The Loire Valley and especially Blois
Do you remember yesterday’s Renaissance door? Well, this one pales in comparison. A little facelift would show the sculpted losanges decorated with rosettes and coats of arms and the diamond studding on the door to greater advantage, not to mention the pseudo-ionic capitals on the stone pilasters of each side. Est-ce que vous vous rappelez …
Continue reading “The Renaissance Door Opposite – La porte renaissance en face”
The Latin inscription on the Renaissance door of Hôtel de Morvilliers at n° 1 rue Pierre de Blois, originally built in the 13th century, “USU VETERA NOVA”, means “The new becomes old with use”. Now what do you think they are trying to say? L’inscription en latin sur la porte renaissance de l’hôtel de Morvilliers, demeure médiévale du 13ème siècle, …
Continue reading “A Renaissance Door – Une porte renaissance”
I think it’s wonderful that a gilder i.e. someone whose occupation is to overlay objects with gold, silver and copper, still exists in Blois today. Délia Louis, who opened her workshop on Rue Beauvoir over ten years ago, has both private and institutional clients. Her main work involves frames for paintings and mirrors.. Je trouve merveilleux …
These two windows are astonishly on the first place of the bishop’s house I mentioned a couple of days ago. They look like art nouveau but there appear to be crosses in the upper panes. Ces deux fenêtres se trouvent, de façon inattendue, au premier étage de l’évêché dont j’ai parlé il y a deux ou …
Continue reading “Art Nouveau Windows – Fenêtre art nouveau ?”
I know that I posted a photo of this statue of Joan of Arc by American sculptress Anna Hyatt Huntingdon in December but we went back to the bishop’s garden in Blois so I could take a better photo. Remember it’s the sculpture that was too good to be the work of a woman!!!! Je sais …
I love the way the triangles on the steps form a oounterpoint to the spires of Saint Nicolas on the other side of the Loire. J’aime bien la façon dont les triangles sur les marches font contrepoint aux flèches de l’église Saint Nicolas de l’autre côté de la Loire..
The original bishop’s house in Blois is now the Town Hall (1698 to 1704), a much grander building. The separation of church and State in 1905 forced the bishop to find a new home. A parishioner, Germaine Marcandier donated her house just a stone’s throw away, at n° 2 rue Porte Clos Haut. Although it was probably …