Monday, October 17, 2011

Grave beauty

Claude de France
They are monuments - there for us to look at and remember the life that once was, yet we may feel we are intruding if we try to look too closely. Photographer Antoine Schneck has given us a large scale study of the gisants or recumbent funerary sculptures at the royal necropolis at the Basilique de Saint Denis just north of Paris. As isolated subjects on a black ground, we are called to pierce the intimate sphere of these departed kings and queens in a way that still inspires hushed respect.

Louis XII

Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici

Valentine Visconti


for more:
http://saint-denis.monuments-nationaux.fr/

http://www.schneck.fr/

http://uk.tourisme93.com/basilica/  (in English)
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11 comments:

  1. KarenaOctober 17, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    Fascinating works of art in sculpture! Sorry to be so remiss Gesbi!

    I have a designer pillow Giveaway I hope you will join! (a great resource as well)

    Xoxo
    Karena

    Art by Karena

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  2. alaine@éclectiqueOctober 17, 2011 at 11:00 PM

    Gésbi, these are brilliant! My next book on the pile is about Catherine de Medici by Leonie Frieda.

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  3. JWCOctober 18, 2011 at 1:12 AM

    These photographs are spectacular!

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  4. gésbiOctober 18, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    Alaine, She is fascinating and so influential. In fact, she refused her first mortuary statue by Primaticcio because it was too horrifying and had the sleeping sculpture you see in the picture done by Pilon instead. The deathly one is in the Louvre. I love the story of her death near St Germain. Enjoy your reading!

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  5. gésbiOctober 18, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    JWC: Yes, they are and from a practical point of view, they show the sculpture better than we can see it in person sometimes.
    Thanks for your comment!

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  6. Renée FinbergOctober 19, 2011 at 1:53 AM

    i am fascinated by anything resembling a death mask.

    you think i am a bit morbid???

    hahahah

    great post!!!

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  7. gésbiOctober 19, 2011 at 8:56 AM

    Renée, aren't we all?

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  8. donna bakerOctober 20, 2011 at 5:17 AM

    Love the photos. I'll have to Google them to read up on them.

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  9. gésbiOctober 20, 2011 at 9:52 AM

    Donna, I've added an English language site to help on follow up.

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  10. LucindavilleOctober 20, 2011 at 4:52 PM

    I do so love a good death mask, especially in marble.

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  11. donna bakerOctober 24, 2011 at 6:37 AM

    I want to add to my earlier comment, this is why I love blogging. I find and see such wonderful things I knew almost nothing about. And I can't wait to read about Catherine de Medici in the book the above person mentioned.

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