The Biltmore house is full of gargoyles and grotesques. Well, it’s actually full of grotesques. Not a single one of the countless stone figures on Biltmore’s façade is a functioning gargoyle. However, some of them are quite convincing at pretending to be gargoyles, with their open mouths and the extreme angles at which they stick out from the walls. Most of them are really high up on the building, but a few are fairly close to the ground. I looked at some of the lower ones quite closely, and I still wasn’t really sure if they were true gargoyles are not. So, I will give into their clever ruse and call them gargoyles, since they are clearly modelled after real gargoyles. Enjoy some of Biltmore’s gargoyles, grotesques, and other creatures below.
If you want to learn more about gargoyles and grotesques, including what the different is between the two, read my Field Guide to Gargoyles. If you want to hear more about my recent trip to Biltmore, you can do so here and here.
Another view of the creature from the previous picture. This one really made me question if he was a real gargoyle or not.
This little guy was relatively low to the ground, so I looked at his pretty closely.
Another grotesque that I could see pretty well from the ground.
Two scholarly-looking figures. I think these were actually inside the building.
During the rooftop tour, we got to see some of the grotesques up close.
An angel-like figure on the roof.
I think this corbel figure depicts a Native American, but I can’t be sure.
A weird, bird-like corbel figure.
Look at the figure between the two walls in the center of the picture. He looks like he flew headfirst into the wall and got stuck!
A devil corbel.
Artist corbel. I think this row was probably dedicated to the liberal arts.
Musician corbel from the probably liberal arts section.
Another musician corbel.
Funny enough, I featured some of Biltmore’s gargoyles on Gargoyle of the Day long before I had ever seen them in person.
Click here to read about the rest of my experience at Biltmore and its environs.
Alexandra Kiely, aka A Scholarly Skater, is an art historian based in the northeastern United States. She loves wandering down the dark and dusty corners of art history and wholeheartedly believes in visual art's ability to enrich every person's life.
Her favorite periods of art history are 19th-century American painting and medieval European art and architecture. When she not looking at, reading about, writing about, or teaching art, she's probably ice dancing or reading.
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A Scholarly Skater 