Not Chagall

I said on Wednesday that I confidently pointed at some stained glass windows in Metz Cathedral and told Susan "that's got to be Chagall".

I should have known I was wrong: Chagall is all swirls and freehand, and these are definitely cubist. These are the centre three panels of that set of windows, and they show The Last Supper, the crucifixion and the wedding at Cana. Looking at them I can see the last supper - the row of apostles' heads and plates down the left side. I can see the wedding at Cana - all those empty jars of wine. What I can't decipher is the crucifixion. I can see Mary in her traditional place (bottom right) but the rest is too abstract for me.

Jacques Villon designed the windows in 1957 for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Metz Cathedral. Charles Marq and Brigitte Simon made the glass, using acid etching. Villon was born Gaston Duchamp, brother of Marcel. 

Powdery Piggybacks

 Powdery Piggybacks found by me in the Forest of Preuilly.

This tiny uncommon mushroom may look small and innocuous but it is much more enigmatic than its simple appearance. Its presence and ability to parasitise and decompose its host, Brittlegill Russula spp mushrooms, is an important indicator of the health of its forest home. 

 

Found on an outing to a woodland at Ferrière les Beaulieu.

The scientific name is Asterophora lycoperdoides and its French name is Astérophore faux-lycoperdon. The miniature mushrooms 'piggyback' in small groups on old Brittlegills, and after starting out powdered white, soon become covered with what looks like cinnamon powder. Hence the English name of Powdery Piggyback mushroom. Unusually for a gilled mushroom, this powder on the top of the cap is made up of asexual spore like reproductive bodies. This is quite unlike 'normal' gilled mushrooms, which produce sexual spores that are dropped from the gills to reproduce.  

Found on an outing to a woodland at Ferrière les Beaulieu.

The species is widespread, and considered to be uncommon, but because of its small size it may be overlooked and under recorded rather than genuinely rare. You are most likely to see it in beech forests, or mixed beech and spruce, in damp places.

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.