Wednesday, September 26, 2007

St. Paul's Cathedral

Recently, I've been coming up with color schemes and ideas for re-decorating my bedroom. Actually I should clarify; I'm not re-decorating it, I've finally picked a theme, furniture, and colors for the first time since we purchased the house. (Sad, huh?) To complement my black, cream, and cranberry room (also my wedding colors), I've been on the computer night and day sampling different artwork that I think might go with my plans. I wanted something special: something not too masculine, and not too feminine. Nothing outlandish. Something that would compliment both my taste, as well as my husbands. I knew I was leaning towards black and white, and as there isn't a lot of artwork in those colors, I knew my medium had to be photographs. I'm not an Ansel Adams fan. I don't like celebrity photos. I knew I wanted a photograph of a location, but it had to be somewhere special. Somewhere I have actually been before.

I found this photograph of St. Paul's Cathedral, that was taken in London during the blitz (1941?) by Herbert Mason. I know it might seem a little morbid to some of you, but it really struck a chord with me. Even in the midst of the turbulence and the fear, the cathedral rises above the smoke an ashes. It is a symbol of strength and peace. I have a lot of great memories from my trip to England last year, especially the time we spent in London. Princess Diana was married in St. Paul's. Julie Andrews sang about the cathedral in Mary Poppins. Sir Winston Churchill is buried there. I think the photograph is something I will be excited to see every time I walk into my bedroom.
Other artwork I was deliberating over: "La Scapigliata" by Leonardo DaVinci. "Mona Lisa" by Leondardo DaVinci. "The Milkmaid" by Johannes Vermeer. "The Lady of Shalott" by John Waterhouse. "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt. "Kissing the War Goodbye" by Victor Jorgensen. "Dreams In Blue" by Morgan Weistling.

2 comments:

HeaddaMarie said...

So I checked out the pix...by the way I like the on of St. Pauls Cathedral. In regards to the other ones I like the following best: "La Scapigliata" by Leonardo DaVinci; "The Lady of Shalott" by John Waterhouse; & "Kissing the War Goodbye" by Victor Jorgensen. I couldn't find the last one. Anyway, those are my thoughts.

Marie said...

I love that picture of St. Paul's cathedral. I also see it as a symbol of strength (and while the blitz was a difficult time for the British people, they rose above it with unity and strength, so it's not as morbid as it might be). And I've always loved the Kissing the War Goodbye picture too. Of course, I love all things World War II.

Btw, congratulations on actually trying to come up with a decorating scheme! Someday, I'll do that too. . . well, maybe.