Mark Kirby
@markkirby
Architectural historian, C17 church architecture & furnishings. Chairman of Council of the Ecclesiological Society.
And will be the subject of a chapter by Louise Campbell in the forthcoming conference proceedings, "The Twentieth-century Cathedral", out early next year.
Thrilled that the Bayeux Tapestry has arrived in London. Looking forward to seeing it.
Outside, the south side is largely hidden behind the shops & houses of Piazza dell'Erbe. The north side reveals its structural elements. Was it meant to have been faced in stone originally and made more respectable? The campanile is all that remains of the former medieval church.
The C18 dome is by the priest-architect Filippo Juvarra, most of whose work was in Turin & environs. Not as jarring a conjunction as it could have been.
The side chapels seem carved out of the solid rock-face of the sides of the nave. Each chapel is illuminated by a single oculus. For a church with so few windows, it is remarkably light.
The nave envelopes you when you enter. The barrel vault is huge and perhaps a little too wide. Painted not coffered. I'm unclear whether the decorative scheme on the walls is Alberti's or later. I'm assuming later but, if so, what was there before?
There is a short and quite complex suite of barrel vaults over the entrance arch. Quite adventurous in structure and not much copied afterwards.
Specially for @susanklaiber.bsky.social, here is Leon Battista Alberti's Sant'Andrea in Mantua. I stayed in an apartment on the other side of the square with this heavenly view from the window. The west front, derived (somewhat loosely) from a Roman triumphal arch at Ancona.
Mantegna's ceiling, with the trompe l'oeil oculus, is the one that appears in all the text books. Flirtatious maidens, cherubic buttocks and a random peacock.
Highlight inside is the Camera degli Sposi, frescoed by Mantegna for Ludovico Gonzaga to launch Mantua onto the Renaissance stage. Both Ludovico and his wife Barbara look slightly bored. Nice dogs.
Includes the slightly bonkers Corte Nuovo, Giulio Romano's Mannerist courtyard, built in brick with painted stucco. Loved it. Currently the best maintained part of the palace, much of which is charmingly crumbling.
Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, from the lake. Sprawling palace of the Gonzaga dynasty. Seems to have been successively added to and earlier parts semi-abandoned rather than demolished or remodelled. Starts with C14 castello and carries on to the C18.
Snap! I was there on Monday. Currently in Mantua before heading to Vicenza tomorrow.
Started re-watching the box set of the truly glorious The West Wing. Difficult to believe now that there was a time when this was even remotely plausible. Almost brought me to tears.
I'm guessing wartime damage. That area was heavily Blitzed in 1941 and St Stephen's itself took a direct hit. There was a building hard up against the church on both north & south sides. The attached photo shows the north one in the (?) '20s.
I do wonder how good a portraitist Goya was. Were the Borbons really that strange-looking? And compare his portrait of Wellington with Thomasa Lawrence's one here.
Can't help feeling that the economics of the place don't add up. Lots of up-market shops and not many visitors.
My first visit to the revamped Battersea Power Station. Quite liked it. Preserves sense of its absurd grandeur and the quality of its craftsmanship. A bit hemmed in by new developments, though I liked the one reminiscent of Gaudi's La Pedrera.
Quite a lot of it does not relate to Rameses II but I'm not complaining.
I visited the Rameses II exhibition at Battersea Power Station today. Outstanding & fascinating exhibits nicely displayed and lit. Slightly marred by occasional History Channel-esque presentation and sloppy typos in labels & video captions, but still well worth visiting.
Also the proceedings of the 2024 conference on how different denominations competed in church & chapel building from the mid C19 onwards across UK & Ireland. Fascinating chapter by @niamhroisin.bsky.social on the unique experience of the Catholic majority church. All gloriously illustrated.
@ecclsoc.bsky.social's two big publications have just hit members' doormats. The journal has a European flavour with articles on Anglican churches in Europe & one in particular in Switzerland. An article by Janet Gough on St George's Chapel Windsor with fab photos by @fotofacade.bsky.social & ...
Just ordering some teak cleaner for my garden bench. Very tempted by the free delivery option.