(Click to enlarge)
A room in the Palazzo Pitti, a Medici palace,
Florence, Italy
Just about every element above the door level is an illusion: paint on a flat surface.
There are no balconies;
There are no railings;
There are no statues;
There are no men standing on the balconies on the far left;
There are no curved arches;
There are no three-dimensional decorations on the ceiling.
Paint, paint, paint on a flat surface.
The projection of power and wealth through a magic trick.
The emperor has no clothes.
Good morning Jack.
I live near a little town, Ludwigslust.
In the 1700’s, the Duke from Schwerin
wanted to build his ‘own’ palace..
It had to go fast,…and cheap.
They came up with a water-proof,..paper-mache(!).
https://www.monumente-online.de/de/ausgaben/2012/2/kaum-zu-glauben-alles-pappe.php#.XTAZrevuKrU
Marble Statues. Candelabri. Carved goldleaf trim,..
all paper….
They cut up,..’recycled’ state records,..for the paper.
Were so successful, they produced a catologue of the stuff(!)
and sold it around Europe!
The first ‘mail order catolugue’. (True!)
The Palace of Versailles contains a good bit of ‘Ludwigslust Gold’.
….even Kings have to pinch a penny!
Fascinating, thank you, Dennis.
Here in the states we have no papier-mache palaces, only papier-mache politicians. 🙂
The emperor may have no clothes, but artists with lots of brushes, paint, and talent! 🙂