Our national saint can beat up yours
And when she gets de sensation
She go up in the air, come down in slow motion
Bright idea of the day: Listening to calypso while doing housechores. I may spill more water, but I dare say I have much more fun doing the dishes with Belafonte blaring out of my speakers.
Had a productive day for once! Early morning Norse lecture and then a day's honest toil in the library researching my term paper.
Also got around to bringing my new camera to the museum where the subject of my paper is displayed. I did get a bit distracted while there (their Medieval section is huge and lovely), so I might as well share some of the pictures that turned out alright (not too many, since flash isn't allowed there, but I did what I could).
Well, so this is the altar frontal I'm currently working with:
It's from ca. 1325. In the centre you've got his abbotness St. Botolph, patron saint of travellers.
On the left side you've got the Annunciation of Virgin Mary, and the death of Norway's national saint, Olaf Haraldsson (looking remarkably calm and unprotected for a Warrior King who died in battle. I'm especially fond of the fountain of blood cheerfully spurting out of his side).
On the right is the martyrdom of St. Laurence who was fried on a grate (only not really) and Catherine of Alexandria being saved from the breaking wheel by divine intervention (fat lot that did her, she had her head chopped off instead).
Detail from the martyrdom of Holy Olaf:
The colours on this thing is amazing. Notice with what care they've illustrated the grotesquenes of the killers, Thorir Hund (plunging a spear into the King's chest) and Torstein Knarresmed (hitting Olaf's knee/thigh with an axe), respectively. Kalv Arnesson isn't illustrated for some reason - he is said to have stabbed St. Olaf in the neck, which I take as a slightly more deadly wound than an axe to the knee anyway.
Speaking of St. Olaf, here's one of the nicer sculptures the Bergen Museum of Cultural History have on display.
His main attribute is the battle axe (which is pretty hardcore) so it's either that or a sceptre (symbolizing he's the Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, Norway's eternal king) that's missing from his hand.
His other attribute is stepping on a dragon with a man's head, symbolizing his victory over heathendom (he did christen Norway after all). When I was young I always felt bad for the dragon in those sculptures - St. Michael at least picked on a dragon his own size. This one seems pretty calm about being trampled underfoot though.
It's all "Sup dude?". There are others that are more "OH GOD GET HIM OFF ME AAAAH".
More typical Norwegian Medieval art: Portal from stave church.
I love to just spend ages staring at work like this, searching for the dragon heads, trying to follow each curve with my eyes. It gives me headaches but it's so pretty.
Then there's the Passion Crucifix.
Every time I see it it always takes my breath away. It's from the Late Middle Ages when they were getting really obsessed with the pain and the suffering and the gore. And it's so big, Christ is easily as tall as me.
There's a mass of blood and exposed flesh and broken bones poking out of wounds, but what always gets to me is how painfully emaciated it is.
I'm by no means religious, but I'm shocked by the sense of pity I feel when I see it.
The museum also got a St. Andrew crucifix, which you don't see very often, at least not this big and detailed:
I can't really stand "dramatic lighting" in museums, and then I go and fiddle with an image like this in Photoshop just to accentuate the shadows. Yes I am a hypocrite.
A little bit of Renaissance somehow snuck in:
And who do you think this sympathetic-looking horned fellow is?
That's right, ol' Moses. I like this sculpture especially (as far as I can recall it's from a Reneissance altar), because he seems to look at you in a way that says "I'm not mad at you for the mistranslation, but I'm disappointed..." Yes, it turns out there's a Hebrew phrase that can mean both "horns" and "a ray of light". Guess which one they went with in this period.
Carved renaissance bed. No exciting story, I just want it.
Decorative window painting:
I imagine whoever first comissioned them told the artist, "Nope, I'm not satisfied. Needs more boobs." - "What? But I don't think..." - "I don't care how you work them in there, just do it!"
And on that mature note I think we'll end this.
I don't know about you, but I think it's all very interesting, and I'm glad I can work towards my bachelor degree by looking at such beautiful things.
She go up in the air, come down in slow motion
Bright idea of the day: Listening to calypso while doing housechores. I may spill more water, but I dare say I have much more fun doing the dishes with Belafonte blaring out of my speakers.
Had a productive day for once! Early morning Norse lecture and then a day's honest toil in the library researching my term paper.
Also got around to bringing my new camera to the museum where the subject of my paper is displayed. I did get a bit distracted while there (their Medieval section is huge and lovely), so I might as well share some of the pictures that turned out alright (not too many, since flash isn't allowed there, but I did what I could).
Well, so this is the altar frontal I'm currently working with:
It's from ca. 1325. In the centre you've got his abbotness St. Botolph, patron saint of travellers.
On the left side you've got the Annunciation of Virgin Mary, and the death of Norway's national saint, Olaf Haraldsson (looking remarkably calm and unprotected for a Warrior King who died in battle. I'm especially fond of the fountain of blood cheerfully spurting out of his side).
On the right is the martyrdom of St. Laurence who was fried on a grate (only not really) and Catherine of Alexandria being saved from the breaking wheel by divine intervention (fat lot that did her, she had her head chopped off instead).
Detail from the martyrdom of Holy Olaf:
The colours on this thing is amazing. Notice with what care they've illustrated the grotesquenes of the killers, Thorir Hund (plunging a spear into the King's chest) and Torstein Knarresmed (hitting Olaf's knee/thigh with an axe), respectively. Kalv Arnesson isn't illustrated for some reason - he is said to have stabbed St. Olaf in the neck, which I take as a slightly more deadly wound than an axe to the knee anyway.
Speaking of St. Olaf, here's one of the nicer sculptures the Bergen Museum of Cultural History have on display.
His main attribute is the battle axe (which is pretty hardcore) so it's either that or a sceptre (symbolizing he's the Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, Norway's eternal king) that's missing from his hand.
His other attribute is stepping on a dragon with a man's head, symbolizing his victory over heathendom (he did christen Norway after all). When I was young I always felt bad for the dragon in those sculptures - St. Michael at least picked on a dragon his own size. This one seems pretty calm about being trampled underfoot though.
It's all "Sup dude?". There are others that are more "OH GOD GET HIM OFF ME AAAAH".
More typical Norwegian Medieval art: Portal from stave church.
I love to just spend ages staring at work like this, searching for the dragon heads, trying to follow each curve with my eyes. It gives me headaches but it's so pretty.
Then there's the Passion Crucifix.
Every time I see it it always takes my breath away. It's from the Late Middle Ages when they were getting really obsessed with the pain and the suffering and the gore. And it's so big, Christ is easily as tall as me.
There's a mass of blood and exposed flesh and broken bones poking out of wounds, but what always gets to me is how painfully emaciated it is.
I'm by no means religious, but I'm shocked by the sense of pity I feel when I see it.
The museum also got a St. Andrew crucifix, which you don't see very often, at least not this big and detailed:
I can't really stand "dramatic lighting" in museums, and then I go and fiddle with an image like this in Photoshop just to accentuate the shadows. Yes I am a hypocrite.
A little bit of Renaissance somehow snuck in:
And who do you think this sympathetic-looking horned fellow is?
That's right, ol' Moses. I like this sculpture especially (as far as I can recall it's from a Reneissance altar), because he seems to look at you in a way that says "I'm not mad at you for the mistranslation, but I'm disappointed..." Yes, it turns out there's a Hebrew phrase that can mean both "horns" and "a ray of light". Guess which one they went with in this period.
Carved renaissance bed. No exciting story, I just want it.
Decorative window painting:
I imagine whoever first comissioned them told the artist, "Nope, I'm not satisfied. Needs more boobs." - "What? But I don't think..." - "I don't care how you work them in there, just do it!"
And on that mature note I think we'll end this.
I don't know about you, but I think it's all very interesting, and I'm glad I can work towards my bachelor degree by looking at such beautiful things.