Sunday, August 29, 2010

La Madeleine -- Tournez vers le ciel


J'adore, j'adore la Madeleine! Are you not just in awe with the juxtaposition of the angles and the carvings as you look up? There is so much to see and you could spend many hours here and still not absorb it all.


If you missed it, here is a previous post with another photo and some background information.

20 comments:

MadAboutParis said...

Lovely shot - almost like St. Peter in Chains here in Cincinnati! The link to the former post is not active...

Pat said...

Now that is JUST stunning....and to reveal a secret...I never went into the Madeleine the whole time I lived in Paris....oh, what did I miss? Next trip!

Alexa said...

I've already admitted what Bibi just confessed—and we should both be ashamed of ourselves for missing this!

Shell Sherree said...

I guess lying down to gaze upwards at this for hours on end would be inappropriate ~ but I'd love to do it.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Mad -- I would love to see St. Peter in Chains. (Thanks -- I fixed the link)

Bibi and Alexa -- I read that La Madeleine is the third most visited church in Paris. I have repaired the link to my other posting if you have not seen that photo of the angels and Mary.

Shell -- With my tripod set-up and trying to see what I was shooting, it did occur to me that it would be easier to be on the floor. Since I would not do that in my own church while people were praying, I thought better of it. (But it was tempting for sure!)

cocoa and coconut said...

Look at those little streams of light trickling in! What a place of beauty and peace..

Virginia said...

I love that shaft of light over the archway too. One can't imagine the time it took to card those details. It is an amazing church. Great shot and I'm impressed that you hauled a tripod anywhere in Paris!
V

Unknown said...

This is fabulous, Genie! Fantastic light and composition, great work!

vicki archer said...

Totally sublime Genie....xv

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Virginia -- It was a petite tripod, very lightweight and almost useless at the night shoot for le Tour Eiffel!

JM -- Merci! When I look at the photo I wonder how hard it would be to assemble if it were a jigsaw puzzle. Très difficile, je pense!

Vicki -- Merci, and thanks for visiting my blog!

Loree said...

That is one amazing piece of architecture. I love the word (name) Madeleine especially the way the French say it.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Loree -- The craftsmanship it took to construct these architectural details is amazing!

I agree about the name -- French is just a beautiful language.

Virginia said...

Ohhh une visite de Vicki, the queen! Lucky you.

And you knew I meant carve. Blogging without coffee, is not good!

V

PS Had another look at yesterday's photo. what's with that "fireproof" suit that guy is wearing? Ewwwww!

Anonymous said...

Not only amazing craftsmanship but the expense must have flattened the wallets.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Cousin Lincoln -- You are absolutely correct. No wonder we don't build them like this any more! Thanks for commenting on my blog today -- I hope you will visit often!

Virginia -- Yes, I am lucky, indeed. (wink)

Yes, the suit on the gentleman yesterday had a bit of a shine to it, n'est-ce pas?

Randy said...

I can see how one can get lost in the details but what a wonderful way to spend the day. It's so Golden!

Starman said...

We've been to a couple of great concerts there.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Randy -- It is especially nice when the weather is too hot or too cold or too rainy. It is a nice quiet respite from the streets and visually beautiful!

Starman -- Marie, Virginia and I attended a lovely concert of a women's choir there in June. They sounded like angels.

M said...

J'adore la Madeleine aussi!! The church and your photo are exquisite!

TheChieftess said...

Beautiful spot, love the angle you shot!!! What amazes me when reading about these fabulous cathedrals all over Europe, is that it took several lifetimes to construct them...100, 200,300 years for many of them... a church in Prague changed the design throughout the generations so it had quite an eclectic mix of styles...Can you imagine being a craftsman working on these columns, day in and day out for a lifetime, never seeing the finished product???