Monday, May 16, 2011

Batalha, Portugal

Stepped inside and ...WOW...more amazement!
The colour....and the light..... so much light in such a huge area from such small windows....well.... small in the scope of the size of the whole structure.  And...tall...well....they were sooooo tall......  I just gawked around in every single direction and kept snapping shots of all of it..... don't get dizzy.....
In the first shot you can see a few people...for perspective....but, any of the rest of the photos... if anybody was around...they were way down below the bottom of the photos.  This place is gargantuan...







































Wiki says some of the oldest of the windows date back as far as the 1400... and done by German artisans... much of the other is from 1500's..and done by Portuguese craftsmen.  They talk about Batalha being the first work shop for stained glass windows...













































































































Entry to the Founder's Chapel.... built between 1426 and 1434
on orders of King Joao... he and his wife are buried there... and this is the first sighting of his tomb.  The statues of Joao and his wife Philippa of Lancaster are on the top of the tomb holding hands.  Very elaborate and intricately carved headresses above their heads.... which are on pillows.







































































The dome directly over their heads...













































The play of light through the stained glass....so beautiful....











































The reflections from the sunlight through the glass was so lovely....






































I'm really glad it was a brilliantly sunny day so that we got to see such beauty inside.  The walls were perfect for picking up the colours...

10 comments:

Susan said...

Wow! I'm mightily impressed. Those gorgeous high windows, stained glass, reflections, domes... the whole lot. Magnificent. Great post :D)

Norma Soulet (AZArtist) said...

Amazing photos, Vee! Thanks for sharing them with all of us in Blogland!
Hugs

Catherine said...

I bet the sunshine dancing through those windows was brilliant!
xo Catherine

Unknown said...

Now that's what I call arches! My neice is right into these at the moment. I will have to send her a link so she can have a look. These are something to see. Maa

Jennifer Rose said...

o.0 i'm speechless o.0

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Vee,

Wow! ... magnificent and thank you for showing us your photos.
Imagine cleaning the windows!
Many thanks for visiting me and the kind birthday wishes.

Happy week
Hugs
Carolyn

Serena Lewis said...

WOW!!! These pics are amazing!! Those windows are so beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous!!!

sandy said...

man, these are gorgeous!

Linda Vincent said...

LOVE those colourful reflections on the walls....so magical!
Whenever I see buildings like that I just think ...howEVER did they build them???