Tirol Castle no.4: The Chapel by sandra46
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Description
The chapel was located just next to the entrance gate, and it was built and re-built a number of times. The first was a small chapel-and-graveyard built during the late Roman Empire, the second was built on it in the 6th century A.S. and the third one also on the previous ones in the 8th-9th centuries. The structure still has the flavor of the oldest cult, with the division between the assembly and the altar (you can see part of the arch connecting the main room to the most sacred part, the altar.The balcony, where once women and serfs attended the Mass separated from the men was restored in modern times. Once both the wooden parts and the walls were painted with episodes from the Gospels and the lives of the saints. One can still see part of the paintings, albeit faded. The marble entrance door is a masterpiece of early Christian sculpture, mixing up Christian symbols and elements from the so-called popular religion, that is Christianized traditional beliefs. The latter can be seen in the two guardians of the threshold and the intricate patterns whose task is keeping the evil eye and bad spirits off. I like the contrast between the older, naive marble crucifixion (actually the first stages of the deposition) and the later wonderful wooden cross and statues hanging above the altar (a very simple stone table).
Thanks for your kind comments.
Comments (42)
jeroni
Very nice shot and colour contrast
bakapo
a fascinating shot. I like the point of view.
JuliSonne
super details...fantastic kind....thanks
blondeblurr
The marble entrance is amazing in it's simplicity and probably many years of work ... BB
erlandpil
Wonderful shot erland
danapommet
Lovely detail and very interesting narrative. A wonderful photo!
1358
ancient temples are the strongest... able to survive tumault, crash and war.... can almost hear the hymns being sung!
ragouc
Good POV and shot. Well done.
AidanaWillowRaven
Powerful shot
myrrhluz
Beautiful chapel and capture. I love the naive sculptures. Though primitive, there is much life in them. I like the POV which shows the two guardians so well. Interesting information and image.
Darkwish
Nice idea, very well done!
anahata.c
Both as historical illumination and as image itself, this is a wonderful image. There are all kinds of series in your gallery I haven't commented on (though I've seen them all), as my comments take so much time, I just don't get to comment on everything. That's esp true in a gallery like this, where there's confluence of image, history, archaeology, anthropology, etc. If I had a second lifetime...But anyway, your pov allows the inside altar to conflate with the facade, as if they're all on the same plane. And we can see what I assume is newer wood on the ceiling, beside the older paintings of saints, gospel incidents, etc, on the walls (I assume those are on walls, I can't tell if any of them are screens---they look like they're painted on stone). Your juxtaposition of these elements is just grand, and it brings the history flush forward, in a very visceral way. The zoomed version (I always zoom) is particularly large in this instance; and it reveals the wonderful "naive" style of the statuary under the entry arch, with those oh-so rounded figures, cut straight from the stone with no nuancing of the gowns whatsoever. And, from your pov, it looks not like a formal entryway, but as if someone carved-out the entrance, as in a cave. It brings out the heavy stone-nature of these facades. Inside, the panels of paintings are like ghosts; and the newer crucified Christ really attests to the syncretic nature of many churches, who "compiled" style upon style over the centuries. It's claustrophobic too, in this angle, and brings home how many of the earlier churches did feel like enclaves, caves, etc. (Even in the highly developed Romanesque style, one could feel like they were in a massive cave, which you know better than I, having been in many more such structures than I have...That, of course, makes the Gothic a revolution.) It feels like a small crowded cave, in this capture. And the capture is washed in those pinkish tones, which are beautiful. A real compendium of a shot, and very sensitive to the layered history you speak of. Terrific work on all counts, Sandra. Though I'm ending here now, just know that I see everything you post, and I'm forever a big fan of how you tie worlds together in word and image. And, with images like this, you inspire new ways of capturing things, for me. Terrific work. I hope to be back sooner than last time. I may start with this series. Wonderful work.