Incredible Journeys: Saints and Martyrs gaze down on visitors to St. Peter's Square

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Saints and Martyrs gaze down on visitors to St. Peter's Square

St Peters Cathedral 35

St Peters Cathedral 35, originally uploaded by mharrsch.

There are 140 statues of saints and martyrs atop the balustrade of the ellipse of St. Peter's Square.

On the left side of the piazza is the Vatican post office. I bought two postcards and mailed them to my colleagues back in the Dean's office from there so they would bear the Vatican City postmark.

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Artist/Historian George S. Stuart Honors Olympics with Manchu Figures

To honor the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Gallery of Historical Figures is hosting the highly-acclaimed Manchu Dynasty Historical Figures® of sculptor and historian George Stuart. Until now, the unique 26-piece group could only be seen in museum exhibits. "What better time to recognize recent Chinese history and to share a westerner's view of it?" said Stuart.

The Manchu Dynasty collection begins with Nurachi, who defeated the ailing Ming Dynasty in 1616 and ends in 1967 with the death of Pu Yi, the last emperor. The 350-year interval is represented by emperors, other royalty, courtesans, warlords, military, reformers, peasants and more. Pictured here is the ill-fated Taiping Emperor Hung Hsiu Ch'üan, self-acclaimed "Brother of Christ".

To assure maximum possible historical accuracy, Stuart collaborated with LU Zhengliang Arts Studio in Suzhou, China on many of the Manchu Historical Figures. LU located and studied many of the original robes and then embroidered the quarter-scale designs on specially selected fabrics.

I was privileged to design the website for artist/historian George Stuart's Gallery of Historical Figures. Mr. Stuart's meticulously detailed historical figures reflect his dedication to accuracy and obvious passion for his subjects.