Friday, November 25, 2011

The shutters are closed

This is the only photo I took inside the castle that day. Like I said, I got out of there after about ten minutes. People milling about in enclosed spaces make me nervous. Many of the castle's windows are made this way, and most of them are not shuttered so you can look out through them.

The window is attached to metal rods that are bolted to the casings on either side, providing added stability.

It looks to me like the precisely cut bits of glass are held together by strips of lead, constructed in much the same way that a stained glass window is.

On Wednesday night, we watched one of my favorite television programs. It's called Des racines et des ailes. I call it Roots and Wings. The program is a documentary that celebrates cultural, artistic, and architectural heritage, most often French, but from time to time they go abroad. The last show I saw was dedicated to the recent renovation of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

This week's edition profiled artisans involved in other recent restorations that included the Presidential palace, the Crillon Hotel, and Versailles, as well as a story about a man here in the Loire valley who makes wallpaper (by hand) and recreates vintage wallpapers, most recently in the rooms of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and yet another story about a glass and crystal manufactory in Alsace.

At one point there was a brief fly-over of the Château de Chenonceau and a mention of the stonework restoration that was going on there. I thought that was pretty cool, since I've been talking about it here for past few days.

5 comments:

  1. The windows are made in exactly the same way as the coloured (stained) glass ones.

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  2. Yes, Black Friday is in full swing
    over here. Just heard on the news
    that some woman used pepper spray
    on her fellow shoppers at Walmart
    on order to gain an advantage in
    the rush through the doors.

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  3. I love that window. Black Friday, White Friday, Gray Friday...it's all the same to me.

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  4. I think it's pretty cool, too. In fact, I think very cool that you feature details of architecture and cultural history. Yours is one of the richest blogs I've encountered.

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  5. I love Des Racines et des Ailes too, and look forward to being transported to fascinating places a world away from the Pacific Northwest.
    When we were at Chenonceau we wandered through the "farm' buildings and peeked into an open door where we discovered a very chatty gentleman who seems to be the resident restorer of wooden bits and pieces. He showed us multiple projects on the go in his fragrant workshop and we could have stayed there for hours. Much more fun than the parking lot where Simon hangs out!
    Loved your Paris series, speaking of being transported.

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