Sunday 8 October 2023

What did you do at work today? Posted by Vince Cholewa, 6 October 2023

What did you do at work today? Shhh! Don't tell the Bishop: Not strictly DBMM (nor strictly ballroom 😂) but it is from the heart of the Spanish Reconquista and a comment about humanity that just makes me smile. For 900 years, millions of pilgrims have walked through Santiago de Compostela Cathedral without spotting this secret carving.
The Galician regional government hired art historian, Professor Jenny Alexander, to conduct a stone-by-stone analysis to determine the sequence of the Cathedral’s construction. As Professor Alexander clambered on top of one of the many 12 metre high columns: “This little figure popped up. He’s got a nice little smile. He’s pleased with himself. He’s splendidly carved, with a strongly characterized face.”
He's a 30cm tall self-portrait of a stonemason - and it’s a kind of joke his carver told with pride and comradeship among these superb craftsmen.
“You find this in medieval buildings. They’re usually in dark corners where only another stonemason would find them. This one is in a bit of the building where you’d have to be a stonemason to be up there to see it.”
“The carving brings us face to face with one of the people whose work we’ve been studying, and it was delightful to meet him.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/.../mason-created-hidden.../ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/2445670492259195/

This little figure popped up. He’s got a nice little smile. He’s pleased with himself. He’s splendidly carved, with a strongly characterized face.

You find this in medieval buildings. They’re usually in dark corners where only another stonemason would find them. This one is in a bit of the building where you’d have to be a stonemason to be up there to see it.

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, constructed between 1075 and 1211.



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