Woodwork

We spent Sunday afternoon in Namur. With an iconographer friend from the Sisters of St Mary of Namur we visited the 17th century Church of St Loup in the city, and make an unscheduled visit to the Sisters’ original foundation house in the centre of Namur, where from the beginnings in the early 19th century they went on to become an international teaching order.

What fascinated me was the woodwork. Belgian church woodwork is good, especially later 17th and 18th century work. In St Loup, it was Baroque at its height: especially 12 highly decorated confessionals around the walls.

At the foundation house there were a dozen pieces of 19th century furniture as well as a couple of 18th century staircases that caught my eye. The sisters lived simply, and their furniture is locally made, better bits clearly for visitor parlours, simpler bits for the out-of-sight rooms. Having just started carpentry classes, I had a lot of fun trying to work out how it all fitted together, and I might see if with time I can’t copy some of it.

 

More pictures on my wife's blog http://mmekourdukova.livejournal.com/291338.html.  She doesn't mention the church of St Loup or the confessionals, so she is probably saving it for another posting.