It’s Hard to Tear Myself Away, But Finally Through All The Detail, …I Find The Door

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It’s not only stained glass that sets my artistic senses humming… there are carved  plaques, massive wooden doors,  carved cherubs and acanthus leaves, both in wood and stone.

Here in Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in Mechelen, Belgium, there are grand columns with exquisite trailing vines twined around them,  a statue of the Virgin Mary with amazing  painted detail on her gown… or the font, also in carved  and embellished in red, blue/green and gold paint.

The acanthus leaves continue around the top of the central columns, or on the base of a plinth holding a very large candlestick.  It’s a detail fanatics heaven and this detail fanatic is in her element.

Of course these photos are not only here for me to drool over and to share with you, they are also part of my  artistic “inspiration file”…

…where better to study flowing drapery and beautiful forms than from the examples of skilled artisans who preceded us through centuries past. It’s a lesson on how to get things right. It’s a history lesson and an art lesson all rolled into one. I can only hope that the spirits of these people somehow know that they continue to inspire people centuries after they have gone.  This is my last post about the inside of Sint-Romboutskathedraal, but it’s certainly not the last time I intend visiting here.

(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)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Oi, How Dare You Poke Your Tongue Out At Me!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Just in case you have just joined this  blog, you are following the Kiwidutch retrospective tour of New Zealand,  and the trip we made there  in December 2011-January 2012.

It’s difficult to blog every day whilst travelling  ”in real time” as we often don’t have regular internet connection, we are busy spending time with family and friends, going places, doing things, (or in my case hoisting my foot onto pillows and taking an afternoon nap) so my solution is to take notes on the laptop, take lots of photographs and to bring the two together as soon as I can after the event.

In this post we are still in Whakawarewa geothermal village , in Rotorua, central North Island and  this is the path that runs alongside the cemetery.

I’m intrigued by the presence of small carved wooden posts, all of figures, realistic or stylised, evenly spaced along the route.

Our guide tells us they are there for luck…  keeping up on crutches and trying to keep the camera dry in the downpour consumes my attention and I forget to ask if that means luck for the departed ancestor or for the living left behind…

I love the fact that these, whilst clearly centred around a theme, are all very different with their own character and I wonder if some of them may even  be actual portraits of people.

I love the fact that the fearsome act of the bulging eyes and sticking out of tongues, so prevalent in the famous Maori Haka warrior dances as a means of instilling fear into their enemies, are also represented here in these figures, and to such an extent that it almost looks like a competition to see who can do it the best.

The Haka is also all about summoning-up up bravery, bravado and courage…

…it’s about rising to the challenge when faced with adversity or a strong  adversary … so maybe this is indeed for the departed as I assume they thought you would need all of this when crossing over into the afterlife too?

(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)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)