Appleton Studios: Travel Log and Art Notes

9/5/14

The Congress (in brief)

This year's conference, XXXI International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, was held at the Akerhus Fortress in Oslo, considered to be the most historical portion of the city. King Hakon V built it at the head of the fjord when he moved the capital in 1299 and King Christian IV remodelled it in the Danish renaissance style in the 1600s.

We didn't buy the postcard, so I grabbed this off of the Internet:

It's a military base that's open to the public and has some pretty impressive museums in and around it...The Congress was held in one of the museums as it had three meeting rooms that would accommodate all of the lectures.

the reflection on the left is Dave...

It was nice to see friends there...

Sunil, Sylvia, Vladimir, and Jo

and hear their lectures...

Ronny

Darcy

And, of course, Dave's lecture was a good one - on the development of the US Coat of Arms...(ummm, Hint: It involved Congress and several Committees...even as it formed, Congress made things far more complicated than it needed to be...I know you're shocked)...

The opening ceremony included a drummer:

who also played the flute:

Being addressed by the Fortress' commander (who dressed in a prior era uniform for added flair):

and the main room was impressive because it was decorated with all of the regimental banners:

While Dave was off listening to lectures all day, I spent some time outside (when it wasn't raining) just enjoying the weather (30 degrees cooler than at our house!)

Next up...Excursion Day...

9/2/14

Oslo Cathedral

The cathedral was completed in 1697 and is the city's third - the original built in the first half of the 12th century, the second consecrated in 1639. After the second was struck by lightning, the construction of the third was begun in 1692 after the town was moved per King's orders. The tower was constructed in 1850.

Granite carving from around 1100 found during excavations in Old Oslo and is presumed to originate from Hallvard's Church (cathedral #1) - it's called Devil from Oslo and depicts a person being attacked by a lion and a dragon to illustrate the human condition in the world; originally built into the sacristy wall by the priests' entrance to remind them of the devil's potential to attack; it was moved to the foot of the tower in 1935.

Done by Hugo Lous Mohr in egg-oil tempera directly on the original wooden vaults; work was begun in 1936 and was unveiled in 1950 (WWII interrupted work, of course); the middle vault is the universe saturated with light with the light streaming from the sun across the entire ceiling and down to the motifs in the aisle and transepts

The Royal Gallery - built in 1700
when the newly crowned King Frederick IV visited Norway

The Eye of the Holy Trinity and the Hand of the Creator -
painted by Borgar Hauglid - gift to the church in 1952;

The Crucifixion and the Resurrection - also by Haughlid

Mary at the Conception - part of seven stained glass windows in the chancel that were designed by Emanuel Vigland and a gift to the church in 1910.

The Last Supper - Altarpiece -
designed by unknown Dutch artist and finished by Norwegian woodcarvers

Seraph carrying the symbol of suffering, the cross

Seraph carrying the dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit and peace

The main organ from 1998 with a baroque facade from 1727. On the ceiling, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel (in person they were even stranger...it kind of looked like Scotty was transporting them somewhere!)

The pulpit from 1699 was made by the same unknown Dutch artist who designed the altarpiece and has an hourglass to time the length of the sermon; The King had decreed that priest should not "ramble" for more than one hour, because, as he pointed out "much of sense can be said in one hour"

The massive bronze doors were made by Dagfin Werenskiold and were installed in 1938 with motifs based on the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount...

Next time - the conference!

8/29/14

Oslo, Norway! Wandering...Day 1.5

We went to Oslo to go to the Genealogy/Heraldry conference and made sure we got there a day and a half early. That way we could get our bearings, find the conference location and figure out what the time might really be.

It was late when we got to the hotel, so we only managed to find dinner and then get some sleep. But right after breakfast the next day, we hit the streets.

The city is full of architectural details and statues, some of my favorite things to photograph...

Our hotel was directly across from an old Christiania Sparebank building that was undergoing renovations. The Sparebank was Norway's first savings bank, established 1822.

Even though it was raining, the conference site wasn't very far from the hotel and there was a lot to see on the way...

"WIND" by Hilde Rodahl

Oslo’s oldest marketplace, from the early 1600’s when the capital of Norway was called Christiania - in this square, originally a water station, is the fountain monument with the Glove of King Christian IV. This Glove symbolizes the King’s words, when he declared: “The new town will lie here!” (after a huge fire in 1624 burnt most of the original town structures).