The palace of Nymphenburg continue… June 7, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Aquarium, Art Gallery, Beach Resorts, Belgium, Coliseum, Destination, Dolphinarium, Europe, Gymnasium, Hotels, Library, Lodges, Museum, Oceanarium, Planetarium, Restaurant, Round The World, USA , add a commentIn 1716 Effner began the first of the four Rococo pavilions in the garden. This was the Pagodenburg, a product of the craze for chinoiserie that was beginning to sweep Western Europe. This little building has an interesting plan, which can be described either as an octagon with projections at four of the eight sides or as a Greek cross with the corners bevelled off. The exterior has an entirely French appearance and it is only inside that the Chinese theme is introduced. On the ground storey, the principal feature is provided by the blue Delft tiles in glazed earthenware, which the elector may have learned to appreciate during his stay in the Low Countries, though they are undoubtedly a cheaper substitute for Chinese porcelain. The upper of the two storeys has two pentagonal cabinets with lacquer panelling and furniture made by Parisian craftsmen in the chinoiserie manner. In the lounge, however, the purely European Régence again takes over in the fine wall carvings and silk brocade. (more…)
Hampton Court: A fine combination of the Tudor and English baroque styles continue… May 26, 2008
Posted by dodo in : England , add a commentIf the unspoiled Tudor character of much of Hampton Court is one of its greatest gifts to us, we owe it to the decision of William III to halt the rebuilding of the palace after the death of his Queen, Mary II, in 1694. In celebration of the Glorious Revolution which had brought them to the throne, William and Mary had been rebuilding rapidly since 1689 from the plans of their Surveyor of Works, Sir Christopher Wren, and these plans extended to a reconstruction of the entire palace, preserving only the Great Hall. Sir Christopher would have given us a palace with two great courts on two different axis, at right angles to each other ; and the architecture of that palace would have been varied and delightful, with a domed silhouette and many subtle recollections of Mansart and Le Van. The designs, in Wren’s own hand, exist and one wonders why they were not carried out. A possible answer is that they did not quite sufficiently resemble Versailles. (more…)
Caserta: The monumental scale of a palace executed for the Bourbons continue… May 15, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Airlines, Aquarium, Art Gallery, Beach Resorts, Coliseum, Destination, Dolphinarium, Gymnasium, Hotels, Library, Lodges, Memorial, Museum, Oceanarium, Planetarium, Restaurant, USA , add a commentThe first of these, the Halberdiers’ Hall, echoes the mood of the staircase. Its exquisitely blanched lilac and grey marbles appear to be salt-encrusted ; the soaring vault, the Ionic pilasters, the white stucco reliefs and the titanic sculpture of Victory crowning Alexander Farnese, carved out of a column from theTemple of Peace in Rome, all fulfil the expectations aroused by the noble entrance. But none of the other apartments exhibits the daring architectural imagination of the vestibule and staircase. The size and extent of the interior does indeed intimidate and amaze the visitor. As he wanders through the endless sequence of rooms he almost shares the terror of Ferdinand II’s little son, the Count of Bari, who at the age of seven was lost for over an hour in the labyrinthine halls. (more…)
Aranjuez: Philip II’s leafy palace on the banks of the River Tagus continue… May 14, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Destination, England, Hotels, Lodges, Travel Gear, Travelling Bag , add a commentAranjuez’s beautiful gardens have long been famous. The oldest is the Garden of the Island in a loop of the Tagus on the north side of the palace; a narrow canal, the Ria, has been cut across the base. Philip II introduced elms here from England, and in spring it is a paradise of shade and running water. As Saint Simon remarked in 1722: ‘ There are all sorts of curiosities in the shape of artificial trees with birds perched in them, which let fall showers of water when one walks underneath ; (more…)
Queluz: A rose pink palace in the French eighteenth-century style continue… May 8, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Brazil, Europe, Flight Schedule, France, Las Vegas, Library, Lisbon, Memorial, Museum, New York, North America, South America, USA, VISA , add a commentThe Sala dos Embaixadores is the throne room, but an intimate one, for the room is not very large and the windows on either side let in the sun, and the gardens and black and white marble floor are reflected in tall mirrors above the narrow semicircular console tables. This is the only room where the restoration after a great fire in 1934 appears obvious. The other rooms which were damaged have been admirably restored.
Beyond, at right angles, are the apartments of Dona Maria’s son, Dom Joao VI and his sinister Spanish Queen, Carlotta Joaquina, whom Beckford described with such vividness. Sitting oriental fashion on a red velvet carpet laid on the grass, she made him run races with her ladies in the gardens and dance the bolero to a ‘ low, soft-flowing choir of female voices . . . smooth, well-tuned, and perfectly ‘melodious’. The orchestra, which then existed at Queluz was, according to Beckford, the finest in Europe and at that time the wooden theatre in the park still existed, though nothing now remains of it. (more…)
Huis ten Bosch: The elegant ‘House in the Wood’ of the Dutch Royal Family continue… May 4, 2008
Posted by dodo in : England, Museum, Netherlands , add a commentNext to the dining-room, with its rococo hollandais, comes the Chinese Salon. The interior was a gift to Prince William V from a Mr Hemmingson, once a senior merchant in the service of the United East Indies Company in Canton. It has a wallpaper painted with scenes of the cultivation of rice, and the embroidery on the curtains and furniture, and the Chinese paintings on the mirrors, are enchanting. Equally interesting is the Japanese Room, with rosewood panelling inlaid with lacquer, completed in the late nineteenth century by mural decorations in embroidered silk and damask depicting flowers and exotic birds. The stucco ceiling, with its evenly spaced decorations painted in black, has Chinese details in the corners. (more…)
Huis ten Bosch: The elegant ‘House in the Wood’ of the Dutch Royal Family May 4, 2008
Posted by dodo in : England, Nassau, Netherlands , 4commentsThe seventeenth century represents one of the most interesting periods in the architectural development of the northern Netherlands. The Dutch had challenged the Spaniards for their freedom, but it was not until the reign of Frederik Hendrik, a son of Prince William of Orange, that Holland attained political and cultural unity.
The Princes of Orange had at first been modest in their residential requirements. Frederik Hendrik, however, after assuming the Stadholdership in 1625, ushered in a new period and began his architectural activities by rebuilding the old castle at Honselaarsdijk, soon to be followed by the Huis ter Nieuburch at Rijswijk and the wings of het Oude Hof (the Old Court) in the Noordeinde at the Hague. Finally, the Oranjesael or Huis ten Bosch (` the House in the Wood’) was planned by Pieter Post at the wish of Princess Amalia van Solms-Braunfels. Countess van Solms, a maid-of-honour at the court of Frederik V of the Palatinate, had married Frederik Hendrik of Orange in 1625. (more…)
