Showing posts with label polychrome. Show all posts

Monday

Ravennae Inundata

mosaics circa 535 AD, presbytery vault, San Vitale, Ravenna

“Ostrogoths” I said, punching Erling on the arm. As we entered the Basilica of San Vitale we heard music, and I froze on the spot. At first I thought it was in my head, because that’s not terribly unusual for me, but the magnificent tenor voice was coming from small well-placed speakers which filled the entire church with sound. Not plainsong or medieval chant, but a contemporary Russian choir singing a credo. Theatrical, yes, and compelling. We soon found ourselves overwhelmed by 5th century mosaics glittering with symbolism.
Traveling with Erling is always good in these instances because like me he has a thorough education in Christian history and further, he is fascinated with it. Lunchtime conversations may involve intense discussions about transubstantiation or the Arian heresy.

The walls of the Basilica di San Vitale are clad in book-matched marble imported from Constantinople

In such a place where there are so many brilliant buttons for my mind to push, my brain is flooded with words and phrases. So passed this day...

geometry... fondo oro... iota... filioque... cosmatesco... horror vacui... clean-shaven Jesus... gammdia... bookmatched marble... octagons... conventional design... the Empress... archaic symbols... peacocks... palm trees... acoustics... recycled roman mosaic... roman mosaic... opus alexandrinum... opus sectile... Persian flaw... matroneum... pulvino... space ships... eunuchs... ecce homo... consubstantial... homoousios... transubstantiation... transfiguration... schism... spaceships... Ostrogoths...

mosaic in the apse features a youthful Jesus and an uncountable number of gold glass tiles

The floor of San Vitale was raised and repaved in the 13th century and again in 1599 with cosmateque mosaics. The original 5th century floor is about 5 feet below and completely under water

counting the border elements under the Justinian panel (547 AD) and shoes...

This border is of Roman design and references the Trinity. or spaceships.

The famous ceiling of the "Masoleum" of Galla Placidia (d. 450) and an obvious Persian Flaw

Mosaic ceiling of the 5th century Arian baptistry

All photos in this post by Lynne Rutter Ravenna, 2018

Listen: Credo Universale (youtube) New Liturgical Chant of the Russian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchal Choir with Ilya Tolmachevy Natalia Haszler

Livia Alberti - fascinating report on the restoration of the mosaics of San Vitale

Lynne Rutter Studio

Studio Visit: Atelier Peinture sur Bois, Paris

Work in progress at the studio of Jean-Pierre Besenval

Entrance to the Atelier

One rainy day in Paris, after a fabulous day exploring the Musée Carnavalet, my friend Ziska and I set off through the Marais thinking about a good place for dinner, when we were distracted by the sight of a doorway and signs for the Atelier Peinture Sur Bois, the studio of Jean-Pierre Besenval.
I'm a long-time fan of M. Besenval's painted furniture and have two excellent books on his work.
So of course we ventured inside the courtyard to the shop, where we were warmly greeted by artist Luigi Madéo, Besenval's longtime collaborator and co-author.
The shop contains a gallery filled with beautifully painted furniture pieces and art panels, all done with traditional media and techniques, and inspired by Italian Renaissance ornament, as well as 15th century Flemish painting and other historic European decorative art.

Luigi Madéo in the atelier

We got to talk about traditional painting methods and the hopeful revival of these techniques and materials, like gesso, caseins, egg tempera, decorative gilding.

Painted furniture and art panels in the studio/gallery of Jean-Pierre Besenval

work in progress in the studio

The studio itself is a showpiece, with all of its beams and posts painted with colorful traditional designs.

This is I think a great way to raise the height of the ceiling and create a simple architectural opportunity for some splendid ornament.

Borders are repeated in different colors and with added elements, and while each beam is unique, the color palette and structure of the ornament is consistent and overall look is cohesive and utterly charming!

The huge support posts in the center of the shop are also decorated, and the designs are painted plumb, even when the posts themselves are not.

I love this armoire door inset which is spectacularly painted, and seems to pay homage to Renaissance botanical artist Jacques Le Moyne De Morgues.

If you are in Paris, be sure to visit the Atelier Peinture sur Bois at 32 rue de Sévigné in the Marais; or visit the website at www.meublespeints.com

All photos in the post by Lynne Rutter, October 2011
click on images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Wednesday

Opus Listatum

How Roman construction techniques influenced a classic design phenomenon.

exterior detail, Church of Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno, Rila Monastery, Bulgaria

What was I doing in Bulgaria? A lot of people asked me this. Well I was fortunate enough to have an ulterior motive, accompanying the Maestro for the debut of his orchestral piece Certitude and Joy played by the Sofia Philharmonic (and which was *ahem* dedicated to moi) but also what I was doing in Bulgaria, what I usually do, of course, looking for beautifully painted architecture.

So there we are at the famous Rila Monastery, built in the 19th century in the Bulgarian National Revival style, and I notice the brick stripes of the walls and arches are painted. Of course they are making an obvious reference to the Roman walls that are all over the country as this area was part of the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire, and then of course the Ottoman Empire. Also prominently featured are the black and white stripes so common in Ottoman mosques.

Byzantine-era opus listatum wall c. 1259, Boyana Church, Sophia, Bulgaria

Ottoman Mosque Behram Pasa Camii, Diyarbakir c. 1573
image: Wikipedia

wall of the former mosque Büyük camii
Sofia, Bulgaria c. 1474

The "Opus Listatum" pattern is typical of late Roman walls, which were built with a core of concrete and faced with alternating "stripes" of brick and rock ("rock" sometimes being salvage from older buildings.) This was generally done to save on costs as bricks were becoming rather expensive.

This look became more deliberate and ornamental in Byzantine architecture, as seen in the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople constructed around 440 AD, and it then influenced the design of mosques and ablaq style masonry, and over the centuries worked its way back to Italy where alternating black and white striped stone walls graced churches and palaces.

interior Cathedral of Orvieto, 14th century. image via Wikipedia

Contemporary interior by as seen in Elle Decor; Georgio Armani Haute Couture Fall 2009

Currently a trend in fashion and a perennial design motif in contemporary interiors, black and white stripes seem to be everywhere in design magazines these days. And I am sure red and white stripes will have their day again soon!

Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno, Rila Monastery

Back again to Bulgaria, where Revival architects and designers in the 19th century made reference to two major influences in their culture in the form of Roman and Ottoman occupations of their country. I have to say I like both stripe patterns, I particularly like them used together, as they provided architectural and graphic support to the amazing colorful murals adorning the porch arcade.

Having a Revelation at Rila Monastery. My scarf is pure coincidence. Or is it?

Watch this space for future posts about Rila Monastery and its fabulous murals.

Monday

Arts and Crafts Dining Room Frieze

polychrome frieze and gilt eucalyptus leaves

A San Francisco dining room designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Debey Zito Fine Furniture and Design, became a wonderful opportunity for collaboration between several members of my local artisans guild, Artistic License. This very special group is comprised of local artisans who specialize in period design. Debey directed a team of local talent to create this room.

detail in cast plaster

A frieze panel of California poppies was hand-carved by Debey's partner, Terry Schmitt. To carve the frieze for the entire room was cost-prohibitive, so ornamental plasterer Lorna Kollmeyer cast them in plaster.
The casting is incredibly sensitive and you can see every pore from the original piece wood as well as every mark in the lovely carving.

I painted the new plaster frieze with a faux bois finish, to match the furniture-quality paneling that Debey and Terry installed the room, and polychromed the poppies with mica powders and pigment.

Terry also sculpted the plaster Eucalyptus leaves which I then gilt with 23k gold leaf.

plaster painted with faux bois finish

Beautiful Arts and Crafts dining room by Debey Zito Fine Furniture and Design

The room is capped by custom dragonfly ceiling paper, hand-made in San Francisco by David Bonk.

You can read more about this artisan collaboration which has just been published in the Spring 2011 issue of Arts and Crafts Homes magazine.

Lynne Rutter Studio

Wednesday

A Hidden Gem in Boston

Incredible circular stairway leading up to a 30 foot diameter leaded glass dome

I recently visited the fine city of Boston for the first time, just last week, and I spent a wonderful day squired about by local artist and blonde vivant, Mark Hänser.

Operating on a tip from my fellow ornamentalist Cleta Grant, we wandered off the Freedom Trail and scoped out the New England College of Optometry, which is housed in part in a grand 1894 mansion in the historic Back Bay district. The staff obliged me by allowing me to snoop around with my camera.

Students crammed for exams in the splendid Victorian rooms, while we tiptoed through some of the more fabulous parts of the house, gobsmacked at the beautiful oak paneling and magnificent ornamental painting.

above: superbly painted ornamental frieze over a gilt ground in the foyer/sitting area off the main stairway. These murals are painted on canvas and glued to the walls.

Oak stairway topped with a gorgeous leaded glass dome and Italianate ornament painted over gold leaf.

The school campus was completely renovated in the late 1990’s and has won local and national awards for outstanding preservation and adaptive use of historic buildings. The decorative painting remains in very good condition.

Detail of painted Italiante ornament with stenciled gilt background

A fantastic gold mosaic effect was created by stenciling a geometric pattern over the gold leaf base prior to painting the ornament. This breaks up the reflected light and really gives a marvelous impression, especially in the low winter light. I fully intend to try this technique in a future project!

polychromed lincrusta on the walls

The school also has a cozy library and study area, with beautiful ornamental plaster ceilings and polychromed lincrusta on the walls. Look closely at the detail- how many times have I seen this fantastic material painted glossy white? Painted in this way it can emulate Renaissance-era embossed leather wallcoverings.

detail of textured library walls

A florid bit of polychromed lincrusta with 12 karat gold accents, in the NECO library

All images in this post by Lynne Rutter

please click on the images to see them at larger size!

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Tuesday

Arabesque

An interior detail of the new Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi, photo by Imran Akram

A plate from "Art arabe : mosquée de Qaouâm el-Dyn: détails du tombeau" (1

My fascination with Arabesque ornament... may have begun in Prague many years ago, when I first saw the Španělské Synagogy "Spanish Synagogue", built in 1868 in the Moorish Revival style. Inside it is completely covered in geometric Arabesque designs. Seeing the architectural ornamentation on such a scale made me want to run home and encrust every surface I could find with pattern.

It's not just that it's pretty, but it resonates with the math geek in me. The division of space, the arrangement of color, the... fractals!

Arabesque art developed in regions where Islam has been dominant; such as Morocco, Moorish Spain, India, Turkey, and the Arab states; and embodies Muslim precepts in its themes, with the focus on patterns rather than on figures. The depiction of the human form is forbidden, considered too close to idolatry, and so the art tends to be decorative and ornamental in style - geometric, floral, calligraphy.
The style has inspired and influenced non-Islamic ornament and architecture in Europe and elsewhere, particularly in the 19th century with the trend towards in Orientalism in design, and romantic "revival" styles of architecture.

Kevin Dean's inlaid marble floor at the magnificent Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi, photo by Imran Akram

The incredible new Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi is a project that I have been watching with interest. It was completed in March, 2008, and I am especially gleeful over the work of British designer Kevin Dean included in the massive courtyard's inlaid marble floors (above) and archways, a fantastic modern take on the floral elements of this style. More gorgeous pictures of this splendid new mosque can be found on the photography site of Imran Akram .

"Islam Ornament" (mosaic ceilings) photographed in Pakistan by Judith Barath

Mosaics can also play a prominent role in the ornamentation of buildings. In addition to the overall appearance of a colorful pattern, the play of light over the surface of thousands of tiles adds another level to the message of this art: this all fits together in an infinite pattern... do you see now, how you too are part of a larger pattern, how you belong?

original painted and gilt arabesque ceiling by Tania Seabock

How envious I am of my friend and colleague Tania Seabock, for this incredible ceiling she created for a client in the arabesque style, which includes tens of thousands of gold faux mosaic tiles!

I have a room set aside for my own spin on arabesque ornament, and look forward to sharing my inspiration and progress.