Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London — John Shaqi
Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, LondonSparrow-Simpson, W. J. (William John)
History
Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London
Sparrow-Simpson, W. J. (William John)
St. Paul's Cathedral (London, England)
Looking westward the Great Entrance Doors are seen, and above them a
large window of Munich glass, a memorial to Mr. Thomas Brown, a member
of the great publishing firm of Messrs. Longman. The main subjects of
the window are the conversion of S. Paul on the Damascus Road, and the
restoration of sight to the Apostle by Ananias; right and left of the
lower subject are kneeling figures of the donor and his wife.
Two of the Mosaics in the pendentives of the Dome are faintly
indicated. The eight pendentives exhibit the four greater Prophets,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel; and the four Evangelists. The work
was executed by Dr. Salviati of Venice. Above the Whispering Gallery,
beyond the range of the picture, are carved stone figures of the four
great Doctors of the Western and of the Eastern Church; for the Western
Church, SS. Augustine, Jerome, Gregory the Great, Ambrose; for the
Eastern, SS. Chrysostom, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, Athanasius.
[Illustration: THE NAVE SEEN FROM THE WESTERN END OF THE CHOIR.]
THE CHOIR, LOOKING EAST.
The most prominent object in this view is the stately Reredos, the work
of Messrs. Bodley & Garner. The following description of it was read by
Mr. Garner before the S. Paul's Ecclesiological Society.
"The design consists of a basement, against which the altar stands,
with small doorways to give access to the apse behind. Over these
doors which are of pierced brass, are angels supporting the crossed
swords and keys, the arms of the diocese, and emblems of S. Paul and
S. Peter, and they are flanked by sculptured festoons of fruit and
flowers separated by marble panels. Above this is a range of sculptured
panels, with coloured marble backgrounds supporting an open colonnade
of semi-circular plan. A large group of sculpture, a sort of carved
picture in bold relief, occupies the centre, flanked on each side by
twisted columns of rich Brescia marble, wreathed with foliage in gilded
bronze. These support an entablature and rich pediment. The frieze is
of Rosso Antico, bearing the inscription _Sic Deus dilexit mundum_, 'So
God loved the World,' in bronze letters. The whole is crowned with a
central niche and surrounding statues, at a height of between sixty and
seventy feet from the ground.
"The general idea of the sculptured subjects is to express the
Incarnation and Life of our Lord, beginning with the two figures at
the extremities of the colonnade, which are those of the Angel Gabriel
and S. Mary, and represent the Annunciation. The panel on the north
side is the Nativity, the large subject in the centre the Crucifixion,
with the Entombment beneath it; and the group on the south side the
Resurrection. The panels of the pedestals are filled with Angels
bearing instruments of the Passion. The niche above the pediment is
occupied by the figure of S. Mary with the Divine Child in her arms;
the statues of S. Paul and S. Peter on either hand. The figure on the
summit of the niche is an ideal one of the Risen Saviour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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