Susan Klaiber

@susanklaiber

Architectural historian | Baroque, early modern & beyond American formerly in 🇩🇪 & 🇮🇹, now 🇨🇭 | Detroit diaspora

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Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· 12d

Happy Swiss National Day! Keep cool in the heat with this fan featuring coats of arms and typical costumes from all the cantons. 🇨🇭 🎆 #1August #Nationalfeiertag #Switzerland www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

Wooden fan opened to display 22 segments. Each segment has a coat of arms at the top and and an image of a woman in a traditional late 19th-century costume below. Decorative perforations complete each segment.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· 22d

Some of my very favorites are not historical but mathematical: the ones with diagrams from Euclid from the Jesuit college in Coimbra. Like posters for the classroom walls. From this cool article: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Azulejo with diagram for Proposition 29 of Book I of Euclid’s Elements: “If the straight line GO intersects the two straight lines AB and CF such that angle GLB is equal to angle LOF (or, the sum of angle BLO and angle LOF is identical to two right angles) then the two intersected straight lines are parallel”.

Azulejo with diagram of Proposition 1 of Euclid Book III: “Given a circle to find its center”.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· 28d

So now we're gendering *trees* in German? I am basically pro-gendern in German grammar. It's great to add shade trees to urban spaces. But this is just silly: "... erhalten die sieben Platanen am Neumarkt in den nächsten Jahren mindestens zehn Kolleginnen und Kollegen." 🌳 🌳 🌳

Photo of a paved urban square in the Swiss city of Winterthur. Seven trees stand in front of the buildings on the left side of the photo. Caption reads: WGeht es nach dem Bewohnerinnen- und Bewohnerverein Altstadt Winterthur, erhalten die sieben Platanen am Neumarkt in den nächsten Jahren mindestens zehn Kolleginnen und Kollegen."

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· 29d

Philip II was assisted in his victory at St.-Quentin on St. Lawrence's Day by Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, who vowed to build the church of San Lorenzo in Turin to commemorate the battle. Over 120 years later, this resulted in Guarini's San Lorenzo. The vow is depicted on the main altar frontal.

Transverse oval white marble relief sculpture in a black marble frame. The relief depicts Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy making his vow to build the church of San Lorenzo. The duke stands in high relief slightly to the right of center. He looks up to an angel hovering above him and his right arm is extended, pointing to the left and holding a baton in his hand. On the left of the image, in lower relief, the battle of St.-Quentin rages. Behind him of the right, in mid-relief, stand three court figures.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Jul 7

What?!? "Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia" has a USPS? Although US administration ended in 1986? What? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuuk_S...

Screenshot of Wikipedia article reading:

"United States rule

Chuuk was one of six districts of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) which were administered by the United States under charter from the United Nations from the end of the Second World War to the mid-1980s. The termination of U.S. administration of the Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Mariana Islands districts of the TTPI occurred on 3 November 1986.

Independence

The Federated States of Micronesia, including Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, and Pohnpei, was established in 1979 and signed a Compact of Free Association with the U.S. (effective 3 November 1986).

As of recent times, Chuuk has been pushing harder for independence. An independence referendum was originally scheduled to coincide with federal elections on 3 March 2015, but was pushed back to 5 March 2019. The independence referendum was further pushed back to March 2022, with a date to be announced, while the constitutional legality of the proposed secession is determined.[11]"

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Jun 27

Just leaf through the pages: archive.org/details/JSH....

Image of elaborate three-bay ephemeral structure on a concave plan. The central section features a tall arch, while the two side wings have crowning balustrades. Each bay features a painting celebrating Ferdinand governor of the Spanish Netherlands. The whole is generously adorned with statues, banners, and other ornament.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Jun 23

Giovanni Battista Aleotti's #earlymodern air conditioning. #heatwave

Woodcut image of a Renaissance room with a perforated floor. A bellows assembly underneath the floor allows for air circulation through the floor to the room above. The cool air is represented by ghost-like figures in the room rising from the floor below. A system of pipes underneath the room and below it in the basement let the hot air be pumped out of the room.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Jun 15

Remember when Christy was first starting this project and posted about it over on Twitter. Mentioned to her then the still-operational ropewalk here in Winterthur (from 1878), but don't see it in her storymap. Lots of images on the website of Seilerei Kislig: www.seile.ch

Google maps satellite view of Seilerei Kislig in Winterthur, with the long building outlined in red within its neighborhood.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Jun 8

Over the weekend, remembered these urns on top of the Kornhaus in Rorschach. Also vegetation in receptacles, right?

Finial on top of building with gilded metal vegetation sprouting out of the top. Image shows finial with two preservation workers maintaining the metalwork; landscape of the town of Rorschach in the distance.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Jun 6

As kids, we always thought it was hilarious when the lights on the (pre-Moroun) bridge were selectively out: AM ASS OR BRIDGE Now it's pretty clear where the Morouns stand in that statement.

Night photo of the Ambassador Bridge connecting WIndsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan. The photo is a detail of one of the bridge pylons, prominently featuring the name "AMBASSADOR BRIDGE" illuminated in red neon.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Jun 2

Same problem in Rome with the obelisk in St. Peter's Square & the axis of the nave of the basilica. (Placement of the obelisk predates construction of the nave.) Bernini's oval piazza slightly compensates for the skew, minimizing its perception by the viewer. Image: www.jstor.org/stable/1481581

Schematic plan of St. Peter's basilica and St. Peter's square in Rome. Dotted lines show the axis of the basilica nave and the axis between the obelisk in the square and the center of the basilica crossing. The lines are not identical, demonstrating the skew between the nave axis and the obelisk-crossing axis.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 30

This is a great opportunity for #ECR scholars in #earlymodern architectural history to publish their first monograph. A colleague won the prize in 2022 for his fine book on the church & convent of the Tolentini in Venice, available from Campisano Editore: www.campisanoeditore.it/index.php/ca...

Book cover with a color photograph looking through a neoclassical church portico viewed from the side. At top center, the author's name "Marco Capponi"; underneath this in the upper third of the cover, the title "I teatini e l'architettura. La chiesa e la casa di San Nicola da Tolentino a Venezia, XVI-XVIII secolo"; at the bottom center, the name of the publisher Campisano Editore.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 26

Highlight for me, though: the Post-It notes tagging the "arsenic pigment" in the wallpaper in one of the rooms. 2/2 ⚠️ 🚧 🟩 One for @kalkspazz.bsky.social #TapeteDesTages #preservation #wallpaper

Image of 19th-century wallpaper with a floral-geometric pattern in green and red-orange diamonds. Two small yellow Post-It tags are stuck on it at the upper right.

Detail of the photo at left, with the Post-It notes featured prominently. These read: (1) "Arsen Pigment" and (2) "Achtung". Translation: (1) "Arsenic pigment" and (2) "Caution".

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 24

Tycho's Supernova actually plays a supporting role in the article I'm currently finishing up. ❇️ (The Nova of 1600 in Cygnus has the lead. It was seen by Guarino Guarini when it reemerged in the 1650s.) 🦢 🌟 🔭 #histSTM #histastro

Title page of the book _La stella nuova e peregrina comparsa l'Anno 1600 sul petto del Cigno, scoverta nuovamente_ by Giovan Battista Hodierna [Odierna], Rome, 1659. The upper 1/3 of the image features the title of the book. The lower 2/3 of the image features a diagram of the constellation of Cygnus, the new star in the middle labeled as "Stella nova".

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 24

One of the few items I still stock up on during trips back to the US! Just picked up three boxes again last month.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 9

At the launch party for our Bernini's Architectural Drawings 2 weeks ago, another project collaborator argued that today AI could have translated the book I spent 18 months on before COVID. Literally didn't understand that specialized subject knowledge can't be substituted with AI. 😭 #translation

Book covers of two-volume publication, Bernini's Architectural Drawings, edited by Tod A. Marder, published by Hirmer, 2025.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 6

Exhibition opening in Rome this evening on the Concorsi Clementini competitions at the Accademia di San Luca 1702-1869 accademiasanluca.it/iniziative/m... The show also marks the launch of a new website on the competitions www.concorsiclementiniarchitettura.org #18thC #19thC #architecture #museums

Exhibition poster with a background of a large neoclassical piazza with a centralized building at the center. The building is basically circular with four short cross arms projecting to mark four entrances.
At the right of the poster, the exhibition information: “alla studiosa Gioventù del Disegno”
I Concorsi Clementini di architettura. 1702–1869
a cura di Laura Bertolaccini, Francesco Cellini, Tommaso Manfredi, Angelo Torricelli
Inaugurazione
mercoledì 06.05.2026
ore 18.00

apertura al pubblico
07.05.2026
25.07.2026

Ingresso gratuito per gli studenti universitari

https://www.concorsiclementiniarchitettura.org/

Accademia Nazionale di San Luca ETS
Roma, Palazzo Carpegna piazza dell'Accademia di San Luca 77

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 4

In fact, it is the feast day of the Holy Shroud today. Celebrate with Guarini's magnificent reliquary chapel for the Shroud!

View of interior of a baroque dome. The dome is composed of six levels of six arches each, with each level rotated 60° with respect to the level below it. Underneath each arch, small windows illuminate each level. The dome is constructed of black marble. At the apex, a 12-rayed starburst is open at the center in a circle, revealing a fresco of the dove of the Holy Spirit in glory at the apex of the whole.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 3

2. By Nancy Wu in the May issue of the Burlington Magazine: www.burlington.org.uk/archive/exhi...

Screenshot of Burlington Magazine webpage with review of Viollet-le-Duc: Drawing Worlds at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery, New York, 28 January-24 May 2026, reviewed by Nancy Wu.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· May 1

Post your warning sign

Triangular yellow warning sign with thick black frame around edge. The pictogram image at the center shows a house with a steep roof at the right and a cascade of stylized oversized snowflakes falling off the roof to hit a stick person at the lower left, knocking them down. Underneath the warning sign, the caption in German, "Vorsicht! Dachlawine" (Caution! Roof avalanche).

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 19

Coming this Thursday, 23 April, in Rome: Bernini's Architectural Drawings book launch! #earlymodern #arthistory #architecture #drawings web.archive.org/web/20260416...

Invitation card for the book presentation of Bernini's Architectural Drawings, edited by Tod Marder.

Details: Thursday, 23 April 2026, at 16:30, at the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, sala Dante, via Poli 54, Rome.

Speakers include Marcello Fagiolo, Claudia Conforti, Mario Bevilacqua, Gabriella Pace, and Marieke von Bernstorff.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 18

Reminds me of the Kunstautomaten (art vending machines) in Germany. They're repurposed old cigarette vending machines, so the artworks have to fit in a cigarette box format. www.kunstautomaten.com

Two images. On left, a photo of a cigarette-box sized Kunstautomat package. The package is olive green and white and has black lettering which reads "Kunststück. Kunstautomat. das Original" and has a pseudo-health warning below, (but for art) as on a box of cigarettes. The top of the box is open and the artwork it holds is sticking out: a pen-and-ink portrait of a person with short curly hair. The portrait features highlights in marking pen: pink, red, and yellow. On the right, an image of an art vending machine hanging on the wall of a building. It is an old cigarette vending machine repainted, in this case with a view out a window. At the top, lettering reads "Kunstautomat".

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 14

One of the artists featured in this exhibition on outsider architecture lives near us. We see him in the train often, and he gave a sculpture workshop at my youngest son's school around 10 years ago. *Extremely* colorful character in the community!

Image of man with beard seated, wearing a large white fur-like hat. The small room he is seated in is covered with colorful objects: an assortment of shiny Christmas ornaments hangs from the ceiling, while the walls and tables are covered with religious statues, primarily of the Madonna. A neo-baroque sofa stands along the right wall, while the left wall has an assortment of chairs.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 9

Gods, emperors & eagles restored in Blenheim Palace roof-rescue mission The crumbling roof of Churchill’s birthplace has been fixed in a conservation project that the restorers hope will preserve the #18thC country house for the next 300 years #earlymodern www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/04/07/g...

Image of a baroque bust of Louis XIV surrounded by scaffolding. Wooden boards at the lower edge of image surround the bust at chest height, while metal pipes form an extensive framework above and to either side. A roof composed of scaffolding pipes supporting plastic sheets covers the whole work site.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 5

He is risen! ...in the middle of a perpetual #Easter calendar (1461) #HappyEaster www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...

The Resurrection; with a table to find Easter; in the centre, within a circle, Christ rising from the sarcophagus with soldiers and angels holding the Instruments of the Passion; in the corners the four Evangelists with names inscribed; below are eight lines of text explaining the table: 'A TROVARE LA PASQUA PER SEMPRE..." The circle around Christ is divided into four concentric sectors, and around 40 radius sectors, creating a grid-like table to consult to find the date of Easter. The grid is filled with numbers and letters.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 3

We've got one of these here in WInterthur too. School classes practice riding bikes there & get to know traffic signs & signals. When they've mastered it there they go out on real roads. Aim is earning a basic bike "drivers license" by end of grade 6. Also open to public a few hours/week.

Photo is an aerial view of a bicycle training facility with miniature streets, various traffic signs, signals, and pavement markings. Facility is on a triangular site, with grass and trees between the streets. A building with classrooms for bike safety instruction and other amenities is at the upper left.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 3

François Spierre, after Bernini, Sanguis Christi #GoodFriday

Christ on a cross with blood pouring from his wounds and forming an ocean; angels and God surround him; engraving after Bernini.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 2

As caretakers of a much smaller tortoise (Romo, the Hermann's tortoise), we're thrilled to hear that Jonathan is still with us! Romo sends his felicitations too! 🐢 🥰

Image of a Hermann's tortoise crawling through a water basin.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Apr 2

Fun idea: a card game based on housing plans in Basel from 1900 to the present. With 76 cards and an accompanying booklet explaining the evolution of the building type in the city. #architecture www.merianverlag.ch/en/produkt/a...

Image shows sturdy cardboard box for a card game. The box is open, with the lid on the left and the box on the right. The color of the box is natural cardboard color, and it is held together with four large staples on each end. The lid bears the title "Basler Wohn Grundriss Quartett" in black across the central third of the lid. Above and below on the upper and lower thirds of the lid are eight sample housing plans each, for a total of sixteen. The deck of cards in the lower part of the box on the right is covered by the accompanying booklet. This is white with black lettering. It has the same title as the game itself, and has the word ESSAY at the bottom of its cover.

Susan Klaiber@susanklaiber· Mar 19

We've actually got one of these already. His name is Romo, and we're eager to see him emerge from hibernation in the next few weeks.