Tag: grotesques
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Grotesques of William Rainey Harper Memorial Library, Chicago
I have recently become obsessed with gargoyles and grotesques who are reading. (Possibly I feel kinship to them.) While doing research on collegiate gargoyles and grotesques a few months ago, I realized how many colleges and universities have at least one sculpture of someone reading a book. Both people and animals are shown in this studious pursuit, and they are…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Wells Cathedral, Somerset, UK
Two weeks ago, I talked about the mouth puller grotesque and how common he can be in Gothic architecture. The grotesque above belongs to a related type – the thorn puller, who struggles to pull a thorn or some other painful irritant out of his foot. The thorn puller appears in many different churches and may…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques: Onigawara
Relief-carved demon faces on the ends of ridge beams in traditional Japanese architecture, onigawara are fantastic examples of grotesques outside medieval Europe.
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, England
This rather distressed-looking grotesque lives on Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, England. He sticks out his tongue and pokes at something inside his mouth, as though he’s having some dental problems. I can’t help but feel a little sorry for this odd little dude. He belongs to a subset of gargoyles and grotesques known as “mouth pullers”…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of The Britannia (527 West 110th Street), NYC
The early-twentieth century Britannia apartment building on West 110th Street in New York City counts among its residents not just one or two, but at least six grotesques. The 1909 building by Waid & Willauer architects was hailed in its day for its welcoming and “homelike” aesthetic.(1) Accordingly, its grotesques are supposed to represent aspects of…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is a railway station in Mumbai, India. Formerly called the Victoria Terminus, it was designed by Frederick William Stevens and constructed between 1878 and 1888, during British colonial rule of India.(1) The building is Victorian Gothic in style but also clearly reflects some characteristics of native Indian architectural traditions. According to UNESCO’s website…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Casa della Vittoria, Turin
This dragon grotesque and his twin live on the Casa della Vittoria in Turin, Italy. The building is also sometimes called Casa dei Draghi, presumably because of decorations like this one. (“Drago” is the Italian work for “dragon”.) I’m having trouble finding out more about the building, on account of the fact that my Italian is currently a bit rusty,…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence
Today’s grotesque came to my attention via Atlas Obscura, a fantastic place to find fun, quirky facts and interesting locations to visit. This little bull figure lives on one side of the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy. The church is heavily-laden with sculptural decorations of many styles and subjects, but this bull has a story separate…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Saint Louis
I don’t come across either gargoyles or grotesques on commercial buildings very often in my research, which is why I so greatly appreciate them on the rare occasions that they do come along. You don’t typically think of history and important architecture when someone mentions the word “Budweiser”, but the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and headquarters in Saint Louis, Missouri is…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Chateau de Pierrefonds, France
A crocodile gargoyle on the Chateau de Pierrefonds in France.
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Duomo, Milan
In 2012, Milan’s Duomo came up with a pretty cool fundraising idea. In order to come up with the necessary funds to support restorations efforts, this massive Gothic cathedral decided to put its 135 gargoyles up for adoption. Donors could pick a gargoyle to contribute to, receiving a little name plaque underneath “their” gargoyle. This article on swide.com…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Tower of London
This weirdly-misshapen face is one of several gargoyles or grotesques located on the infamous Tower of London. Considering the many horrifying things that have happened inside that castle-turned-prison, I would say that his somewhat-twisted appearance is appropriate, though I’m sure this wasn’t intentional. Interestingly, the other Tower of London gargoyles I found, though all still disembodied…
