Click image to view at 800 pixels wide
Neoclassicism -- the New Classical approach, be it in architecture, art or social thought -- was a fascination with 'respectable antiquity' that swept the world in the 18th and 19th centuries. The styles of ancient Greece and Rome were supplemented with those of Egypt when archaeology, barely emerging from its anitquarian forebears, made its early discoveries there (obelisks sprang up in cemeteries all over the world as grave markers). London is a very Neoclassical city, in which a great number of buildings dating from the 1700s and 1800s reflect the grandeur of antiquity, and this particular one, on Whitehall, caught my eye for the statues recessed in niches on the facade. This is truly ostentatious by modern standards, and sculptors were on a good living in centuries gone by. The aspect remains magnificent, even in this age of steel and glass. The shot was a simple one, automatic exposure plus telephoto to fill the frame with the subject matter. Mild enhancements include sharpening, contrast and colour saturation. Fuji FinePix S5600, November 2006. Image by Mike.
Neoclassicism -- the New Classical approach, be it in architecture, art or social thought -- was a fascination with 'respectable antiquity' that swept the world in the 18th and 19th centuries. The styles of ancient Greece and Rome were supplemented with those of Egypt when archaeology, barely emerging from its anitquarian forebears, made its early discoveries there (obelisks sprang up in cemeteries all over the world as grave markers). London is a very Neoclassical city, in which a great number of buildings dating from the 1700s and 1800s reflect the grandeur of antiquity, and this particular one, on Whitehall, caught my eye for the statues recessed in niches on the facade. This is truly ostentatious by modern standards, and sculptors were on a good living in centuries gone by. The aspect remains magnificent, even in this age of steel and glass. The shot was a simple one, automatic exposure plus telephoto to fill the frame with the subject matter. Mild enhancements include sharpening, contrast and colour saturation. Fuji FinePix S5600, November 2006. Image by Mike.
No comments:
Post a Comment