Ever wondered what would happen if Tim Burton hopped on a time machine, entered a Renaissance-era Romanesque/Gothic cathedral, and just exploded? Well, wonder no longer.
Oh, the humanity! Really, not a whole lot can be said about this other than it is just ugly. On second thought I guess you could also call it tacky and misappropriated. (And just to clarify things, we are not talking about the ceiling, the pulpit, or the floor- they're actually okay. We are talking about those hideous black and white columns.) Things that come to mind are old-timey prison uniforms, Marilyn Manson hosiery, the Mackenzie & Childs catalog, and the stomach-turning juxtaposition of licorice and marshmallow fluff.Believe it or not, however, there's actually a very noble and justifiable reason for this hideousness. The building shown above is the Duomo (cathedral church) in Siena, Italy. Begun in the 1100s and completed in 1380 (it takes a long time to build a church like this), it is one of Europe's finest examples of Romanesque architecture.
When one thinks of the Italian Renaissance, cities that come to mind include Rome, Florence, Milan, and Venice, but rarely Siena. Located in Tuscany about a third of the way between Florence and Rome, Siena claims a history as old as Rome's; according to legend, Siena was founded by and named for Senius, the son of Remus and nephew of Romulus (the latter two being the twins who founded Rome). Also according to legend, a she-wolf led Senius to Siena on a trip where he was protected by a black cloud during the day and a white one at night. For this reason the symbol of Siena is a she-wolf, and its coat of arms features two simple horizontal bands of white and black.
And that is how black and white bands (of the brain-numbing repetitive variety) set in the marble of the area are common in Sienese architecture, particularly in the Duomo. Although most historians stick with the story of the Etruscans and the tribe known as the Saina.
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Thanks for the explanation. I thought someone set Daniel Buren loose in there.
ReplyDelete(I like DeKooning's statements more than some of his paintings.)
Nic, what a great post! Thanks for your enlightening info.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, great post :) As always Nic! I know you must be really busy as a grad student, so we all appreciate the time you put into these posts.
ReplyDeleteI think there may have been another ulterior motive to the stripes from an architectural standpoint. Cathedrals were often a pissing contests, like the pyramids, always trying to out grandeur another. The horizontal stripes, especially at that thickness, elongates the column to the eye, making the ceiling appear that much higher, and therefore make the cathedral appear that much bigger.
ReplyDeleteI take it you're not a fan of the Gothic look?
ReplyDeleteI do have to admit that this design hurted my eyes. How it survived this long without some enterprising clergyman deciding to redecorate it, I don't know.
John Nash, the English architect designs the most hideous buildings, like the Pavilion.
ReplyDeleteIt's just not right.
the pulpit looks a lot like a pulpit by nicola pisano, which i thought was in the pisa cathedral baptistery... was this just a common design for pulpits in 12/13th century?
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