Château de Versailles yesterday morning, Court d’Honneur, Pavillon Dufour, Versailles, 2025

At the top of the Cour d’honneur of the Palace of Versailles facing the Royal Court, one can immediately notice a curiosity. The wing of the palace that can bee seen on the right is made of stone and in a classical 18th century style. The other on the left is made of brick, with slate roofs, in the style of the 17th century. The history of the Palace of Versailles goes back to the beginning of the 17th century, when Louis XIII decided to build a hunting lodge. His son, Louis XIV, devoted his entire life to the embellishment of this residence. Important works began under his reign, in the second half of the 17th century, notably under the direction of Le Vau. The brick buildings that we see today around the Royal Court date from this period. After the death of Louis XIV his great grandson, Louis XV, resided less often at Versailles but did not abandon the great works. In 1760, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel proposed a ‘Grand projet’ which consisted of bringing the city side facade, to the east, into line with the garden side, to the west. On the east side, the buildings remained in the French style, with bricks and slate roofs, a style that the 18th century found distasteful. Work began with the demolition of the existing north wing and its replacement by the classical-looking building that we see today. According to Gabriel’s project, the same fate was to be reserved for the south wing but his “Great Project” was never completed and the two wings remained asymmetrical. With one exception: the Dufour Pavilion. Napoleon entrusted the project to the architect Alexandre Dufour, who designed an exact copy of the Pavillon Gabriel to regain the lost symmetry. The work was not completed until 1821.

#streetphotography #building #contemporaryphotography #architecture #contrast #blackandwhite #versailles #blackandwhitephotography #bnwphotography #palace #cityphotography

La multiplication des contraintes (The Multiplication of Constraints), sculpture by Vincent Mauger, Abbey of Corbigny, France, 2021

This sculpture by French artist Vincent Mauger at the Abbey of Corbigny, is composed of wood from pallets and seems to materialize what could be a mental space. In this site-specific installation the artist opposes the old cellars of the 18th century Benedictine abbey of Saint-Léonard with the mental perception of another space, leading the visitor through a confusing and at the same time magical experience.

In my perception this is art as art is supposed to be because I can relate to it on so many different levels. It taps into an overpowering feeling I had as a chilld for instance, when seeing my first Star Wars movie and the Death Star in total awe back in 1977. It taps into an existential feeling of realizing that I’m part of something far bigger, something that is at the core of all living things and of what it means to be alive. It taps into a feeling of profound beauty by contrast and harmony which is a sign that I have come upon a material articulation of certain of my ideas of “a good life”. It taps into so many things at the same time that all there is left for me to do is just to stay silent because no words can explain what's going on in my mind and heart. Art can voice what cannot be said.

#streetphotography #shadow #contemporaryphotography #architecture #contrast #blackandwhite #corbigny #blackandwhitephotography #bnwphotography #shadows #woodenart #cityphotography
#bnwphoto #architecture #archtecturephotography #city #bnwphotography #bnw #bnw-addicted #building #buildings #wood #corbigny #contemporaryart #modernart #starwars

Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity at the Basilica di San Francesco, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, 2022

On the day pope Francis has died it seemed appropriate to post a photograph I took back in 2022 of Franciscan Sisters in Assisi. The origin of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity dates back to 1854 when Father Ambrose Oschwald led a party of German immigrants from Baden to the United States to establish a Catholic community in America. The Sisters dedicate themselves to God through a life of prayer, service, and simplicity. Since 1877, the Sisters have been committed to serving the sick, the poor, and all those the Lord sends to them with the greatest care and love. The essence of their daily life and the spirit of their service comes from a unique love for the sick and poor, in whom they find the image of Jesus Christ. They welcome everyone who comes to their care and do so following the teachings of Francis of Asissi. This thirteenth century monk practiced the virtue of poverty to a high degree, owned no property, lived very simply, begged for his food and lived among and cared for those who were ostracized from society.

#blackandwhite #church #blackandwhitephotography #bnwphotography #nuns #assisi #franciscan #blackandwhite #christianity
#blackandwhitephotography #poverty #nuns #architecture #catholic #saintfrancis #romancatholic #romanesquearchitecture #romanesque #building #buildings #bnwphotography #saintfrancisofassisi #visititaly

Monk looking into the sunlight in the abbey church of Vézelay, France, 2015

Originally, the word resurrection was used in Christian contexts to refer to the rising of Christ from the dead or to the festival celebrating this rising (now known as Easter). The word eventually began to be used more generally in the senses of "resurgence" or "revival." Its Latin root, surgere, means "to rise." With the advent of written records, the earliest known recurrent theme of resurrection was in Egyptian and Canaanite religions, which had cults of dying-and-rising gods such as Osiris and Baal. Ancient Greek religion generally emphasised immortality, but in the mythos, a number of individuals were made physically immortal as they were resurrected from the dead. The death and resurrection of Jesus are a central focus of Christianity. While most Christians believe Jesus's resurrection from the dead and ascension to Heaven was in a material body, some think it was only spiritual.

It is often argued that the literal atoms after death are the same as before death. The question is: are they? We know they are not doing the same things or in quite the same configuration. That is an important difference. Life is not about substance, but about processes: activity. Life is about what the substance does. It is not something you are, it is something you do. In much the same way every single living human being is capable of being and most importantly, doing; we can all do good. If there is one thing, I have experienced meeting different people - black, white, Moslem, Christian, Jewish, Atheist etc - we can all do good and we can share ‘good’.

#vezelay #vezelayabbey #monk #blackandwhite #easter #abbey #resurrection #christianity
#blackandwhitephotography #god #divine #architecture #catholic #romanesquearchitecture #romanesque #building #buildings #bnwphotography

The dramatic steep cliffs of Little Skellig with the island of Skellig Michael in the backgrond (picture 1), the beehive monastic cells called Dochans (picture 2 and 3), Country Kerry, Ireland, 2017.

Twelve kilometers off the coast of County Kerry and part of the Ring of Kerry the islands Little Skellig and Skellig Michael are surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Their steep cliffs rise dramatically above the water and almost look like their not of this world. It is an impressive site. Skellig Michael is famous for its beehive monastic cells called Dochans (picture 2 and 3), perched above the nearly vertical rock. No wonder the islands served as the backdrop for the Star Wars sequels. What better place to depict an ancient, mystical, martial asceticism in a galaxy far, far away than an actual ancient eremitic settlement, dripping with stone-cold monastic austerity, located at what was for centuries the very ends of the earth. Seeking Christian salvation at the ends of the earth was rooted in late antiquity and the influence of the desert fathers of Syria and Egypt. In a country without deserts or cities, early Christian monks used islands like the Skelligs as dísearta (“desert”) hermitages. Such hermitage sites sought to facilitate access to ritual power and sanctity, trading on the proximity and residual presence of God.

#skelligmichael #skellig #skelligislands #ireland #starwars #blackandwhite #monestry #blackandwhitephotography #bnwphotography #landscape #filmlocations #blackandwhitephoto #newphotography #raw_bnw #god #bnw #cliffs #sea #countykerry #atlanticocean #monks #christian #christianity #ancient #nature #rock #ringofkerry #beehive #earlychristianity #egypt #hermitage #architecture #middleages

West facade of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Reims, Reims, France, 2021

A prominent example of High Gothic architecture, Reims Cathedral was built to replace an earlier church destroyed by fire in 1210. Although little damaged during the French Revolution, the present cathedral saw extensive restoration in the 19th century. However, it was severely damaged during World War I and the church was again restored in the 20th century.
Since the 1905 law on the separation of church and state, the cathedral has been owned by the French state, while the Catholic church has an agreement for its exclusive use. The French state pays for its restoration and upkeep.

The West facade, the entry to the cathedral, particularly glorifies royalty. Most of it was completed at the same time, giving it an unusual unity of style. It is harmonic and balanced, with two towers of equal height and three portals entering into the nave. The porches of the portals, with archivolts containing many sculptures, protrude from the main wall. The two bell towers were originally planned to have stone spires rising 120 m (390 ft) up in the air and making them three times taller than the nave, but they were never finished. Currently the towers measure 81 m (266 ft) in hight. Since 1027 all but seven of France's future kings were crowned at Reims Cathedral.

#church #cityphotography
#bnwphoto #bnwphotography #gothicarchitecture #gothic #gothicart #gothicstyle #blackandwhitephotography #architecture #archtecturephotography #city #bnwphotography #bnw #notredamereims #reims #tower #oldchurch #churchtowers

My eldest daughter Mila and her girlfriend Maria in the 1920’s Art Deco Radio Kootwijk building, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, 2025

The owner of Instagram Mark Zuckerberg said in a January 7th video, “We’re going to simplify our content policies and get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse.” Meta has long had “Community Standards” for the content allowed on its platforms. It can take down posts that violate those standards. When it updated its standards on “hateful conduct” to narrow what speech violated its policies, Meta specified that insults about “mental characteristics, including but not limited to allegations of stupidity, intellectual capacity, and mental illness,” are not allowed but added a new exception: “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality.” People may use insulting language or call for exclusion when discussing topics such as transgender rights or homosexuality. Meta states: “Our policies are designed to allow room for these types of speech.” Referring to LGBTQ+ people as mentally ill is allowed on Meta’s platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg was raised in a Reform Jewish family and recently described Holocaust denial as having simply gotten things “wrong” but not “intentionally” wrong. After all, he insisted, “I also get things wrong.” Meta will not remove such posts.

Fascism starts by normalizing far right sentiments and the exclusion of people based on their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, skin color or disabilities. Freedom of speech is not limitless. Without boundaries freedom loses its meaning and negates our efforts towards preserving basic human rights. Don’t turn a blind eye and be part of this powerful wave of intolerance. May Pixelfed remain a safe haven for all!
#architecture #lhbtq #blackandwhitephotography

Ruins of the Abbey of Our Lady in Ourscamp, Oise, France, 2016

A few kilometres from Noyon in the Upper Oise Valley, the Abbey of Our Lady in Ourscamp, founded in 1129, is the second oldest Cistercian foundation in Picardy. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Time and war contributed greatly to the abbey's transformations: in turn a place of worship, hospital and manufactory, it has had various functions over the centuries. The ruins of its abbey church's Gothic choir form a magnificent skeleton of stones. It clearly shows that Gothic architecture in fact was the medieval equivalent of the building technique we nowadays know as utility construction. It was highly ingenious because the skeletal stone structure allowed the walls to become extremely thin and open (sometimes even completely absent) allowing light to flood in.
The term "Gothic" was used in the Renaissance to describe certain types of art and architecture in the Middle Ages. This art was considered inferior and even monstrous, just as the Romans had held themselves superior to the barbarians. In the 18th century, the term "Gothic" morphed into a genre of literature that had elements of horror. In the late 20th century it morphed again into a style and subculture characterized by heavy eyeliner and all-black clothing.

Contrary to popular belief cathedrals, churches and abbey’s were not built by slaves. Skilled craftsman and paid laborers were used. If anything, people were working together in a shared vision.

#architecture #ruins #abbey #contrast #blackandwhite #shadows #gothic #gothicarchitecture #blackandwhitephotography l#visitfrance #bnwphotography #middleages #picardie #architecturephotography #architektura #cathedral #church #arches #bnw