Sunday 15 August 2010

Magnificent Stonecarving at Azay-le-Rideau

The chimneypiece is solid stone, but the decoration is painted on. The effect in real life is remarkably 3D. The central emblem must be the salamander adopted by François I.

A beautifully designed handrail, worn smooth and lustrous as silk.
This time the real thing, elaborately carved. You can see the initials 'F' for François and 'C' for Claude, his queen.
Susan

4 comments:

Diane said...

Wonderful photos. I love history in France. Diane

Diogenes said...

The carved fireplace is amazing. And the design of that handrail has a kind of modern look to it, even though it's 16th (?) century.

Susan said...

Diogenes: yes, I assume it is original to the staircase and 16thC.

Delbert05 said...

The stone carving of dragon looks more attractive and beautiful. Through out the history, stone carving has been known to be the most powerful expressions of creative formation.

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