/s1600/Rome+023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8HY5HH04mw3pm-wzncYbumNctDvjN5UWbQ_x2e2ROrNB7bI5F8iFE-95FclIb96zU3_AsJbzTO4CWn9quj_d82sEYS2ZEGyWuPw-NmRseYVwjcj1IK9xIZgpniUIm58l1Si9Ua69_Us/s320/Rome+023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is where tourists would enter when the site was open.<br />
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So very jealous. One of these lucky individuals took a video, so we can see a little of what they saw.
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/duULtKBv1rE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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This statue, the Seated Muse, is visible in the above video...<br />
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<br />
...and I did get to see the lady herself in the Colosseum, where a small exhibit has been set up in honour of the Domus Aurea. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyw1bk9ZSyrKX8ysvYV8OGGcWYRhaCjPKdal1i4m53xMGywhQP7-270jclGD2dUV43CZgy4Ndrhu6OFtGpBXtuELMfJa9E-ePoj6dFHgAAvvmLfbLG2BSZKDOIpR7DBz8tK7lp2TNwOik/s1600/Rome+415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyw1bk9ZSyrKX8ysvYV8OGGcWYRhaCjPKdal1i4m53xMGywhQP7-270jclGD2dUV43CZgy4Ndrhu6OFtGpBXtuELMfJa9E-ePoj6dFHgAAvvmLfbLG2BSZKDOIpR7DBz8tK7lp2TNwOik/s320/Rome+415.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This exhibit also includes some images of the interior, an artist's impression of the Domus Aurea, and a brief write-up on Nero's aesthetic.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Artifice and an attempt to control nature are two of the main inspirations of Neronian architecture applied to the emperor's most famous project, the Domus Aurea. This was the residence that Nero intended to be a suitable backdrop for his regal majesty and divinity... Tacitus relates that the work was entrusted to two brilliant architects, Severus and Celer... [who attempted to] reshape the natural character of places to recreate the mythological and idyllic landscapes typical of the Horti, also found in paintings of the period. In the enourmous space available, man-made structures appeared between the woods, gardens and ponds, creating breathtaking new panoramas, enchanting views of artificial lakes, and bucolic scenes, probably peopled by statues."</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5AyREqnQzGZjPrC9J9B_1RipnHDsE5N6_o7K0V6zimJwE5pYIKjTLs38jMcivbMNy-yqmAReiGdCtrEOsiK_hlcm1qdxmLF7qYKt6V2eTH4RIYXOZAKsF4UeW8NkZkytCGrlyInBCFs/s1600/Rome+412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5AyREqnQzGZjPrC9J9B_1RipnHDsE5N6_o7K0V6zimJwE5pYIKjTLs38jMcivbMNy-yqmAReiGdCtrEOsiK_hlcm1qdxmLF7qYKt6V2eTH4RIYXOZAKsF4UeW8NkZkytCGrlyInBCFs/s320/Rome+412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of the inside: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"One of the most important features of Neronian architecture was the luxury of its interior decoration (the floors, marble wall revetments, stucco and frescoes, mosaics, sculpture, and so on), which were intended to overwhelm the viewer. The splendour of the Domus Aurea must have been exceptional, even though little of it remains today, not even in the surviving pavilion on the Oppian Hill which has been robbed systematically of its marbles... The rooms of the pavilion permit a partial reconstruction of the appearence of the painted decoration, which Pliny the Elder (XXXV, 120) attributed to the painter Fabullus (or Famulus), praising the attention given to the colour tones and the preference given to mythological themes. The surviving frescoes are evidence of the influence that the emperor's tastes had on the choice of themes."</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy4XicR0_Vg6QqMNfwIoRyLtrp-saDnPGAYLkA9YDtQgCWwpuDiT84xxnAoyz81Iu0WsTX1PicV39b_5uJSWfGSn9S6s4LIPkYU0I-61Y8ZtxjNemHPnElnKICeIAon4BCipOrOtCjyBY/s1600/Rome+424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy4XicR0_Vg6QqMNfwIoRyLtrp-saDnPGAYLkA9YDtQgCWwpuDiT84xxnAoyz81Iu0WsTX1PicV39b_5uJSWfGSn9S6s4LIPkYU0I-61Y8ZtxjNemHPnElnKICeIAon4BCipOrOtCjyBY/s320/Rome+424.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6wmR-dJXDKs7OCDCBlne2Z0LuDN8Nu-1JcHFTcMbL5OxcjR3FVoryCvJiyCFmmixY3E_YSNU068xF1jfKuNT5_tDjNZwqysQT1RVHDDvZAfhV0Jm7p9EYujZB_yuA8ANbai-X7NLUao/s1600/Rome+419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6wmR-dJXDKs7OCDCBlne2Z0LuDN8Nu-1JcHFTcMbL5OxcjR3FVoryCvJiyCFmmixY3E_YSNU068xF1jfKuNT5_tDjNZwqysQT1RVHDDvZAfhV0Jm7p9EYujZB_yuA8ANbai-X7NLUao/s320/Rome+419.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are other remains to visit nearby, including Trajan's Baths, which were built on top of the Domus Aurea when it was destroyed.<br />
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Segments of the original mosaic are still visible on some pieces of flooring.<br />
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Overall the site is, I think, still worth visiting if you have an interest in the grotesque and its history, although most won't bother. Hopefully the tunnels can be restored enough to permit visitors again, as this is what will keep the place alive. <br />
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In the meantime we will have to make do with pictures and other <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=KkHs_WiiUKs&NR=1">virtual explorations</a>.
Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-75561731588278662862012-08-26T04:29:00.001+08:002012-08-26T04:35:46.389+08:00A Book With Me In ItTaking a quick intermission from my ecstatic trip into ye olde grotesquerie; here is an update of a more contemporary flavour.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAkFYbRBU6zz5gz9-oKRpeNkr5cwBhYPKJJ42QvcxAWIIGxBe7ZWiQmACBZx62cgBU-A8T73mnAGIzemnkM75O4sSx-ulLasi6NmdcrhXBd0RylrGowSyBJJ3pVgSBkQM-VnJCKNj5Sw/s1600/guns+grenades+grunts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAkFYbRBU6zz5gz9-oKRpeNkr5cwBhYPKJJ42QvcxAWIIGxBe7ZWiQmACBZx62cgBU-A8T73mnAGIzemnkM75O4sSx-ulLasi6NmdcrhXBd0RylrGowSyBJJ3pVgSBkQM-VnJCKNj5Sw/s320/guns+grenades+grunts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Yes, I have a chapter <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Grenades-Grunts-First-Person-Approaches/dp/144114224X" target="_blank">in this book</a> ... and I would like you to read it.<br />
<br />
The book, that is. You don't have to read my chapter if you don't want to. This stuff is optional.<br />
<br />
Why bother with a book at all - why not just Google all the things?<br />
<br />
A) because it has an amazing title; B) because it's a really interesting and timely collection focused on a neglected (and somewhat reviled) genre; and C) because... games! They're brilliant! <br />
<br />
Plus - if you have an interest in hybrid bodies, genetic mutations, and grotesqueness in general - my chapter is on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymg2HzHF9-4" target="_blank">BioShock</a>, and explores the kinds of ontological fusions and boundary crossings made possible by the game's unique weapons system. It's all connected... oh yes...<br />
<br />
The end.<br />
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P.S. I am also <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Science-Fiction-1980-2010-University/dp/184631707X" target="_blank">in this book</a>. Talking about zombies. Buy it for your grandmother! <br />
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P.P.S. Dylan Moran <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61wkfmWzLq4" target="_blank">is fantastic</a>.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-81764663251315849732012-08-22T03:58:00.000+08:002012-08-26T03:51:31.407+08:00Palazzo Vecchio: L'interno Magnifico<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrs7VFfUrMKMv2KxHkZGIpwMLaRQk8iIpvZMQVwTSFRxlm2yOAt3ZwmyZEQqrRaMnyDI08XlTAK2Wn30UIO1LZ8MlMxuqPrNihBXm9fJuWSENGzVYj6Pbu6MqHczaz2w3uOGfoI83JpPs/s1600/Florence+659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrs7VFfUrMKMv2KxHkZGIpwMLaRQk8iIpvZMQVwTSFRxlm2yOAt3ZwmyZEQqrRaMnyDI08XlTAK2Wn30UIO1LZ8MlMxuqPrNihBXm9fJuWSENGzVYj6Pbu6MqHczaz2w3uOGfoI83JpPs/s320/Florence+659.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Following up on <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.it/2012/08/palazzo-vecchio.html" target="_blank">my last post</a> about grotesques in the entrance hall to the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence: more from inside the building itself. <br />
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[Warning: lots of images. If I break your computer, I'm sorry. But I can't help it. The fever is upon me.]<br />
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After buying a ticket, you climb the stairs to the first floor and enter the enormous grand ballroom.<br />
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A door in the back corner leads to the apartments, where the roof of a small passageway hints at what is to come.<br />
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I stood in this tiny corridor for ages, annoying tourists and getting a crick in my neck. Which was silly, considering how many <i>more </i>ceilings were to come.<br />
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First up is the room of Cosimo il Vecchio (1389-1464) who, the museum explains, is "[the] founder of the main branch of the Medici family." He is Cosimo the Elder, the wealthy man who shepherded Florence (and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Medici" target="_blank">house of Medici</a>) into power and prosperity during the late14th and early 15th centuries. <br />
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It is also thanks to Cosimo that the walls and ceilings of these apartments (and the amazing ceilings of the Uffizi Gallery) are swarming with grotesques. He is the one who actively facilitated - and funded - exciting new artistic projects in Florence, beginning with his own house. Chief designer and groteskologist for these renovations was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Vasari" target="_blank">Giorgio Vasari</a>, a key mover in the history of the grotesque in art (who has <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.it/2010/09/vitruvius-baby-one-more-time.html" target="_blank">been mentioned</a> on this blog before). <br />
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Anyway, the good stuff.<br />
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The roof, the walls; hybrid creatures swing and tangle everywhere. <br />
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The colours are fantastic, as you can see, while the designs are still sharp and well preserved. The next room (belonging to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de%27_Medici" target="_blank">Lorenzo the Magnificent</a>) continues in this vein, only more, and larger. <br />
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Most of the grotesques are quite high, but I tried to get some closer images along the way.<br />
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This goes on, room after room. <br />
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Some of my favourite rooms belong to Cosimo I de' Medici's wife, Eleonora of Toledo [Edit: I should make clear that this is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_I_de%27_Medici" target="_blank">a different Cosimo</a>: 1519 - 1574!]. I love them because Cosimo and Georgio have clearly taken Eleonora's gender and interests into consideration: there is a distinct 'green' theme with lots of animals and plants; the frescoes on the walls depict various heroic women from history and mythology; and lots of the grotesque figures are overtly female. <br />
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Now, all these pics might leave you making this face...<br />
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... but seriously. I've never seen true grotesques in the wild like this, let alone such an exceptional example of the traditional style.<br />
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It's quite overwhelming in person; having them swarming all over, above and around you. Deliberately excessive and distracting. <br />
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This is something to keep in mind when I post about my recent visit to the Domus Aurea. (Yes, I'm in Rome now - bit behind with the old blogging. Too much stuff to see.) Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-37460782457944040542012-08-10T01:13:00.000+08:002012-08-10T01:13:25.063+08:00Palazzo VecchioMy Internet access is terrible this week, so this is a very quick one.<br />
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I just couldn't resist sharing a few photos of what I found today - an amazing example of the traditional grotesque - in the entrance chamber of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.<br />
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So wonderful.<br />
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Obviously I took a million pictures. Many of which are blurry and rubbish. Not that it matters; going back tomorrow, of course.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-82495538864563656022012-08-07T05:17:00.003+08:002012-08-07T05:17:47.907+08:00The Most Beautiful Bookshop In The World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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No, really. It's on the sign.<br />
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And who are we to disagree?<br />
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I was going to keep this treasure to myself, but... the world needs to know.<br />
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Books and boats? Books <i>in </i>boats? Life complete.<br />
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Something for everyone.<br />
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Speaking of 3D...<br />
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When I first stumbled across the Libreria Acqua Alta di Frizzo Luigi (or, the High Water Library of Frizzo Luigi), the man behind the counter - Frizzo himself? - was keen to show me his prized possession: a three dimensional image of Venetian canals that appears to move as you pass. "You speak English? Look at that picture! Now go to the staircase made of books!" My second visit involved the exact same ritual.<br />
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Indeed, the exhortation is repeated for each customer, who must first look at 3D Venice before being directed, gently but firmly, towards the rear of the shop. He seems to have memorized these instruction in various languages, including French, Dutch and English for the tourists.<br />
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I didn't see many customers going up, but I sure did.<br />
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In all honesty, the stairs are a bit wobbly, but the view over the wall to the canal is very nice.<br />
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More people should build things out of books. <br />
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On my way out, I commented to Frizzo that his sign is correct. His <i>is </i>The Most Beautiful Bookshop in the World. Gratified, he offered me a piece of rather timely advice, casting a dire look towards the exit: "You be careful. There are lots of Casanovas."<br />
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If you would like to visit this Casanova-free oasis, please go and see the grotesque head from <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.it/2012/08/ruskin-around-3-streets.html" target="_blank">my previous post</a>. Once you have paid your respects, go to the East side of the tower, put your back to it, and walk straight ahead down Calle Longa S. M. Formosa, where Frizzo awaits your appreciation.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-61503448744182287052012-08-01T07:16:00.001+08:002012-08-01T07:16:48.159+08:00Ruskin Around 3: The Streets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Two years ago (where does the time go...) I did a couple of posts (<a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.it/2010/08/ruskin-around-part-one.html" target="_blank">one</a> and <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.it/2010/09/ruskin-around-2-back-in-habit.html" target="_blank">two</a>) about Ruskin's grotesque in <i>The Stones of Venice</i>. At the time I thought it would be wonderful, one day, to go see this city and its grotesquerie for myself. <br />
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Well folks, that day has come.<br />
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Yes, I'm currently in Venice, and have already started my pilgrimage by visiting one of Ruskin's most hated examples of the grotesque. Here is how he describes it in volume three, chapter three:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"A head,- huge, inhuman, and monstrous,- leering in bestial degradation, too foul to be either pictured or described, or to be beheld for more than an instant: yet let it be endured for that instant; for in that head is embodied the type of the evil spirit to which Venice was abandoned in the fourth period of her decline" (XV). </blockquote>
And still further:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[This head] evidences of a delight in the contemplation of bestial
vice, and the expression of low sarcasm, which is, I believe, the most
hopeless state into which the human mind can fall" (XVI).</blockquote>
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Harsh words.<br />
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I wasn't sure what to expect, heading out to find this bestial visage. First off, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where it was. For future reference - if anyone else should find themselves in the area and decide to take a look - you will find the head atop a small door at the base of the West side of the tower attached to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Formosa" target="_blank">Chiesa di Santa Maria Formosa</a>: a small (by Italian standards) church overlooking a canal.<br />
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(As a side note: I find it strange that there is no mention of the head on the Wikipedia page for the church. It's kind of important...). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_hE8nNFKFDuw1TviT07svJ62j45sfWEZNfZNs6tezTADYvo7fF74WShHR3ATX9PKVgXMfPPKHdV4JO1KIOwDjKXBOT2kgZKDfiquC1K2ugaWslAKfbeojwfD_Nspwwvgwp-vt3ghBGQ/s1600/Venice+082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_hE8nNFKFDuw1TviT07svJ62j45sfWEZNfZNs6tezTADYvo7fF74WShHR3ATX9PKVgXMfPPKHdV4JO1KIOwDjKXBOT2kgZKDfiquC1K2ugaWslAKfbeojwfD_Nspwwvgwp-vt3ghBGQ/s320/Venice+082.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can see the door at the lower left of the photo above.<br />
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To find the church, you need to find the square:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6KUQ_0LCNg0Ag_Mzyzt7yYa6eGTvtsWUTqxnQZwr1ctFQ18W3k9vqiReoxo4l1M7rraSEpB_H9xUvZMk8pNiTS-GAeztlHHTglbE1osrZ8m7M6C3Zd5SKyrFi6QJNquICPZ8qOt5yZ8/s1600/Venice+081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6KUQ_0LCNg0Ag_Mzyzt7yYa6eGTvtsWUTqxnQZwr1ctFQ18W3k9vqiReoxo4l1M7rraSEpB_H9xUvZMk8pNiTS-GAeztlHHTglbE1osrZ8m7M6C3Zd5SKyrFi6QJNquICPZ8qOt5yZ8/s320/Venice+081.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Which is easy to locate on a good map of Venice.<br />
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Of course, actually making your way there on foot is another challenge. As I have recently discovered, maps are of limited use in Venice, where narrow streets and lanes seem to shift and slide away from you as though some giant troll were constantly twisting the city like a huge Rubik's Cube. Very frustrating. And exciting, if you have time explore, which thankfully I do.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UGde0t5j98Bf06V5co12iJID1rYTzbCw-dUEjJCzDuxrXpGNQ1UYwk3IA0s6tG-nDad4j_6r6Y0aYTY4FWJe0cilOXFGxLl64CyS1ebRulR6HYbWsOwIRGYVXIiDpjCx-TN3fuutAfc/s1600/Venice+129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UGde0t5j98Bf06V5co12iJID1rYTzbCw-dUEjJCzDuxrXpGNQ1UYwk3IA0s6tG-nDad4j_6r6Y0aYTY4FWJe0cilOXFGxLl64CyS1ebRulR6HYbWsOwIRGYVXIiDpjCx-TN3fuutAfc/s320/Venice+129.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Anyway, having braved the troll and found the church, you might be surprised at the size of this head. I mean, it <i>does </i>seem kind of "huge" in person.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88LTUsljKSNcaF-v08KYDYppTcbWbGnu8i9dWY-0iQjX3eakeGzqaIJqYDON4Ojy_RH7FJlp5uOitYBlD_xHRskuADXCogwc340Gu1hvs1lKhcnMBcyZFmIggzcpvrAqxYhCkmok8sk8/s1600/Venice+048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88LTUsljKSNcaF-v08KYDYppTcbWbGnu8i9dWY-0iQjX3eakeGzqaIJqYDON4Ojy_RH7FJlp5uOitYBlD_xHRskuADXCogwc340Gu1hvs1lKhcnMBcyZFmIggzcpvrAqxYhCkmok8sk8/s320/Venice+048.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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For size reference, here is a random man:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTjszmy0VFXXtoCPxhlHc97E71kIZtLN5V8CkXaPMVr-QOFu1uu2O6PHp3E2U29cnaIPp1y4DGC9YpScjujxHRbQO7KJSIJIalutiFxwDBBjK6Z9IYSMPN-OXR4dTyx5l0oRUuJ7z7K8/s1600/Venice+052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTjszmy0VFXXtoCPxhlHc97E71kIZtLN5V8CkXaPMVr-QOFu1uu2O6PHp3E2U29cnaIPp1y4DGC9YpScjujxHRbQO7KJSIJIalutiFxwDBBjK6Z9IYSMPN-OXR4dTyx5l0oRUuJ7z7K8/s320/Venice+052.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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That's a big head.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wucs1Ey1qkC-yTTReD27qsbq6En-Cn_X3XSL1yU5R-QHjvGRiA8bdtP6WjDid2VYeKzQ-re8yjbUOFsLbeOPFUD6r1NGLP6EVmfKCpUWkKOthmI-VRvlxylIVnEpnGBq2YLLDMmwfco/s1600/Venice+063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wucs1Ey1qkC-yTTReD27qsbq6En-Cn_X3XSL1yU5R-QHjvGRiA8bdtP6WjDid2VYeKzQ-re8yjbUOFsLbeOPFUD6r1NGLP6EVmfKCpUWkKOthmI-VRvlxylIVnEpnGBq2YLLDMmwfco/s320/Venice+063.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Up close, the face is full of round pockmarks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpUhLokwssT5xvvHFUsN8emikZMVSax9efEcWEfj_6enQULYgdWmvuJ4_G5-KuuQtCKuIz90DUuSX4P4Xy6_DQo5Fc2Ol5SigRALRLRfqYIeBPSqTsLwm5Bii5CkpYo5oLd-c5lRCPsQ/s1600/Venice+068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpUhLokwssT5xvvHFUsN8emikZMVSax9efEcWEfj_6enQULYgdWmvuJ4_G5-KuuQtCKuIz90DUuSX4P4Xy6_DQo5Fc2Ol5SigRALRLRfqYIeBPSqTsLwm5Bii5CkpYo5oLd-c5lRCPsQ/s320/Venice+068.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It certainly sticks out in comparison with the rest of the building, which is otherwise quite conventional.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15R0ftyyc_DiOM8UYp6z6aAPOUEDMPRQK-CcbTRtQTO6DLUEwvT5-2mi-tcBlqugndOLV-M63ctoRZDyqqtcbm757WZNEY90AQls37_sIoJT17iUa5rqqCXYxbBt_2ORsDlvRVCTZ3hQ/s1600/Venice+078.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15R0ftyyc_DiOM8UYp6z6aAPOUEDMPRQK-CcbTRtQTO6DLUEwvT5-2mi-tcBlqugndOLV-M63ctoRZDyqqtcbm757WZNEY90AQls37_sIoJT17iUa5rqqCXYxbBt_2ORsDlvRVCTZ3hQ/s320/Venice+078.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Although it does have a bit of a cool pirate theme going on. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnH_l-67X8Fr0qcKQx_V9nym9_JGQKV_bxWCevjb8lolR7Xf02Ot-0oqsAg9nx9ZXvAUh_yTUx7xfvbuO-Oivhc3cD8ZPTlsPK9EoNmVRIOKK6yZAPqfGGiN_6Vo39dsS3gKLHhASFIcY/s1600/Venice+072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnH_l-67X8Fr0qcKQx_V9nym9_JGQKV_bxWCevjb8lolR7Xf02Ot-0oqsAg9nx9ZXvAUh_yTUx7xfvbuO-Oivhc3cD8ZPTlsPK9EoNmVRIOKK6yZAPqfGGiN_6Vo39dsS3gKLHhASFIcY/s320/Venice+072.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love a winged skull. So biker. And more common in religious iconography than you would think. I'll do a post on that someday...<br />
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I digress.<br />
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My impressions of the face are rather different from Ruskin's. For me it has a cheeky, irreverent vibe, as though the artist had tired of creating serious-bearded-man heads and decided to make one with more character. The size makes it quite a statement, and I would love to go back in time and meet whoever created it - and whoever allowed it to be placed in such a low, prominent position.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg041jVOv2xKNwpkDK06Clt87hpOXmZrAI0J4yH0Mq1uJPwr0z6fP0vKBEITIq3s3y2oa10RGHggcnW4nRuRRFPBxP2RLD8mTgmYdlKh5l8upcaDjwFQRWHu8DLkwyL8_RzRmsjRnKlZSM/s1600/Venice+064.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg041jVOv2xKNwpkDK06Clt87hpOXmZrAI0J4yH0Mq1uJPwr0z6fP0vKBEITIq3s3y2oa10RGHggcnW4nRuRRFPBxP2RLD8mTgmYdlKh5l8upcaDjwFQRWHu8DLkwyL8_RzRmsjRnKlZSM/s320/Venice+064.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The man squints right at you when you enter the square from the West, as I did, and is impossible to miss. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAYzVlaF-z5CeU6XN0yEyaWVb6YAwcvSHFPheRRLt6WZEOShPRtdFbhmmBySF__YSs6WYO4KFxeDpxqwb0cwGvltm4QYAfV1HpORh3ylMzBveGPlPpA502EMaA5gcVSCWP0ueXcxRlpE/s1600/Venice+050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAYzVlaF-z5CeU6XN0yEyaWVb6YAwcvSHFPheRRLt6WZEOShPRtdFbhmmBySF__YSs6WYO4KFxeDpxqwb0cwGvltm4QYAfV1HpORh3ylMzBveGPlPpA502EMaA5gcVSCWP0ueXcxRlpE/s320/Venice+050.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg041jVOv2xKNwpkDK06Clt87hpOXmZrAI0J4yH0Mq1uJPwr0z6fP0vKBEITIq3s3y2oa10RGHggcnW4nRuRRFPBxP2RLD8mTgmYdlKh5l8upcaDjwFQRWHu8DLkwyL8_RzRmsjRnKlZSM/s1600/Venice+064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
The expression is part sneer, part <a href="http://mizparkermuses.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/the-subtle-art-of-the-side-eye/" target="_blank">side-eye</a>, part silly face pulling. And I like it.<br />
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Yes that is the extent of my critical commentary at this time. What? Please feel free to add your own thoughts...<br />
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I've got several more days in Venice, so I think I'll do a 'part 2' for this post - featuring more Venetian grotesquerie in its natural habitat.<br />
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So many grotesques... Excitement!Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-80432669579225420652012-07-14T19:41:00.001+08:002012-07-14T19:45:22.319+08:00Knowledge Bank<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrA97V__NCCrMPHvdA9GwjiNqVQEVLieo9fmxVuM7dCQg93tBCFQVnLSaBuNBrps8l4ZkbsnrFrER4wgdhrm6EIMKM7822UpLqN28pPrHBGqx7RWZBJNRZIKUOj8IU3otjBC5Osmar8w/s1600/Cornwall+099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrA97V__NCCrMPHvdA9GwjiNqVQEVLieo9fmxVuM7dCQg93tBCFQVnLSaBuNBrps8l4ZkbsnrFrER4wgdhrm6EIMKM7822UpLqN28pPrHBGqx7RWZBJNRZIKUOj8IU3otjBC5Osmar8w/s320/Cornwall+099.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well my plans for regular weekly posts on the road have fallen through already (due to a tragic lack of Internet access), but I'm not beaten yet. Just quickly, here are a few of my favourite sights from Bristol, home of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy" target="_blank">Banksy</a>. <br />
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I didn't have as much time to explore Bristol as I'd hoped, due to an unfortunate bout of food poisoning, so I've a mind to go back very soon. It's such a brash, colourful and unapologetic place.<br />
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Every object is a canvas. Even individual bricks...<br />
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I wish more cities would give up their surfaces to the people in this manner.<br />
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After all...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiree5wEuXkFagBOIWMZ70aNwP6hgRSvQsx88Ch9OQ4N2K_lbDkaRp0QV1fP_bfqCCs48m79qd9ohdH7Z0pmaoRnD_cvYAo4AFrI7ezrdqg6C53qlI5Uq7U7YNVtHamGZ75qoWukuFZrNo/s1600/Cornwall+096.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiree5wEuXkFagBOIWMZ70aNwP6hgRSvQsx88Ch9OQ4N2K_lbDkaRp0QV1fP_bfqCCs48m79qd9ohdH7Z0pmaoRnD_cvYAo4AFrI7ezrdqg6C53qlI5Uq7U7YNVtHamGZ75qoWukuFZrNo/s320/Cornwall+096.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-6592728786327401322012-06-30T07:56:00.000+08:002012-06-30T07:58:34.174+08:00Capture The Castle: Part Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Stirling Castle is lovely, although quite different to <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/capture-castle-part-one.html" target="_blank">Craigmillar Castle</a>. Presiding over the town of Stirling, sitting atop Castle Hill, the view from the battlements stretches far into the distance.<br />
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The grounds are extensive, including many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_Castle#The_castle" target="_blank">separate buildings</a>. My favourite part of the castle is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_Castle#Royal_Palace" target="_blank">Royal Palace</a>, which is thoroughly Gothic: covered in statues and gargoyles.<br />
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To illustrate how the castle would have looked in its original state, the Great Hall has been coated in a honey coloured plaster. <br />
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The interior has also been reconstructed to reflect the vivid furnishings and colours of the original royal apartments. These decorations involve lots of examples of the traditional grotesque style, so I approve.<br />
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<br />
So many colours.<br />
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But of course, as always, nature provides the most impressive spectacle.<br />
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Love it.</div>Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383612971337334662.post-64703743833225538252012-06-25T07:59:00.001+08:002012-06-25T07:59:15.473+08:00Capture The Castle: Part One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of my favourite discoveries during this trip is Craigmillar Castle. It is not so well known as Edinburgh Castle, or so extravagant as Stirling Castle (which I'll post about in part two), but it has real atmosphere and authenticity. It is the kind of place you dream about when you're a child while reading <a href="http://www.tamora-pierce.com/books.html" target="_blank">Tamora Pierce</a> and pretending the kitchen broom is a valiant steed.<br />
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During anxious times, Mary Queen of Scots would often retreat to this castle to relax and regroup. It is rumoured she planned <a href="http://groteskology.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/something-about-mary.html" target="_blank">the assassination of her husband</a> here.<br />
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Honestly, it's no surprise she loved the place so much, given the surrounding landscape looks like this:<br />
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The power of nature, wearing slowly away at human constructions, is obvious everywhere. <br />
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Nonetheless, Craigmillar Castle is known as one of<i> </i>the best preserved medieval castles in Scotland, and for good reason.<br />
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The main walls of the castle are still intact, as well as many of the inner structures.<br />
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The main door through the outer wall leads into an enclosed courtyard, which contains two gracefully twisting trees standing on either side of the entrance.<br />
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The castle seems relatively neat and contained from the outside. Inside, however, you are soon half lost in the network of interconnected rooms, narrow passage ways, and steep winding staircases. There are strange nooks and crannies everywhere; little shelves, crawl spaces and openings into darkness. <br />
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Also moss. Lots of moss.<br />
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All important parts of the building are intact, including the kitchens, bed chambers and main hall.<br />
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One whole wing of rooms has lost their roof, but the walls and even fireplaces are still standing thanks to conservation efforts.<br />
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The ruins are very atmospheric. Along with a cool draft, your explorations are accompanied by the echoing and whistling of the wind, the fluttering of pigeons roosting in the crevices, and the croaking of ravens up on the ramparts.<br />
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It wasn't too spooky on the day I visited, as the weather was so cheerful. Would be quite exciting on a stormy night though...<br />
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What I loved most is that you can go everywhere, including high up onto the battlements. From there you can see all the way to Edinburgh Castle (making it a very strategic spot, historically).<br />
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As you can probably tell, I like this place a lot. I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone traveling nearby. It <i>is </i>a bit difficult to find, as there are no signs, but you just need to <a href="http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyresults/propertyplan.htm?PropID=PL_123&PropName=Craigmillar%20Castle" target="_blank">plan your visit</a> in advance.<br />
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There is even a baby bunny who lives in the wall and eats the grass. If you look closely you might see his/her little furry legs hiding in the hole.<br />
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If customs are reading this, I did <i>not </i>steal the bunny and it is <i>not </i>in my suitcase. So you don't need to look, okay.Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14512426709903977485noreply@blogger.com2