The World’s Population Grows… But are Our Hands-On Skills Getting Less and Less?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m still in Belgium, in Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) and in this post am busy admiring the large statues on the inside of the columns that line the Nave of the church (the long bottom section of  a “t” shaped church).

Not only are these statues large, they are also very detailed, some have additional supporting ornamentation such as birds, books, a staff,  a chalice etc.

Each of the statues stands on a supporting plinth that protrudes out from the main column and each of the plinths in turn are decorated by individual markers.

The markers depict shells, scroll work,  angelic cherubs, acanthus leaves, fruit (especially pomegranate) and cornucopia.The statues depict Saints (There were at least 12 and maybe 14 of them (I forgot to count and because the cathedral is so big, do not have  photograph that captures them all) and they are situated in opposing pairs on the columns that separate the Nave from the North and South Aisles.

Due to the presence of the crane doing renovations in the middle of one section of the Nave I couldn’t get close enough to photograph all of them, or to the statues at the tower end of the Nave.

It’s certainly a time when I wished I had a zoom lens that zoomed in further (but at the same time on the plus side am also very pleased that I’ve upgraded from the little pocket camera).

Next my attention is captivated by what looks like a very large monument in the South Aisle… more angels and ornamentation…

…and then, in this amazingly ornate church, it’s back to the tower end of the South Aisle where  a winged male angel is appearing with what looks like a torch before a kneeling man in flowing robes (possibly a reference to the Angel of the Lord appearing to Moses in a flame? or the angel that appeared to Joseph, husband of Mary)

I love stonework and if I had a tripod, better light and a whole day here, would be most happy taking photographs of every detail in every nook and cranny.  I deeply admire the work of the sculptors and stone masons and muse to myself that although we probably count ourselves to be “more advanced”  these days in the 21st Century, reality probably is that despite the population of the world having grown three or  fourfold since these statues were crafted,  that there are far fewer people in the world today who would be able to execute a carving of this size and detail. We have gained expertise in so many technical fields, but are apparently losing them in some important ones too.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

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(photograph © Kiwidutch)

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(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Whole Sections Are Closed to The Public, But I Still Have The Feeling I’m Being Watched…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Old buildings  are invariably  money pits when it come to keeping up with the renovations.

Family Kiwidutch live in a 1930′s home that was untouched for years before we bought it and know only too well how the funds we set aside each month in the “house fund” seemingly melt away like water into a sponge when the roof need repairing, the heating needs upgrading and the electrics need redoing.

I can’t begin to imagine the repair bills for a medieval building that’s a zillion times bigger than our apartment  or the scale of the work considering that everything has to be meticulously kept in the style and  a large group of specialists need to be involved.

Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in Mechelen, Belgium was undergoing major repairs whilst I was there so major sections of the north and south Transepts and the Apse (or in other words: the top part of the “t” shape of the church) were closed off to the public.

There’s a sectioned off area in the Nave too, where the tower meets the church and a bright red mini crane was inside, although not actually working when I was inside.

In the apse there were massive chunks of stonework being taken out of the floor, probably in order to strengthen the foundations or the crypts below and I’m yet again stunned at the size of the masonry bits being moved and seriously in awe of how the people who built this place got them into place  in the first place concidering the technology available in the 12th Century.

It’s hard to take beautiful serene photographs when construction equipment is in the way, so I zoomed in instead on some of the detailed pieces of stonework that surround me in all the cathedral’s nooks and crannies.

Often the zoom lens belies the fact that there are barriers and construction equipment just fractionally out of shot,  so I’ll leave you guessing which of the photos were heavily cropped for this very reason. I also suddenly realise that in this particular cathedral someone had an intense fascination with angels.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

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(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

They Probably Situate Glass Like This High Up So You Can’t Drool On It…

Place: Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in Mechelen, Belgium. Date: a few days after Easter 2013, Weather: atrocious, Time: limited.

Sigh, I’m back to drooling over stained glass. I only managed the lower reaches of this magnificent window, but the detail, swoon… the detail… If I believed in reincarnation (sadly I don’t; as one wit stated it better than I can: “that’s carrying recycling a little too far“) but if I did, I think I may have been maker of stained glass windows in a former life… or a stonemason, or a maker of fine iron tracery… or all of the above.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I Wanted So Badly To Break All The Rules And Jump Over The Barrier…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Sometimes as an amatur photographer in a public place, you come across something you really really want to photograph but are severely limited by the location, available space and light.

Such was the case when I saw these amazing heraldic shields inside the south transept of  Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in Mechelen.

The skies were leaden and outside it was bucketing down with rain so the light quality was probably about as bad as it could get, but even so I could see the  quality of the detail in these shields.

My next obstacle was that the entire alcove that contained these was roped off and so I was forced to try and photograph these at a distance and at strange angles.

It’s frustrating to be completely captivated by the thought of how good these images could look, but to be so restricted to trying to achieve them.

Wikipedia’s only note on the shields is that they are “small heraldic shields dating from the Thirty Knights of the Golden Fleece chapter meetings presided in the church by young Philip the Handsome while his Burgundian inheritance was still under guardianship of his father” and my general searching in the Dutch language only kept turning up repeated images of the heraldic images pertaining to the city of Machelen itself.

Since these are some of the oldest items in cathedral and date before 1566, I am dismayed to not find out more about their history, but I suspect that there might possibly be some separate local dialect Vlaamse (Flemish) search terms that I don’t know and this might be why my searches have been unsuccessful so far.

My first photograph gives you a fairly good idea of the kind of light conditions I was facing, and reality can not be more stark than it is here: the human eye picks up a hundred times more detail than the camera lens ever can and these,  even in low light and bad angles I can guarantee that these contain masses more detail than I managed to capture with the camera.

I also use the phrase “jump over the barrier” in a figurative manner… as you can guess, a lady two years on crutches after an accident is probably in quite enough trouble already, and the phrase “if you are in a hole, …stop digging” was a phrase that sprang to mind. (expect I wasn’t “springing” either).

On the “fair weather” visit we made a few weeks afterwards, I simply didn’t have time to go back inside the cathedral, but if we manage a third visit here then I will make a point of trying to do so… and will pray too that the weather will be on my side next time round.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Enlightened About a Black Madonna, Surrounded by Angels…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Just a little further down the south aisle of Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) is a Blank Madonna. From Wikipedia (link below) I learn:

“There are about 450–500 Black Madonnas in Europe, depending on how they are classified.

A Black Madonna (or Black Virgin)  is a statue or painting of Mary in which she is depicted with dark skin, especially those created in Europe in the medieval period or earlier.

The Black Madonnas are generally found in Catholic areas. The term refers to a type of Marian statue or painting of mainly medieval origin (12C-15C), with dark or black features whose exact origins are not always easy to determine.

The statues are mostly wooden but occasionally stone, often painted and up to 75 cm tall. They fall into two main groups: free-standing upright figures and seated figures on a throne. The pictures are usually icons which are Byzantine in style, often made in 13th or 14th century Italy.

 There are at least 180 Vierges Noires in France, and there are hundreds of non-medieval copies as well. Some are in museums, but most are in churches or shrines and are venerated by devotees. A few are associated with miracles and attract substantial numbers of pilgrims.

 The first notable study of the origin and meaning of the so-called Black Madonnas in English appears to have been presented by Leonard Moss at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Dec. 28, 1952.

Moss broke the images into three categories: 1) dark brown or black madonnas with physiognomy and skin pigmentation matching that of the indigenous population; 2) various art forms that have turned black as a result of certain physical factors such as: deterioration of lead-based pigments; accumulated smoke from the use of votive candles; and accumulation of grime over the ages, and 3) residual category with no ready explanation.”

I took quite a few photographs of the Sint-Romboutskathedraal’s Black Madonna, the icon sits raised above a marble table or altar, on which in turn sit four large candles and a flowering plant. I didn’t feel that it would be appropriate to move the items on the table in order to take better photos so tried to do my best around them.

The metalwork embellished frame that surrounds the Black Madonna depicts stylized rose bushes and leaves and beautiful angels and four saints (or apostles?) in the corners. The Madonna herself is so dark (I think also additionally so with age) that it was really hard to get a photo with decent detail so I concentrated more on the beautiful panels in the frame.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Rumbold’s_Cathedral

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Madonna

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

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(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Angels Watching Over Me…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Some people look inside a church or a cathedral and just see the space, empty pews, the silence (or not, depending on the time and place).

Himself only sees emptiness and a pile of grey stone, stained glass windows are something that ha can walk past in moments… for me though, churches and cathedral are places of inspiration and wonder.

The carved stone, the smooth columns that seemingly reach to the heavens, or at least to the beautiful vaulted roof.

Here, in Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in Mechelen, Belgium there is enough to inspire me and keep me happily looking for several hours.

I must say I’ve never seen so many animated angels in a church before… these ones are almost life-sized and they certainly catch my attention.

As usual there are details galore: beautiful wings, flowing gowns… The craftsmanship is stunning and I am in awe.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Rumbold’s_Cathedral

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Stained Glass Reaches Upwards Out Of Reach…

One of the best things that I love about Mechelen’s Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) are the stained glass windows.My only problem is that ideally I need a very tall ladder to try and photograph them properly because invariably the bottom of them are already above my head and the rest tower away up above me with the high walls.The figures in the stained glass are too far away to get decent photo of on this occasion so I concentrate on the scroll detail at the very bottom… more beautiful acanthus leaves, and details in the grasses, foliage and flowers at the bottom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Rumbold’s_Cathedral

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Carving Out Inspiration And Adoration of Nature in The Acanthus And The Golden Mean…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m inside Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in the Belgian city of Mechelen.

Just inside the door and to the left is an amazing piece of  exquisitely carved marble.

It stands very low… almost too low from an aesthetic point of view so I suspect that it probably sat upon some sort of low wall when it was originally made.  (or maybe it was made as a seat?)

I’m instantly drawn to the beautiful stonework because I see acanthus leaf and grape vine forms along with angel and cherub figures.

I adore the gentle swirls of the acanthus, they follow the “golden mean” (also called the “golden ratio”) which is a mathematical formula where the parts fit into the sum within a geometric form.

The formula in present everywhere throughout nature: from shells to leaves and is popular in art because of the  proportions aesthetically pleasing and harmonious to the human eye. This is nature at it’s most graceful and intricate, and the effect is of course exactly the same when copied by human hands into art-forms and designs.

At one end four cherubs pile up sheaves of wheat, at the other another four appear to harvest grapes, a man and a woman (King and Queen?)  kneel at the center surrounded by cherubs supporting a crown, there are two larger cherubs at each end: one with something in a basket and the other with what I think is an early form of beehive (formed in circular rings).

Even though this massive piece of five marble sections fit together perfectly and rest on a low plinth, it’s still very low, and for me still walking with one crutch, rather difficult to get down and photograph. Most of these photos are intended for my own simple enjoyment, because I adore the detail, but I also intend to use them at some future moment as inspiration in my artwork.

I can only urge you if ever you are in the vicinity to take a moment to see this in person, my photographs really do not do this stunning piece of carving justice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Rumbold’s_Cathedral

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

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(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Skill And Craftsmanship Doesn’t Save From The Stupidity of Trying to Extinguish The Moon…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m taking a look inside Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in the Belgian city of Mechelen. There is an amazing amount of detail here, but first I want to get an overview of the building as a whole.

The roof  is arched in the gothic style and I am stunned as usual that buildings like this were technically possible so many centuries again as I stand in awe of what was beautifully achieved with so few machines and modern tools that we take for granted today.

From Wikipedia I learned:

The church functions as cathedral since 1559. In the 18th century, each capitals’ surrounding ornament of sculpted cabbage leaves that had been an inspiration for numerous Brabantine Gothic churches, was replaced with a double ring of crops.

In 2005, after engineers had figured out the support capacity of ground and tower, there was talk of accomplishing the entire spire of the original drawings.

Of the original carillon’s set of 49 bells, which are still in working order, each has its own name. Some of the most notable are Salvator, which weighs 8884 kg; Jehsus, which was built in 1460; and the Liberation, which was the newest addition in 1947.

Thirty-nine steps above this instrument, there is a second complete carillon on which concerts are played during the summer months. The total weight of both these carillons is over 80 tonnes and there are 98 bells in all.

Many of the region’s cities have a nickname for their populace.

The Mechlinians are said to have had ancestors running up their great Tower and passing on buckets of water to extinguish a blazing fire behind the perpendicular windows, where it turned out to be mere moonlight through sprightly clouds, hence are called  ”Maneblussers” (‘Moon Extinguishers’).

I had a giggle at that one, I mean it’s one thing to be fooled by a trick of the light,  but surely the act of running for water would have meant a change of location and the realisation that a few logical things might be missing… like real flames, heat and smoke for instance? And did not the additional people who turned up to fight the “blaze” not also realise that there was actually no fire? Fool one person… ok I get that, but a whole crowd? I think they actually got off lightly with the nickname “maneblussers”… if could have been something far worse for their collective stupidity.

In the meantime the arches, the stonework, the graceful columns of the church… all are testament to true and stunning craftsmanship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Rumbold’s_Cathedral

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

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(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Tasty Refuge From The Rain Comes At a Price…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Himself and I spent our first visit to Mechelen scurrying as fast as possible out of the pouring rain, and since we had started out from the Hague at 7:15 a.m.  to beat the traffic jams we were now looking forward to an early lunch.

On the central square we spy a place called “Brasserie de Schoenmet” and are pleased to duck inside.

Himself originally wanted just a coffee whilst I ordered a tea and a toasted sandwich,  but when the toasted sandwich arrived, there were two instead of one, so Himself had one after all to help me out.

It was Euro  8,-  for toasted sandwiches and a miniscule salad on the side, so it certainly wasn’t cheap,  but at least for that  price we got two instead of the one we thought we’d ordered.

We were a bit wet and rather cold so we had eaten the toasted sandwiches before I remembered that I hadn’t taken a photograph of them… c’est la vie. It was a nice enough place and we appreciated the warm food and drinks. Soon it was time to step outside into the rain again and then we would have to decide what we wanted to do next whilst waiting for our friends to finish their appointment. (On the second trip I got some better photos of the outside, with sunshine).

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)