<\/p>\n
A close-up, black and white photograph of a clover shaped recess in a stone wall, known as quatrefoil 248. <\/em><\/span>[CON_B00248_F003_022 \u2013 ENGLAND, Somerset, Wells Cathedral. North face, facet: K, quatrefoil 248, N.W tower, N side, pre-restoration. The Conway Library, The Courtauld Institute of Art, CC-BY-NC]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A close-up, black and white photograph of the same quatrefoil pictured above. The images are almost identical.<\/em> [CON_B00248_F004_010 \u2013 ENGLAND, Somerset, Wells Cathedral. Facet: C, Colchester no. 248, N.W Tower, N side, post- restoration. The Conway Library, The Courtauld Institute of Art, CC-BY-NC]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wells<\/u><\/p>\n I was brought into creation, Beneath our feet, My brothers told me not to listen, For many years we stood, \u201cYou are marked a sinner,\u201d And those beneath us howled, When my brother\u2019s ears, Of flesh taken from the holy.\u201d I begged forgiveness from my brothers, A storm took the head of my brother, My brother came to forgive me, My nose had vanished by the time, \u201cWe warned you to fear the outside,\u201d \u201cBut how can I not stand tall! I received no answer, They brought potions to clean our bodies, I faced my recreation, <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A black and white photograph of a neo-classical sculpture in marble, depicting the Ancient Greek mythological figure Andromeda. <\/em><\/span>[CON_B04109_F002_013, ENGLAND, London, Sydenham, Crystal Palace Gardens. \u201cAndromeda\u201d. The Conway Library, The Courtauld Institute of Art, CC-BY-NC]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andromeda<\/u><\/p>\n She was chained to a rock in the ocean, She was chained to a rock in a house of glass, She was chained to a rock in the ashes, <\/p>\n A black and white photograph mounted on card depicting the interior of the choir of Aachen Cathedral. [CON_B09767_F01_010 \u2013 GERMANY, Aachen, Munster. Showing interior of Gothic choir, interior vaulting of the apse. 18 Nov. 1944. The Conway Library, The Courtauld Institute of Art, CC-BY-NC]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A black and white photograph mounted on card. Caption: \u201cThose beautiful stained glass windows were the only part of Aachen Cathedral seriously damaged by war. A bomb fell through the Church roof Christmas Eve, 1943, rolled out into the street and exploded the following day, blowing out those windows, which are called \u201cthe tallest in Europe.\u201d [CON_B09767_F01_018 \u2013 GERMANY, Aachen, Munster. Showing the damage of the stained-glass windows in Aachen cathedral\u2019s choir. Attribution: Lawrence Riordan. The Conway Library, The Courtauld Institute of Art, CC-BY-NC]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aachen<\/u><\/p>\n The bombs are dropping and we\u2019ve been left behind, The ground is being torn up, An arrow through Peter, So far above, do they look down, The morning is come and they are gone, And we are gone to dust on the floor, And if you were to find them, miles away, <\/p>\n Discussion<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I wrote the above poems while examining three photo sets from the Conway Library, all showing art that had been variously damaged. What fascinated me about the pieces was that, despite being disfigured, they were all enthralling. They had inspired photographers to capture them, and they had inspired me to write about them. Would it be unfair to say then that their damage decreased their artistic value?<\/p>\n In the course of my week at the Conway I have researched these three photographic subjects and have here compiled short histories of each. I hope that in understanding the subjects the true impact of their being damaged may become clear.<\/p>\n Wells Cathedral<\/u><\/p>\n To begin with the subject of the first poem, a small group of carvings within a quatrefoil at Wells Cathedral, Somerset. They sit on the north face of the north-west tower of the cathedral\u2019s magnificent west front and constitute one of many quatrefoil carving groups on the cathedral. This cathedral, along with its carvings, is medieval, having been built between the 12th and 15th Centuries, with the west front probably being completed in the 13th Century. It is the first English cathedral to have been built in the ornate Gothic style in which intricate carved representations of biblical stories were common.<\/p>\n The subject here is the Transfiguration of Jesus, a New Testament story in which Jesus (here carved in the middle) begins to glow with heavenly light (represented here by a halo). He is visited by the prophets Moses and Elijah, who here stand on his either side. The figures cowering below him in the carving represent his disciples, Peter, James and John, who were praying with him at the time of the transfiguration and were overwhelmed by what they were witnessing. The story is given particular theological importance by the voice of God, which here referred to Jesus as his son and bade all to listen to him. That this element of the story is not represented here is presumably due to the difficulty of depicting a vocal address in a carving, and it was likely assumed that many viewers of the group \u2013 if indeed they could see it properly from the ground \u2013 would know the Transfiguration story.<\/p>\n The carvings as seen in the first photograph were heavily damaged due to the simple face of having been exposed to the elements over time. What is more interesting is that the second photograph shows them after having been restored during a massive west front restoration project in the 1970s. My first thought when seeing this second photograph, was that the carvings look hardly changed from how they had been prior to having been restored. The heads of the prophets are still missing, but more striking to me is that the face of Jesus is still worn away, none of his features having been redefined.<\/p>\n Further research led me to summaries of the restoration work from which it was clear that the goal of the work was simply to clean the work and preserve its present state, with no aim to restore the original appearance. That the restoration had these purposes is revealing of the changed way in which we in the modern era interact with medieval Cathedrals compared to those in the time in which it was built. While in the Middle Ages the aim of such carvings seems to have been to represent bible stories, perhaps with the intention of teaching parishioners or perhaps out of some reverence to God, now it does not seem to be of much relevance whether the story is legible.<\/p>\n Indeed, some of the quatrefoil carvings were so damaged that one could only guess as to what they had been. When people now come to visit historic churches such as this, the interest for many is either in the history or the aesthetic beauty of the place. Even those visiting for religious reasons may be more interested in seeing the authentic expressions of faith of those 13th Century workers, increased literacy meaning there is less of a need for the bible to be told in visuals. There is an argument to be had that to repair the old carvings with modern additions, even if they look as close in style as possible to the original, would be to detract from this authenticity and, as Carolyn Korsmeyer puts it, to commit an act of \u2018aesthetic deception\u2019.<\/p>\n There is definitely an element of the Ship of Theseus debate in such a line of thought and, like this philosophical conundrum, there is no agreed upon correct answer. At York Minster, for example, the permanent stonemasons yard carves new grotesques to replace those adorning the minster\u2019s exterior when they become damaged. Evidently it is the consensus here that retaining the appearance of the stonework is more important than retaining its genuine historical elements. At Wells Cathedral, the damaged state of the figures is preserved \u2013 the effects of the elements over the years have shaped the carvings into something new which is considered worth saving.<\/p>\n Andromeda, Crystal Palace<\/u><\/p>\n The sculpture of Andromeda from the Crystal Palace has an entirely more dramatic, and ill- fated, backstory. The sculpture is neo-classical in style, probably made between about 1760- 1860 when the fixation on the classical age was at its peak in Britain.<\/p>\n The story it represents is the Greek myth of Andromeda. In this story Andromeda, the princess of Aethiopia, is chained nude to a rock in the sea as food for a sea monster. Her punishment was not at the result of anything she did, but a response to a claim her mother made that her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids. Poseidon, father of the Nereids, found murdering Andromeda to be a fitting revenge. In the story she is saved from her fate by Perseus, who slays the sea monster and carries Andromeda home to Argos to be his queen.<\/p>\n With no available information about the sculptor of this work, it is difficult to guess at why exactly the myth of Andromeda was chosen as a subject. But this certainly wasn\u2019t the only example of a neoclassical depiction of her and comparison to others, particularly the 19th Century Italian work by Romanelli, suggests that the obscured object at her feet to the right, is the broken head of the sea monster which was originally shown circling her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A colour photograph depicting a white marble neo-classical sculpture of the figure from Ancient Greek myth, Andromeda, on a black background. A naked female figure, draped in cloth, is shown chained to a rock, the head of a sea monster rising up from sculpted waves below, as if to bite her. She raises her free hand up above her head, her mouth slightly open in shock and fear. [ITALY, Florence. \u201cAndromeda\u201d, sculptor: P. Romanelli, 19th Century. Attribution: Sotheby\u2019s auction catalogue.]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0This sculpture was one of many artworks that had its home in the Crystal Palace, the grand glass Victorian structure which stood originally in Hyde Park, where it was built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, after which it was moved to Sydenham.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A black and white photograph depicting the Crystal Palace in Sydenham, London, from the air. <\/em><\/span>[CON_B04109_F002_001 \u2013 ENGLAND, London, Sydenham. Aerial view of the Crystal Palace, Sydenham. The Conway Library, The Courtauld Institute of Art, CC-BY-NC]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In Sydenham it reportedly struggled to attract visitors, despite its large collection which included British sculptural works such as this one. Its ultimate fate was to be destroyed almost entirely by a fire in 1936 (the cause of which was never determined) with its final remaining tower structures being pulled down during World War 2 and its gardens been left in disrepair.<\/p>\n This photo of the forgotten Andromeda was taken in the 1970s, decades after the fire. Another image taken at the same time shows that she was stood in a cluster of similarly abandoned neo-classical sculptures, many of which miss limbs and heads. It is difficult to know whether she was inside the building when it burnt, some sculptures being designated for the Palace\u2019s gardens. A comparison to other fire-damaged marble statues has suggested to me that the black stain across her torso is consistent with her having at least been close enough to the flames to have been scolded by them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.courtauld.ac.uk\/digitalmedia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/07\/IMG_0774-806x1024.jpeg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWith my brothers,
\nWe three standing proud,
\nBrought beneath us,
\nWere those others,
\nWho curl their faces to the ground,<\/p>\n
\nI call to them, \u201cMen,
\nWhy don\u2019t you rise?\u201d
\nThey shudder softly and say,
\n\u201cYou will see, when,
\nThe outside takes your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nTo men who feared the sun,
\n\u201cWe were created by the righteous,
\nSee how they look on us with awe,
\nBrother this is our dominion,
\nNothing here will slight us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWith prideful benevolence,
\nFor the men who cried below,
\nUntil my brother\u2019s hand lost,
\nIts finger, the severance,
\nA creeping blow.<\/p>\n
\nBoomed my brother with hand intact,
\nWe saw it as a punishment,
\n\u201cBut please, brothers, I do not know,
\nWhat I did or what I lacked.\u201d
\nWe did not doubt His judgement,<\/p>\n
\nAs we froze and shunned,
\nOur kin with his sinner\u2019s mark,
\nThey implored us,
\n\u201cDon\u2019t let yourselves be numbed,
\nDon\u2019t let the outside take your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nStarted to fall away,
\nHe turned his accusation downwards,
\nTo the \u201cwhimpering, conniving hoard,
\nWho crouch as though to pray,
\nBut feed the devil broken shards,<\/p>\n
\nThe grovellers tried to protest,
\nBut my brother knew sound no longer,
\nAnd he could not hear them say,
\nThat \u201cthe outside will not rest,
\nUntil none of us are what we were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFor standing tall while they withered,
\nBut only one could hear my sorrow,
\nAnd he was the one whom we had wronged,
\nAnd though I know his lip quivered,
\nHe let no emotion for me show.<\/p>\n
\nHe who had squalled against sin,
\nAnd as we wailed those hateful,
\nSoothsayers said loud,
\n\u201cWe told him he would not win,
\nAgainst the outside\u2019s great pull.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhile we cried for our lost,
\nWe cursed the snivellers in their hole,
\nFor they had committed the crime,
\nOf being unblemished at the cost,
\nOf our dear brother\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n
\nMy second brother lost his head,
\nAnd I hated the cowards keeping their secret,
\nOf how to remain whole,
\n\u201cWhy is it they are dead,
\nWhile you men meet no threat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThey admonished me hard,
\n\u201cYou thought yourself an equal,
\nTo its power,
\nYou let your brothers disregard,
\nThat which comes before the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhen my creator made me so?\u201d
\nThey hid their answers undercover,
\nAnd so I aimed my question out,
\n\u201cOh creator, did you know,
\nThat you built us only to suffer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nBut eventually there did appear,
\nDisciples with wands of creation,
\nI could have collapsed with joy,
\nThat they would restore what was dear,
\nI would cease to be a family of one.<\/p>\n
\nCracks they took days to restore,
\nBut they did not return my brothers,
\nAnd when I tried to scream and beg,
\nI found that I had a mouth no more,
\nAnd all my noise was smothered.<\/p>\n
\nWith corpses by my side,
\nI wish I did not see their degradation,
\nBut the outside never took my eyes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.courtauld.ac.uk\/digitalmedia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/07\/IMG_0776-800x1024.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWaiting for him to come,
\nBlinded here by the sun\u2019s reflection,
\nBlinded so that she cannot remember,
\nWhy it is that she is here,
\nWhat she did to deserve such a punishment,
\nAs being a feast for so many monsters.<\/p>\n
\nWaiting for him to come,
\nStares remind her that she is frozen,
\nWith hands that cannot cover and eyes that cannot close,
\nShe doesn\u2019t know if it is part of her punishment,
\nBeing up here on display,
\nA feast for so many monsters.<\/p>\n
\nWaiting for him to come,
\nHands frozen she cannot wipe away,
\nThe soot that clings to her,
\nOr the weeds that grow through the cracks,
\nShe wonders when it was she was forgotten,
\nWhether it is a mercy to be here alone,
\nAnd she still cannot remember what it is that she did,
\nTo have been the prize of so many monsters.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.courtauld.ac.uk\/digitalmedia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/07\/IMG_0904-799x1024.jpeg\")
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<\/p>\n
\nToo large to move, not worth it,
\nShaking in our panes,
\nAs the world falls to pieces.<\/p>\n
\nEvery friendly thing made a projectile,
\nThe city is being warped into weaponry,
\nTo be turned inward on itself.<\/p>\n
\nThat once was a branch,
\nA bullet through Matthew,
\nThat once was a stone,
\nAnd Mary holds her child tightly,
\nBut is no shelter from the cannonball,
\nThat once was a chimney-pot.<\/p>\n
\nAnd see the slaughter they\u2019re unfolding?
\nOr are they shielding eyes and ears,
\nMinds never here at all?
\nSo far above they won\u2019t ever know,
\nHow Jesus\u2019 body shattered.<\/p>\n
\nBut the sun doesn\u2019t halt its rising,
\nAnd if you in the rubble were to stop and look,
\nYou would see sunlight unfiltered,
\nWhere once was red and green and blue,
\nAnd if you were to stop and see you\u2019d know,
\nThat splinters of glass look smoother when warmed with gold.<\/p>\n
\nBut the sun sees us clear,
\nAnd the cowering relics turn their heads,
\nNever having known a glow untainted by us.<\/p>\n
\nWatching homes burn and counting their dead,
\nWould it bring them relief or rage to know,
\nThat what they did let the light come in?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.courtauld.ac.uk\/digitalmedia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/07\/IMG_0770-494x1024.jpeg\")
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