What's New at ArtMagick
Free download - desktop wallpaper for June 2010
Each month ArtMagick offers a free wallpaper download, imprinted with that month's calendar. The download for June 2010 is now available:
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(Instructions: click the link above which represents the size of your computer's desktop, then right-click and select 'Set as Desktop Background' (or equivalent option). The monthly calendar appears on the right side of the image.)
About the pictures
The images used for this month's wallpaper are Pre-Raphaelite Angels designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones found inside churches located in the English county of Herefordshire.
The Burne-Jones angel above left is taken from a 1902 tapestry located within Brockhampton church. One of a pair of tapestries, it was made by the William Morris workshop in Merton from designs by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The original design was produced in 1875 for a stained glass window in Salisbury Cathedral. For more information about these 'Angeli Laudantes' designs read http://www.cinoa.org/exhibits/27736. Several of Burne-Jones's tapestries are currently on display at the Kunstmuseum in Bern, Switzerland.
The Burne-Jones angel above right is a 1894 stained glass window -- 'The Angel of Doom' or 'The Angel in Doom' -- installed at Hoarwithy Church.
Herefordshire Churches: a Photographic Tour of Angels and Monsters in the English countryside
Brockhampton and Hoarwithy are separated from one another by a distance of only five miles and yet their churches are very varied in terms of their architectural styles. Photographs of both churches are shown below, along with two other historically interesting Herefordshire churches (Kilpeck and Shobdon).
All Saints Church, Brockhampton [website]
Brockhampton is an 'Arts & Crafts' church, designed by William Lethaby (1857-1931). Completed in 1902, it is has a thatched roof and an arched interior. It garnered high praise from the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner who declared it "one of the most convincing and most impressive churches of its date in any country". The Burne-Jones tapestries flank the high altar.
Exterior (castle + thatched cottage = Lethaby church):
Interior:
The Burne-Jones Tapestries:
Tapestry Detail:
Closeup of the tapestry stiches:
("The tapestries were woven on upright or haute lisse looms. In this high-warp manner the weavers wove facing the back of the tapestry and were guided by looking through the warp threads at a mirror hanging in front of the work. The horizontal wefts threads--generally made of wool, but silk and mohair were used for special effects--were pushed tightly together by a batten or comb. The weft threads so outnumber the warps that they conceal them completely. This medieval technique--the same as that employed by the Gobelins Works in Paris--allowed for the subtle colour gradation and very fine grain..." (from the 'Edward Burne-Jones: Earthly Paradise' exhibition leaflet).)
St Catherine's Church, Hoarwithy [website]
Upon setting eyes upon this church you would be forgiven for thinking yourself in Italy - the architect J.P. Seddon was commissioned in the 19th century to extend the existing church which he did by incorporating Italianate inspired elements. He added cloisters, mosiac floors, and a golden, domed interior that brings to mind St Mark's, Venice. The Burne-Jones stained glass window glows blue in the sunlight.
Exterior:
The Cloisters:
Interior:
The Burne-Jones Stained Glass Window (at the very top):
Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck [Website]
Kilpeck Church dates from about the year 1140 and is notable for its intricate stone carvings and corbels (gargoyles), including several Green Men and a Sheela Na Gig. Many of the carvings are of grotesque figures and monsters - see this website for the full rundown.
Exterior:
A selection of corbels:
Green Man:
Sheela Na Gig:
Interior:
St John the Evangelist, Shobdon Church [Website]
Notable for its "Wedding Cake" interior decoration, Shobdon Church replaced an earlier church, the remains of which can still be seen in the surrounding parkland. From the church's website: 'It has a direct connection to Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill in Twickenham and the members of the "Committee of Taste" which strongly influenced its design. Its amazingly intact interior and matching furniture are the sole example of this Walpolean Gothick style of Georgian church architecture and furnishing.' The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is currently holding an exhibition about Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill.
Interior:
'The Arches', ruins of the earlier church:
Probably carved by the same workmen whose work survives at Kilpeck Church
All photos taken by ArtMagick, May 2010.
Comments
1 comment
Comment by Karina
Made 6/2/2010 1:18:28 AM