America

This image has been on my mind lately.

detail from the frescoes in Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome
painted by Andrea Pozzo, circa 1698

photo by Lynne Rutter April, 2008

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Missa Beati Notkeri Balbuli Sancti Galli Monachi

The off the hook baroque interior of the Cathedral of St Gallen.

After an incredibly lovely train trip from Milan through the Alps we arrived in St Gallen, Switzerland, for the premier of Erling Wold's mass, which he named for one of St. Gallen's most beloved monks, Notker the Stammerer.

Nearly 500 people attended the concert held in the choir of the Dom Cathedral. Erling's beautiful and moving music was brought to life by soprano Kim Brockman, whose voice really does remind one of angels, and the rock star of organists, Willibald, who handled the cathedral's 300+ year old instrument like it was a turbo powered sports car.
The applause lasted over 10 minutes.

A recording of the concert is here.

Grotesque obsession

As an Ornamentalist (and posting this while currently traveling in Italy) I can't help but obsess just a bit about the grotesque ornamentation that covers entire ceilings and indeed whole rooms in some of the places I have visited recently.

Grotesque figures found in a window of the Gallery of Maps, Vatican Museum, Rome

I am also absolutely rapt with my newest aquisition, Les Grotesques by Allessandra Zamperini, a comprehensive and lavishly illustrated book that traces the history of the form, from ancient Pompeii to the bestiaries and drolleries of medieval manuscripts, to the discovery of the Domus Aurea in the 15th century that inspired Raphael and his contemporaries to create an entire system of "grottesche" ornamentation, which endured as a major influence in painted decor for centuries, including singerie, neo-classical, and 19th century revival interiors. I bought the French version of the book while in Florence and have only slightly minded its weight in my luggage this last week.

Rome: ground zero for Grotesca
In future travels I'd love to visit the Guila Romano, Palazzo Farnese, Villa d'Este and some of the other fabulous villas that sport this kind of painting.

This time, I did get to spend a long day at the The Vatican Museum:

Renaissance "grottesche" ornamentation created by Raphael and his team of decorative painters in 1517-22.

Vatican - Museo Pio Clementino: details of ornamentation
by Christoforo Unterperger circa 1776

Santa Maria dell'Anima, Rome: detail of a chapel painted by Francesco Salviati, 1548.

Florence: The Uffizi

Spectacular painted ceilings in the main corridors, many of which were painted by Antonio Tempesta and Alessandro Allori around 1580

Detail of above ceiling

A small spandrel ornament on the lower floor of the Uffizi

note: photography is not permitted inside the Uffizi, so my images were taken by stealth.
Some of the other stealth photographers sharing this work on the web:
groenling's flickr set
MikevV

All of the images in this post photographed by Lynne Rutter, April 2008.
Select any image to view at larger size.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

dissolving/evolving facades

Postcard from Rome...

Near the Campo de' Fiore there is a small building of some considerable age, bent and worn, the lower part covered in graffiti.
At the top of the facade, you can see a lovely frieze decoration that cleverly marries neoclassical and art nouveau styles: angel figures, fountains, and horses, and a vitruvian wave border, created from horse heads.


















If you look very closely at the surface in the center of the building, you can see the ghost of an earlier decoration - a simple trompe l'oeil grid pattern that was all the rage in the 16th century.

The more exposed base of this facade has worn down to its bricks, and a new buildup of spray painted sentiments has begun.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Faux Marquetry Ceilings: Rathaus, Vienna

detail of a faux marquetry ceiling panel, Rathaus, Vienna

In September we traveled to Vienna, Austria, where Erling attended the ISMIR conference, and happily, a banquet organized by the city of Vienna for them in the Rathaus- the city hall built in the 1870s in the Gothic Revival style. It is spectacular inside, loaded with graceful arches, stenciled vaulted ceilings, and encaustic tile floors. A large number of rooms have stenciled wood faux marquetry ceilings.

<---dinner with ISMIR participants. there were other women there besides me, you know, waiting tables.

My enthusiasm for the ornament in the building must have been somewhat contagious, as a number of the banquet attendees accompanied me as I snuck from room to room shooting ceilings in the dark.

And to think, I was worried I'd be bored at this event!

These ceilings are made from a light colored pine, that has been beautifully stenciled with pigment or stain to give the look of marquetry; the wood looks richer and the room more grand. The ornament itself is relatively simple and repeated to give an opulent surface without looking too cluttered.

In this room, the lacunaria have been gilt on the edges, I believe with a low karat gold and tinted varnish.

Some of the stenciling appears to have been done in reverse- pigment is applied, and then removed through the stencil.

These are great borders which could be applied to wall paneling, floors, or furniture as well as ceilings.

More images are posted at my flickr account.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

J.W. Bergl: a Bohemian Muralist in Vienna

Garden murals by J.W. Bergl, Hofburg royal apartments, Vienna. photo by Lynne Rutter, 2007

During a recent trip to Vienna, I visited the Imperial Apartments of the Hofburg palace, and I was thrilled to find there, two small rooms with murals by the Bohemian artist Johann Wenzel Bergl (1718-1789). They are painted on canvas, with a secco-fresco style, and a look that reminds me of papier peint panoramique applied to all the walls, including two or three jib doors, making these tiny rooms whole, charming worlds unto themselves.
As it turns out, photography is not permitted in the Hofburg, so shortly after taking the above picture, I was asked to leave.
I attempted to console myself with a Schnitzel and a Carafe of Grüner Veltliner in the nearby Burggarten Café. I mean, really, one would think I was shooting pictures of the Empress Sisi in her underwear.

The very next day I went to Schönbrunn Palace, hoping to get another Look at the wonderful rooms of Bergl murals I has seen there a few years earlier. To my dismay, the Goëss Apartments as well as the other Bergl rooms, were all closed. I was told they are open only on special occasions and by appointment, and was directed to an Office where Appointments are made.
I should point out that this would not irritate me quite so much if there was a decent book on this painter's work available anywhere.

I screwed up my nerve and asked the management if they would be so kind as to open the rooms for me. This request was met with the usual calm Viennese disdain, which conveys a measure of blank shock at having been asked about something that is not allowed. Why on earth would anyone ask about something that is not allowed? Oh no, they told me. Es ist nicht erlaubt. I don't speak German, so I refrained from asking why.
Another day, Erling and I spent over an hour trying to gain entry to the Melk Stiftkeller in Vienna, which is reputedly adjacent to a chapel full of Bergl's paintings. More Grüner Veltliner at a nearby Restaurant was required to recover from our Failure.
Did you think you were going to read all this and go away with no eye candy? Would I do that to you?
Fortunately, I have the photographs I took in December of 2002, when the apartments of the Crown Prince as well as the Goëss rooms of Schönbrunn were open for a display of international-themed Christmas Trees.
These murals were commissioned by the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, and were painted between 1768 and 1777 in an enfilade suite of rooms on the garden level of the Palace. The artist used drawings of original specimens of exotic fauna and flora brought back from Hapsburg-funded scientific expeditions. Schönbrunn has extensive gardens and at one time boasted the largest zoo in Europe.
Shortly after the death of the Empress in 1780, the murals were covered over with wall-hangings, and not rediscovered until 1891. They remain in exceptional condition.
photographs by Lynne Rutter, 2002 Click on the images to see larger version.



J.W. Bergl was born September 23, 1718, in Königinhof, Bavaria. He was a student of the prominent painter Paul Troger, the artist who decorated the ceilings in the enormous library in the Benedictine Abbey at Melk. Bergl worked his entire career in Austria, and is best known for his bright- colored baroque trompe l'oeil murals, most notably those in Melk, and Schönbrunn.






I'm not the only one with a camera! Here is where to see more of J.W. Bergl's work:

The Bergl frescoes in the Garden Pavillion at Melk, photographed by Harald Hartman.
Schlosses Ober St. Veit: more of J.W. Bergl's exotic landscape frescoes by Helmut Jaklitsch.
The Goëss Apartments and other pictures of Shönbrunn, a Picassa album by Chris.
Flickr album by Ilja van de Pavert, with wonderful photographs of Melk.
My Bergl Flickr set to which I hope to add more photographs in the near future.
Some decent but small photos in this souvenir book on Schönbrunn.
The October 2007 issue of the World of Interiors has a lovely spread about the Goëss rooms.

Jib Door is in the glossary!

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Gothic Ornament: Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés

How many different borders can you use in one springing arris?

There are few surviving examples of true Gothic decorative painting. Most of what we can see now is the result of the appreciation and revival of romantic and antique styles during the 19th Century.

Fortunately in the case of Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the oldest church in Paris, there were significant amounts of original 13th and 14th century ornament to document, despite fires, the sacking of the church in 1789, and the ill use of the building during the next ten years which greatly damaged its interior.

The decorative painting as we see it now, was restored/recreated in 1845. It is remarkable how some of the oldest ornament looks the most modern. Those geometric borders (polka dots!) especially.
An interesting description of the history of this building can be found in this text of a 1921 guidebook.

While taking these photographs I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the priests in the church, who pointed out to me some of the better areas to photograph, and explained to me that areas of the interior had been scrubbed of its paint during more recent repairs. There is currently no plan for any restoration or cleaning.

photo by Lynne Rutter, 2007

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Gothic organ case

more for the ornament bank:

Strasbourg Cathedral: gothic organ case, circa 1385, with foliate ornament, carved ribs w/gold leaf.
Photo by Lynne Rutter 2007

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Gilt trompe l'oeil: Versailles

Ceiling ornament detail, Châteu de Versailles: neoclassical style trompe l'œil ornament with gilt highlights; gilt panels with trompe l'oeil shadows. This gorgeous bit of painting dates from the Second Empire.
(click on image to enlarge) look closely, you can even see the brushstrokes.
photo by Lynne Rutter, 2007

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

New York: Winter Windows

christmas on mars: extravagant macy's window

mixing business and pleasure, last week i made a short trip to new york, to work on a gilt ceiling with my friend bruce thalman.
my first night there i had a veritable holly golightly moment when bruce and john took me to herald square, to macy's at a somewhat late hour so we could get that midnight shopping experience. the windows currently have a splendid santa-in-space theme.

the following day, while waiting for some surface to cure, bruce and i spent an incredible afternoon at one of my favorite places - abc carpet and home.


their windows, as most of the inside of the store, are of an indian/world beat theme. thousands of crystals, and i mean the vingettes are packed with them, act as a snowy landscape.


i didn't have my camera on me for the fantastic tony duquette-inspired bergdorf windows, but fortunately racked.com posted some shots.

want to see more lovely window displays? check out the amazing vitrines of paris and london as reported at tara bradford's paris parfait.

Krampus!

Travel flashback: December 5, 2002, Salzburg, Austria



December 6 is St. Nicholas Day. yes, that St. Nik aka the Bishop of Myra, aka Santa Claus. The night before, is known as Krampusnacht.

In the Salzburgerland, St. Nik (dressed as a bishop) is always preceded by a pack of horrifying devils. Krampus wears a horrifying shaggy suit of fur, carved mask wth horns, and large iron bells and an apple basket or bag on his back. His job: beat the bad children with bundles of sticks, stuff them in baskets or bags, or otherwise punish them, while St Nik doles out treats to the good kids. The sounds of the bells sends the children running (either to or from.)

We found a bunch of these guys bar-hopping along the river: after they'd done with their more official duties in the Mozartplatz, they were using their super cool costumes to charm women.

A lovely Weiner Werkstätte style greeting card, circa 1900

The Krampus tradition is also popular in other parts of Europe in various forms, and a common subject in Victorian greeting cards.

How my family managed all these decades without an annual visit from the Krampusse is beyond me.

Backstage at Versailles

left to right: moi, Laurent Hissier, Dr. Erling H. Wold II, Emily Swift-Jones, Daniel Sievert, Pierre LeFumat, and the hunk on the end is a carpenter named Alexandre.

During our recent trip to Paris, evil twin Emily Swift-Jones, Erling, and I made a trip to Versailles, to visit our new friend Laurent Hissier, a talented artisan who works there painting and gilding.

Laurent met us at the side gate, waved us in, and then produced an impressive key from his pocket that opened ALL the doors. We got to see all those room upstairs where the public is not generally allowed. And then - the main event- he took us to the atelier where they are working, situated in a few giant unused rooms in one wing of the palace.

The crew has been restoring a lot of furniture and building and painting supports with eye-popping faux marbre to display the pieces, for a huge show of silver gilt furniture opening in November. Just the supports were so beautifully painted as to be works of art themselves!

To make it even more exciting, Pierre LeFumat, the master himself, was working in this atelier, applying a patina to some mouldings when we arrived.
(I wish I knew how to say "you missed a spot" en français, but I guess that may have been rude.)

We also met the charming master gilder, Daniel Sievert, whom we were told was sold to the palace on his 16th birthday and has been working there ever since. As you can imagine, a gilder will never run out of work to do at Versailles.

This was hands-down the highlight of my trip.

Merci Laurent for the hospitality, and to all the crew who stopped to visit with us.

"When Versailles was Furnished in Silver" runs 19 November 2007 to 9 March 2008

filling the ornament bank

Vienna
Unteres Belvedere: Goldenes Zimmer
designed circa 1720 by architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt for Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736)
decorative artist: unknown


one of the reasons i travel is to be inspired by the work of others, and be reminded of what i can do, what i want to do, rather than just what i have to do; it renews my interest in my chosen career.
i am also making a photographic "ornament bank" for reference, both for myself and for the decorative painting world in general- it will wind up either as an on-line digital source or possibly a book.

at any rate, i need to see places like this once in a while and ask- why does no one ask me to make a room like this? because i can do it, just so you know. and what's more, i want to, and i know why it matters.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

rare product endorsement: La GuerillaPod

I've just returned from three weeks in Europe, where I took an obscene number of pictures in dark places with my Nikon D70 . Lugging a tripod around while traveling is a pretty unattractive prospect, especially when the lightweight alternatives cost $500 and up. And you still need the ball head, and then the whole thing really isn't all that lightweight anymore.
Thankfully, before I left, a sales rep at Calumet Photo introduced me to the Gorillapod by Joby. I got the heavy duty model which screws right into the camera base, and can hold over 6 pounds of weight clamped onto the marble railing of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, or the back of a pew chair in the Église Saint Germain des Prés, so I could hold up my 200 mm lens with no problem and no ball head.

La GuerillaPod in Trikonasana


In some places I visited photography is, shall we say, discouraged, so I appreciated being able to set up a shot without attracting a lot of attention to myself, and then renamed my new tool La GuerillaPod.

The only downside to this gadget is that it can "bounce" a little, so a remote control is a nice addition. (on my older camera, I had a cable release, but Nikon did not make one for the D70)

Other mini tripods, such as those offered by Giottos, are also quite useful, especially the super slick E.Pod , but these cannot take the weight of a telephoto lens.


I will be posting the results of my expedition soon.

Cameras in Dark Churches

ceiling mural by Delacroix, Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris
photo using a Nikon p5000 set on the floor

During a recent visit to Saint-Sulpice, I watched dozens of tourists whip out their cameras and snap away, auto flashes going off like mortar fire over a dark trench.

Their pictures will likely look pretty bad: the flash cannot illuminate a ceiling 65 feet away, or it may leave a bright spot of glare in the middle of a mural. While it was believed at one time that thousands of flashes going off in a given day can damage an artwork, the reality is, it's distracting to others and just plain rude. Charging through a church flashing away is highly disrespectful to the space and to those who are there to worship.

At one point a girl asked me if I knew where the rose line is, to which I replied "it's not actually in this church", because it isn't. However, she and a gaggle of others found the famous gnomon without my help.

To these people I wish to say, please, put away your cameras and appreciate the place you are visiting for whatever reason. Buy a postcard, or look on the internet- someone else has more than likely done a much better job taking that picture before you.


For those of you who can show some respect and really care about that photo, here are some Dark Church photography tips:

• do not take pictures during a church service- come back later when you won't be bothering anyone.
• turn off the flash
• if possible set the ISO to 640 or below - anti-vibration settings and high shutter speeds will make for a grainy picture.
• set the camera timer (I use 3 seconds)
• check again that the flash is OFF - sometimes changing any setting on the camera will put the flash back into auto mode.
• place camera on the floor, pew, or other sturdy support (but not on an altar or anything important) and press the button, do not touch camera or move it until after the picture is taken.

Exciting surpise in Paris

If you are addicted to fine tea, as I am, you might begin to understand the thrill of stumbling upon the rather hip-looking Kusmi boutique at 75 Rue de Seine in Paris, and the massive colorful jars of the precious stuff in the back room.

Albrechts Flügel

This week we are in Vienna!

Yesterday Erling Wold and I went to Albertina, notable for its print collection and works on paper, including those by Albrecht Dürer.

Years ago Erling wrote some music for a Jon Jost film called Albrechts Flügel. Though the film was never finished, the piano piece, played here by Marja Mutru, is among my favorite of Erling's compositions.
mp3 at erlingwold.com