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Maison d’Adam, Angers, France 2009
Maison d'Adam
Half-Timbered Houses
Sunning not Dead
Between the Chateau D'Angers and The St. Maurice Cathedral you will find narrow cobble stone roads and old buildings that make up the medieval quarter of Angers. This shot was taken up against one of the houses in this maze of cobblestone roads. We all thought the plant life growing up the wall was neat and figured the owner of this house wouldn't mind us posing for a picture.
Angers likes to host festivals. For example, the Tour de Scenes festival in May, which features musicians simultaneously playing all over the town at various outdoor stages. The variety and quality of music is excellent: hip-hop master DJs, garage-punk, folk, reggae... The streets come alive with people wandering from stage to stage, a lot of the restaurants have outdoor buffets for passers-by, pubs all have outdoor chairs. A great festive atmosphere.
Maison d'Adam is the oldest house in Angers, built in the 15h century. It is beautifully preserved and shows its two facades timbered all the way up to the roofs. It has four floors plus the attic, totaling six inhabitable floors.
The main artistic sights in Angers are the Apocalypse tapestries. They are significant as being among the oldest tapestries, in series, extant. They were ordered from the producer Nicolas Bataille in 1373 (completed in 1380) by Louis, duke of Angers and brother of the king Charles V. Sketches were made available by Jan Boudolf, an artist in the employ of his brother, king Charles, from a manuscript in the latter’s library. The tapestries were exhibited as part of various celebrations for centuries but were sold in 1782 when considered old fashioned. During the Revolution it was cut up and dispersed as utilitarian coverings. During the 19C, a bishop of Angers, a lover of art, decided to search for and acquire as much of the work as he could find and restore it to the glory of Angers. He found and acquired about 75% of it. Over the ensuing years, they have been repaired and reassembled and today are permanently housed in a special gallery protected from destructive effects of light and air quality.
As an elderly retired scientist, I find the apocalyptic shriek quaint or delusional. I understand and have experienced some of the sufferings that beset mankind during a lifetime, and realize that I live in a privileged and lucky position. The book of the bible is tedious to read end to end, but the tapestries are fascinating and well worth an hour of a sightseer’s life (if you can take it), for they are a literal exposition of the text.
There are seven (the number of perfection) sections each presented by John. Each section is in 2 rows of seven pictures each; some 76 pictures are available.
The Maine River bisects the city of Angers and connects to the Loire river a few miles south of Angers. There are numerous quays that border the river and three main bridges that cross it; Pont de la haute Chaine, Pont de Verdun and Pont de la basse Chaine. This is the Quay Eric Tabarly on which I sit in this picture playing a guitar a bought in Angers for 75 euros at a local shop.
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