Saturday, 16 September 2023

Albi Cathedral, France (Part Six).



English: The Marble Pulpit, Albi Cathedral, 
dated to 1776.
La chaire en marbre de 1776.
Italiano : Cattedrale di Albi - 
Il pulpito in marmo del 1776.
Photo: 4 August 2021.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)

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Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.


While much of the sculpture on the outer face of the Rood Screen was damaged, that on the interior of the Screen is almost completely intact, and features sculpture of The Twelve Apostles and two Angels around The Virgin Mary.

They are carved of stone and delicately coloured. Seventy-two statues of Angels decorate other parts of the Screen, surrounding the figure of Saint Cecilia, the Patron Saint of the Cathedral.[18]

The elaborate sculptural Screen, partly open-work and partly closed, surrounds the interior space of the Choir. This enclosure was built between 1474 and 1482 by Bishop Louis I d’Amboise. His Coat-of-Arms of two Angels carrying his emblem is displayed at the side entrances of the Screen.[10]


Chapel of Saint Claire, Albi Cathedral, 
below “The Last Judgement” mural.
Photo: 2 July 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Pom²
(Wikimedia Commons)


A study in 2012 discovered that the sculpture was originally painted in Blues and Reds, but was modified in the 19th-Century to brighter Greens and Orange-Reds, to harmonise with the more recent painted decoration.

Following that discovery, with the permission of the Commission of National Monuments, the sculpture was cleaned and restored as much as possible to the original gilding and colouring, and the 19th-Century background colours changed to the colour of stone, to recreate the original Mediæval harmony.[19]

One of the distinctive features of Albi Cathedral is the polychrome geometric painting of the Tribunes (Galleries) and Upper Walls, particularly in the Choir and the Chapels.



English: Chapel of Saint Cécile, in Albi Cathedral, 
with reliquary and a statue of the Saint. The statue dates 
from 1599,  and is meant to represent the body as it was 
found in the coffin at Rome. This statue is located at the Church of Saint Cecilia in Rome; Albi Cathedral, Dedicated 
to the Saint, has a faithful replica.
Français: Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi - Reliques et statue de Sainte-Cécile - La statue bien connue de Maderno , datant de 1599, est censée représenter le corps tel qu'il fut retrouvé dans le cercueil. Cette statue se trouve à l'église Sainte-Cécile à Rome ; la cathédrale d’Albi, dédiée à la Sainte, en possède une fidèle réplique.
Italiano : Si ritiene che la famosa statua di Maderno, risalente al 1599, rappresenti il ​​corpo così come è stato trovato nella bara. Questa statua si trova nella Chiesa di S. Cecilia a Roma; La Cattedrale di Albi, dedicata al Santo, ne conserva una fedele replica.
Photo: 4 August 2021.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)

This file is copyrighted and has been released under a license which is incompatible with Facebook's licensing terms. It is not permitted to upload this file at Facebook.


The geometric designs have a number of different motifs; some imitate the appearance of Marble; some are divided into Medallions or Squares, or give the appearance of three-dimensional Cubes; some have Coats-of-Arms, or painted Tree Branches, or false Balustrades. The Upper Levels offer painted Animals or Birds inhabiting the geometric designs, in an elaborate combination of humour and fantasy.[20]

The Baroque Pulpit, in the Nave, was commissioned by Cardinal Bernis, and was made between 1776 and 1779 by the Italian sculptors Mazetti and Maderni.[21]

The Cathedral has twelve Chapels, placed between the Buttresses along the sides of the Nave, and an additional twelve Chapels alongside the Choir, plus an additional five Chapels radiating from the Apse at The East End, and another, the Chapelle Sainte-Claire, at The West End. The Side Chapels in the Nave received overhead Galleries (Tribunes) in the 15th-Century.[8]


One of the Chapels in the Nave,
Albi Cathedral.
Photo: 2 July 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Pom²
(Wikimedia Commons)

PART SEVEN FOLLOWS.

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