Chagall Glass in Metz

Before we went to Germany in August we saw a TV program about Metz Cathedral. As a  family member had recently been there and raved about it, we thought we'd go, specifically to see the Chagall windows.

We were partially successful.

The photo above shows the first Chagall window in the north ambulatory and shows Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, Jacob wrestling the angel, Jacob's dream of the ladder, and Moses at the burning bush. Noah and Joseph appear to sit in miniature in the tracery, and an angel with a rainbow appears to crown the top.

This photo shows the second Chagall window in the north ambulatory. Moses receives the Law and, in some readings, leads the Hebrews across the Red Sea. In the centre, David plays the harp, (that's the green and yellow bit). On the right, Jeremiah mourns Jerusalem in purple and blue. Above the three lancets, a rose window is read as the Crucifixion, placing the prophets beneath the cross.

It's difficult to actually know what the windows DO actually show. Chagall is abstract enough that the windows can be interpreted, and some people have interpreted differently. I tried to use peer reviewed articles where possible.

What we do know is that Chagall drew the designs and applied highlights of grisaille (black and grey) to the glass. Charles Marq and Brigitte Simon, of the Atelier Simon-Marq in Reims, cut, fired, and leaded the pieces. Marq developed a process of veneering pigment onto glass, which let Chagall layer colors on a single piece.

And the partially successful bit?

That's because there are other Chagall windows we didn't see. We did see (and photograph) a window by Jacques Villon (born Gaston Duchamp, the brother of Marcel Duchamp), which I confidently identified to Susan as one of the Chagall windows. In my defence, Villon also worked with Charles Marq, so the glass may come from the same workshop as Chagall's windows

I give myself four out of ten, mainly for effort.

A Heart of Dough

I know we have a world of opinion (and one or two facts) at our fingertips wherever we go, but sometimes you have to ask yourself "why?".

We know what they are, and what you do with them, but why?

And how do you ask for one without resorting to just pointing?

It's Raining

We were woken up this morning by the most terrific clap of thunder.

The power then proceeded to go out (and come back on again) multiple times in rapid succession. I've never experienced anything like it before, with the power going off for up to a minute then coming back on again. In the 10 minutes leading up to 07:00h I'd say the lights went off about 30 times. It may be that now the house is lit exclusively by LED we'll never experience a brownout again: in the increasingly digital binary world lights will either be on or off.

Guess where we are

I don't know how much rain we'll end up getting, but we'll take anything, even though it's so dry at the moment there's the danger of fires. I think we'll accept that risk.

Autun at a Distance

It's only when you photograph Autun from a distance and crop out the obviously "modern" 16th century Burgundian roof of the military school that you realise how médiéval the place looks.

These photos were taken right weeks apart: we just happened to be driving through Autun for a second time when I took the top photo. We'll have to go back, there's plenty more to see.

WMM Hotels

When we were in Germany in June I booked us one night in a WMM Hotel near Eisenach. It appealled because I was looking for somewhere with a kitchen, and at a good price.

The business's method was new to me, and it didn't totally make sense at first. You book a room online, then on the day of your stay you'll receive an email asking you to check in. You'll need a photo of your ID to do so, but it's a simple process. You'll then get a second email with your room number and a big green button in it. When you arrive at the hotel you press the button to unlock the door. Don't press it before you arrive at the door to your room.

Ain't technology wonderful.

On our more recent trip to Germany we stayed in 3 WMM hotels, and they were all clean, comfortable, and well equipped. Rooms include a desk, a television and WiFi, as well as a mini kitchen. They're incredibly quiet even though they're inevitably in industrial areas or near the Autoroute - or both. The rooms are built as modules in Mindelheim and Illertissen, then assembled on site.

We like them. You know what you're getting, and although they're not exactly picturesque the rooms themselves are comfortable, and the bathrooms way bigger then you would find in most other budget hotels.

Back to Work

Yesterday I actually worked at what I consider to be my main job, for the first time in three and a half years.

It wasn't the longest days work I've ever done, but it was still a long day: picking clients up at 9:00am and getting home at 7:00pm, driving 170km in the process. Claudette was misbehaving slightly: her gear shift still needs fine tuning, but I managed the day without embarassing myself, and the clients left happy.

One of the reasons the gear shift has been thrown out of whack is that I put a new sort of battery in. It's a smaller physical size, but it's actually much more modern and more reliable. Unfortunately, we didn't realise that moving the battery forward as we had done meant that the battery leads interfered with the gear change rods. Oops!

She still isn't perfectly dependable shifting from first to second, which can be embarrassing. I'll have to get in touch with the guru to find out what the solution is.