Advent 19

Volume 19 (Rayn to Sarr): Regence Style.

Not much for me to get my teeth into today. The French regencey ran from 1715 to 1723, so designated because between those dates Louis XV was still a minor. Philip, Duke of Orleans was in charge.

The Regence Style in architecture and decorative arts marked the transition from the classical grandeur of the Louis XIV period to the more free-form rococo of Louis XV's reign. In doing my research (that is code for surfing the net) on these design matters, I have decided that rococo is a great word. The V&A website describes it as a style that is 'excessively flamboyant'. Or to quote that great philosopher Mel Brooks, we might term it the 'if you've got it, flaunt it baby' school of design. Here's a rococo interior for you to wonder at. Not even the OG is that daring, although he has been accused by some insensitive souls of taking Brooks' comic mantra (put into the mouth of that great comic creation, Max Bialystock in The Producers, Brooks' best film) rather too seriously. 

The Love Of A Good Aphorism

I do like a good aphorism. Recently I seem to recall sharing with you the observation (not mine I should modestly admit) that music is the greatest expression of man's spirituality. Well here is its companion piece, one I picked up from a documentary on Sky Arts: good architecture is like frozen music. For those of you who have the misfortune ever to encounter me in person, be prepared to hear me passing that off as one of my own.  To round off this piece here is a picture of my idea of great frozen music. Unoriginal I know but, hey, there's a reason why these things become cliches.