Tag: grotesques
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Melrose Abbey, Scotland
I’ve recently been reading a book about the history of British myths and legends concerning dragons, so it made sense to me that today’s gargoyle should be from the United Kingdom. I was looking for some sort of dragon-like gargoyle but fell in love with this bagpipe-playing pig instead. Isn’t he charming? I found him via ferrebeekeeper’s blog; look there…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennsylvania
I probably should have saved this one for closer to Halloween, but I just couldn’t wait because it’s almost too good to be true. This very threatening-looking, shackled gargoyle can be found on the exterior of the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I’m not sure if the gargoyle is functional or not, but it…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques in Nicosia, Cyprus
Sometimes, I know in advance what I want to feature on Gargoyle of the Day; other times, I simply browse until something strikes my fancy. I might be inspired by an image I come across, or an idea might pique my interest, in which case I look for the most dynamic gargoyles in that category. Today, I saw…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain
The Sagrada Família (Holy Family) is a Spanish church designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) in the late nineteenth century. It is famous for the sheer exuberance of its design and the abundance of its architectural details. Gaudí’s design was so elaborate, in fact, that the church is still incomplete today. I had never really thought…
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Gargoyle and Grotesques of Windsor Castle
I’ve noticed that many of the quirkiest and most unique gargoyles that catch my eye are from England. This little man looks almost like he could be a cartoon character or a figure in an animated movie about the Middle Ages.
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of All Saints’ Church, Gresford, Wales
Here are some subtle and cheeky grotesques from All Saints Church in Gresford, Wales.
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Gargoyle and Grotesques of St. John’s Cathedral, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Technically, these little fellows are grotesques rather than true gargoyles, but who cares when they’re so charming? Apes, monkeys, and related creatures had rather poor connotations in the Middle Ages, symbolizing a variety of evils and sins including greed and lust, but this pair is depicted with a touching humanity nonetheless.
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Gargoyles in Pop Culture: Pick Five
Recently, while establishing a Pinterest account for A Scholarly Skater, I did a search for the keyword “gargoyle” and came across some pretty unusual stuff. I’ve searched for that term often enough times to know that there are plenty of twentieth and twenty-first century gargoyles out there. They occasionally appear on buildings, which I’ve talked…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Washington National Cathedral
The National Cathedral in Washington D.C. is a rare and wonderful example of twentieth-century architectural design including gargoyles and grotesques with all the cleverness and authenticity of their very best medieval ancestors. For this, we have to thank the creativity and skill of the craftsmen who carved them in much the same way they would…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Reims Cathedral, France
This gargoyle is so strange! From the differences in the stone, I assume that the creepy head is a later alteration or restoration, but I’m still not sure what the figure is supposed to represent. The words “crazed donkey” come to mind, however.
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Gargoyle and Grotesques of Casa de Las Gárgolas, Santiago, Chile
I was scrolling through a set of gargoyle photos in order to find today’s gargoyle, and I was a little surprised to find a category entitled “Gargoyles of Chile”. This curious creature is from the Casa de Las Gárgolas (House of Gargoyles, since gárgola means gargoyle in Spanish) in Santiago. I didn’t find much about…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Forbidden City, Beijing
I bet you didn’t see this one coming! We tend to associate gargoyles with the Gothic architecture of medieval Europe, but the idea of carving functional drain-spouts into the shapes of real or imagined creatures is not unique to Europe, Christianity, or the Middle Ages. Beijing’s Forbidden City, a treasure-trove of animal statuary in all…
