Romanesque doorway in the Lugo Cathedral

[peregrina2000]

This article describes how a romanesque doorway in the Lugo cathedral, which was covered up during the Baroque era, is going to be uncovered. Such suspense -- no one knows what the doorway looks like, whether there are paintings, what kind of carving, etc, etc.!

 

[jungleboy]

I’m on board not only with this but with getting rid of all Baroque in favour of Romanesque wherever possible!

Although in general I’m not always a fan of removing all layers down to the original. Look how cool the Roman temple in Évora once looked (sketch from 1865) with a medieval building built into it!

 

[Deleted member 73526]

I’m on board not only with this but with getting rid of all Baroque in favour of Romanesque wherever possible!

Although in general I’m not always a fan of removing all layers down to the original. Look how cool the Roman temple in Évora once looked (sketch from 1865) with a medieval building built into it!

Fascinating stuff. Is there any surviving material that tells us what people in the Middle Ages thought about preservation / restoration / renovation of roman architecture or other historic buildings? (Other than the actual building material, so to speak).

 

[VNwalking]

I’m on board not only with this but with getting rid of all Baroque in favour of Romanesque wherever possible

Second the motion.
All in favor?

Let's start with the cathedral in Santiago, shall we? That hallowed Baroque concretion is like icing on a Tarta de Santiago.


But seriously. We think differently about old buildings than people did 400 years ago: why not 'improve' what was clearly out of style? Fortunately they could not mess with the inside too much.

Such suspense -- no one knows what the doorway looks like, whether there are paintings, what kind of carving, etc, etc.!

Wonderful!
Thanks for sharing this, Laurie.

 

[Deleted member 73526]

All in favor?

I likes a bit of rococo, me.

 

[VNwalking]

I likes a bit of rococo, me.

De gustibus non disputandem est.
OK, the wedding cake stays.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Although in general I’m not always a fan of removing all layers down to the original.

Nor am I.
Even though I am a Romanesque aficionado and I would vote with @VNwalking .

Removing all layers is like turning back the clock. You can't rebuild the Roman temple when all its stones have been used to build something else.

This article describes how a romanesque doorway in the Lugo cathedral, which was covered up during the Baroque era, is going to be uncovered.

In this case, I'm all in favour, as the doorway, as I understand it, was just covered by a wall.

 

[tpalmercurl]

Second the motion.
All in favor?

Let's start with the cathedral in Santiago, shall we? That hallowed Baroque concretion is like icing on a Tarta de Santiago.


But seriously. We think differently about old buildings than people did 400 years ago: why not 'improve' what was clearly out of style? Fortunately they could not mess with the inside too much.


Wonderful!
Thanks for sharing this, Laurie.

They did mess with the insides a bit. Those immense altarpieces (retablos?) covered original walls and windows and probably more. I don't know much about it, but there is a church somewhere along the Camino where the altarpiece was removed and a simple cross (not a crucifix, as I recall) hung in its place. Natural light returned through the windows that had been blocked for centuries. It was beautiful. Sorry I can't remember more!

 

[dick bird]

"If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it". Sorry, stole that from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. But seriously, Baroque is unappealing to modern eyes: garish, over-decorated, melodramatic and furthermore mainly financed from the uncontrolled looting, theft and melting down of Inca and Aztec gold artefacts. Not only that, they also had absolutely no regard or respect for the work of earlier periods. But alternatively: intricate, superbly crafted, a glorious tribute to human ingenuity and vision, magnificent, and unashamedly camp (plus they had great music). Fashions change. We need to respect and conserve as much as we can of our heritage even if it does clash with contemporary orthodox notions of what things should look like. At one time, Romanesque was seen as crude and semi-barbaric. And as for tearing down the façade on Santiago cathedral, no, no, a million times no. Just one little quibble about the article, Romanesque, 13th century, - really?

 

[VNwalking]

And as for tearing down the façade on Santiago cathedral, no, no, a million times no.

Absolutely.
I was joking - at least about removing the cherubs and filagree, though certainly not about my feelings about said filigree and flocks of obese cherubim.

 

[dick bird]

Absolutely.
I was joking - at least about removing the cherubs and filagree, though certainly not about my feelings about said filigree and flocks of obese cherubim.

Yeah I know. Should I say this? but I really wonder sometimes about those flocks of cherubim.

 

[VNwalking]

Should I say this? but I really wonder sometimes about those flocks of cherubim.

Oh. So I am not the only one??
(I don't think I've ever said it out loud either, at least as regards the cathedral in Santiago.)

 

[dick bird]

Oh. So I am not the only one??
(I don't think I've ever said it out loud either, at least as regards the cathedral in Santiago.)

Sssh, I won't tell anyone. Is this what we are talking about? Astorga cathedral, in particular, has a number of statues that make you think 'What exactly is going on here?'

For obvious reasons, (it coincided with the heyday of mediaeval pilgrimage) there is something, shall we say, of a bias towards Romanesque on the forum? That's great because until six months ago I knew little and understood less of the Romanesque and I thank the forum in general and pelegrina 2000 in particular for opening my eyes and setting me off on a fascinating line of discovery. But let's not disparage the Baroque. Firstly, it gave us Bach, Vivaldi, St. Paul's in London and St. Peter's in Rome. Secondly, it coincided with Spain's so-called 'Golden Age' of Cervantes and Velasquez. Thirdly it's there (as Sir Edmund Hilary said of Mt. Everest) and just about every cathedral in Spain you go in is full of it. Fourthly, whatever you think of the sculpture, the architecture is magnificent. Anyway, this thread was supposed to be about a Romanesque doorway. Cheers.