manuel cohen

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  • Seigneurial oratory or loggia, built in the 15th century under Yolande d'Aragon, wife of Louis II of Anjou, on the south wall of the Chapelle Saint-Jean-Baptiste in the Chateau d'Angers, Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France. The private oratory is in International Gothic style, with a triple trilobed arch giving a view of the altar. The Chateau d'Angers in the Loire Valley was founded in the 9th century by the counts of Anjou, and expanded in the 13th century. It is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0447.jpg
  • Seigneurial oratory or loggia, built in the 15th century under Yolande d'Aragon, wife of Louis II of Anjou, on the south wall of the Chapelle Saint-Jean-Baptiste in the Chateau d'Angers, Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France. The private oratory is in International Gothic style, with a triple trilobed arch giving a view of the altar. The Chateau d'Angers in the Loire Valley was founded in the 9th century by the counts of Anjou, and expanded in the 13th century. It is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    _CC_2502.jpg
  • Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, with stone vaulted coffered ceiling, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1138.JPG
  • Sculpted salamander and flames, symbol of Francois I, in the Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1194.jpg
  • Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, with stone vaulted coffered ceiling, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1147.jpg
  • Coat of arms of the kings of France with 2 angels and fleur de lys, in the Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1193.jpg
  • Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, with stone vaulted coffered ceiling, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1148.jpg
  • Coat of arms of the kings of France with 2 angels, Order of Chivalry of Saint-Michel, fleur de lys, initial F and salamanders, in the Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1197.jpg
  • Wooden door with carved initial F and salamander for Francois I, in the Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1195.jpg
  • Wooden door with carved initial F and salamander for Francois I, in the Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1196.jpg
  • Detail of statues of Popes Benedict XI and XIII on the Baroque facade of the chiesa di San Domenico (Church and Oratory of San Domenico), 1458 - 1480, Vucciria district, Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC552.jpg
  • The broken pot, with a cup covered in parchment and attached to a ring by a rope, with a hole in its side releasing 3-pointed volatile crystals, possibly cerusite (a mineral composed of natural carbonate of lead), meant as a warning of the dangers of experimentation, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0676.jpg
  • Stained glass windows of saints, in the Oratory, the private chapel of Catherine de Medici, adjoining the Chambre de la Reine or Queen's Bedroom, decorated in 16th century Renaissance style and restored by Felix Duban, on the first floor of the Francois I wing, built early 16th century in Italian Renaissance style, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0795.jpg
  • Winged cherub carrying a cup of fire, with one knee on the ground, representing a controlled and contained fire which feeds the mind, and the calcination of the inner fire with the outer fire, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0678.jpg
  • Winged cherub sitting on a giant shell and sowing 7 shells from a basket (7 is a symbolic number in alchemy), with the basket and the shell representing the philosophical mercury and the appearance of sulphur, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0665.jpg
  • Oratory of Anne de Bretagne, 1477-1514, wife of Charles I and Louis XII, built c.1500, with altar and sculpted decoration in Flamboyant Gothic style, including Breton ermines and the cord of St Francis of Assisi, the symbol of the queen, in the 16th century section of the Logis Royal at the Chateau de Loches, in the Cite Royale de Loches, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France. The chateau is a medieval castle in the Loire Valley consisting of the old collegiate Eglise Saint-Ours, the Renaissance Logis Royal built 14th and 16th century, and the keep, built 1013 by Foulques Nerra, count of Anjou. It is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1662.jpg
  • Winged cherub with a coquille St-Jacques shell resting on fire, symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, of secrets, of the feminine principle of mercury and of the crucible, so this relief represents the joining of mercury and fire in the processes of alchemy, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0682.jpg
  • Celestial dew, with a watering can attached to a ring by a rope, releasing drops onto a fire, representing the sacred relationship between water and fire, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Also there is an allusion to the heavenly cosmic fluid, and the ring symbolises faithfulness, with the droplets signifying the unity of material. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0681.JPG
  • Winged cherub blowing fire from a horn, representing the role of breath or the wind in the alchemy, in contrast to the section depicting fire contained in a cup, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0680.jpg
  • Winged cherub hunting nature, with a garland of plants around his neck and holding a bell associated with a madman, symbolising the alchemist's power over nature, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0673.jpg
  • Coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0651.jpg
  • Detail of the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0650.jpg
  • Niche of the credence carved with many symbols related to alchemy, such as balls of fire, dolphins, a shell representing mercury, rose and cornucopia and the mysterious letters RERE (possibly related to genealogy and found repeatedly on Lallemant family prayer books and objects), detail in the Lallemant family chapel in the Oratory of the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Fulcanelli wrote extensively on the significance of the letters R and E in terms of alchemy, with RE being dry and wet matters and RERE double matters. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0686.jpg
  • Ball of fire, possibly a burning stone, in a carved cup, with 3R representing the extraction of igneous sulphur by a triple reiteration and possibly a pomegranate representing fertility (a symbol also found elsewhere in the building), from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0661.JPG
  • Sarcophagus, Oratorio Cristiano delle Terme del Mitra (Christian Oratory), built in the 4th century - 5th century on the top of the mithraeum of the Baths of Mithras, Ostia Antica, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC426.jpg
  • Oratory of Anne de Bretagne, 1477-1514, wife of Charles I and Louis XII, built c.1500, with sculpted decoration in Flamboyant Gothic style, including Breton ermines and the cord of St Francis of Assisi, the symbol of the queen, in the 16th century section of the Logis Royal at the Chateau de Loches, in the Cite Royale de Loches, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France. The chateau is a medieval castle in the Loire Valley consisting of the old collegiate Eglise Saint-Ours, the Renaissance Logis Royal built 14th and 16th century, and the keep, built 1013 by Foulques Nerra, count of Anjou. It is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1663.jpg
  • Painted decorative doorway leading through the Oratory, a small private chapel, to the Chambre de la Reine or Queen's Bedroom, decorated in 16th century Renaissance style and restored by Felix Duban in 1861-66, on the first floor of the Francois I wing, built early 16th century in Italian Renaissance style, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0801.jpg
  • Credence carved with many symbols related to alchemy, such as balls of fire, dolphins, a shell representing mercury, rose and cornucopia and the mysterious letters RERE (possibly related to genealogy and found repeatedly on Lallemant family prayer books and objects), in the Lallemant family chapel in the Oratory of the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Fulcanelli wrote extensively on the significance of the letters R and E in terms of alchemy, with RE being dry and wet matters and RERE double matters. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0685.jpg
  • Dove in flames, representing the philosophical soul, and the descent of the terrestrial fire in Christian tradition, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0683.jpg
  • Armillary sphere in flames with a blank scroll, representing the raw material antimony and its extraction by the skill of the alchemist, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0679.JPG
  • Winged cherub with prayer beads ending in a dove, signifying that prayer should not be forgotten, and that something greater can come out of smaller elements, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0677.jpg
  • Winged cherub urinating into a clog, representing the process in alchemy of washing the mercury with urine, one of the first phases of creation of the philosopher's stone, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0675.JPG
  • Shell and scorpion, with the scorpion representing darkness and disgust, eating a scroll which is crossed over, with letter E all around, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. This section is thought to represent mercury (the shell) needing the addition of sulphur or gold, with the wrapped scroll representing the crucible, although the meaning of the letter E is disputed. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0666.jpg
  • Small oratory in Byzantine style, with plaster reliefs 1866 by Francisco Molinelli and allegorical ceiling paintings of the Virgin 1863 by Jose Brel, at the Palau del Marques de Dosaigues, a Rococo palace of the Marqueses of Dos Aguas, in Valencia, Spain. The altarpiece dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary (patroness of the marquises), 1866, is by Jose Maria Garcia Martinez. The building was originally built in Gothic style in the 15th century, but was remodelled in 1740 for the 3rd marquis of Dos Aguas, Gines Rabassa de Perellos y Lanuza, 1706-65, by Hipolito Rovira Meri, Ignacio Vergara and Luis Domingo. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0089.jpg
  • Oratory, or private chapel of the dukes of Borgia, in the Palau Ducal in Gandia, on the Costa del Azahar, Valencia, Spain. The chapel has a polygonal ceiling and walls covered with Renaissance grisailles by Filippo de San Leocadio depicting the mysteries of the rosary, later retouched by Brother Coronas. The ceiling and floor marquetry were restored in the 19th century. The Ducal Palace of the Borgias of Gandia was originally built in the 14th and 15th centuries in Valencian Gothic style, and later added to in Renaissance, baroque and neo-Gothic style. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0204.jpg
  • Winged cherub with a pilgrim's staff, representing the difficult path of alchemy - the staff is a symbol of masculinity and overcoming dangers, protecting the bearer, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The staff can also represent the alembic or alchemical still. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0667.jpg
  • Letter E burning in a fire, with the 3 branches of the letter representing sulphur, mercury and salt, and a scroll above, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0664.jpg
  • Winged cherub with a hobby horse, hitting it with a whip, representing childhood games and the fact that everything is not what it at first seems - we must look beyond the virtual to reality, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0662.jpg
  • Small oratory for private prayer, adjoining the bedroom of Madame de Maintenon, in the petits appartements in the main building, at the Chateau de Maintenon, built 13th - 18th century, and from 1674, residence of Madame de Maintenon, 1635-1719, second wife of King Louis XIV, at Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir, France. The castle is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0219.jpg
  • Painted decorative doorway leading through the Oratory, a small private chapel, to the Chambre de la Reine or Queen's Bedroom, decorated in 16th century Renaissance style and restored by Felix Duban in 1861-66, on the first floor of the Francois I wing, built early 16th century in Italian Renaissance style, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0799.jpg
  • Winged cherub unwinding a thread on a reel topped with a Greek cross, representing the work of spinners which signifies coagulation, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0663.jpg
  • Oratory of Anne de Bretagne, 1477-1514, wife of Charles VIII, with wall painting of Virgo Lucis or Virgin of the Light, by followers of Leonardo da Vinci, at the Chateau du Clos Luce, a manor house built 1468-71, designed in Renaissance style by Albert Dufet, in Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, France. Originally a stronghold of the Chateau d'Amboise, it later became a royal summer residence and Francois I offered its use to Leonardo da Vinci, who lived here 1517-19. The chateau houses a museum and is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0111.jpg
  • Painted decorative cupola of the Oratory, the private chapel of Catherine de Medici, adjoining the Chambre de la Reine or Queen's Bedroom, decorated in 16th century Renaissance style and restored by Felix Duban, on the first floor of the Francois I wing, built early 16th century in Italian Renaissance style, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0797.jpg
  • Ball of fire on the credence carved with many symbols related to alchemy, such as balls of fire, dolphins, a shell representing mercury, rose and cornucopia and the mysterious letters RERE (possibly related to genealogy and found repeatedly on Lallemant family prayer books and objects), detail in the Lallemant family chapel in the Oratory of the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Fulcanelli wrote extensively on the significance of the letters R and E in terms of alchemy, with RE being dry and wet matters and RERE double matters. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0688.jpg
  • The pilgrim praying, a crowned cherub with no wings reads from a book searching for enlightenment, while a snake eats his own tail, killing himself with his own venom, while making the sign of infinity with his curled tail, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0671.jpg
  • Winged cherub praying with his prayer beads, representing pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the link between the Church and esotericism, or between the holy trinity and metals (gold is God, money is the Virgin and mercury is Jesus), from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0669.jpg
  • Shepherd with a sheep between the legs, detail of relief on a sarcophagus, Oratorio Cristiano delle Terme del Mitra (Christian Oratory), built in the 4th century - 5th century on the top of the mithraeum of the Baths of Mithras, Ostia Antica, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC427.jpg
  • Dolphin and ball of fire on the credence carved with many symbols related to alchemy, such as balls of fire, dolphins, a shell representing mercury, rose and cornucopia and the mysterious letters RERE (possibly related to genealogy and found repeatedly on Lallemant family prayer books and objects), detail in the Lallemant family chapel in the Oratory of the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Fulcanelli wrote extensively on the significance of the letters R and E in terms of alchemy, with RE being dry and wet matters and RERE double matters. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0687.jpg
  • Phoenix pecking at the fruits in a horn of plenty,  with the bird representing fire and the philosopher's stone, also rebirth and returning to oneself, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0674.jpg
  • A flaming arm reaching out to collect chestnuts in their spiky cases, with a blank scroll above, representing the separation and multiplication of materials in the creation of the philosopher's stone, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0670.jpg
  • Lion's head with a vase, tipping due to the tearing of a string held in the lion's mouth, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. This section represents the successful fixing of sulphur and the warning of not pushing the multiplication of elements too far (the lion still holds the string). The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0668.jpg
  • Oratory of Anne of Brittany, built c. 1500 in Flamboyant Gothic style, with walls lavishly decorated with Breton ermines and the cord of Saint Francis of Assisi, the symbol of the queen, and a costume of the period, in the 15th century 'new  castle' of the Chateau de Loches in the Royal City of Loches, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France. The chateau is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC15_FRANCE_MC_1109.jpg
  • Oratory, in the Maison Rachi, a Jewish museum and synagogue developed 1966 and 2016 in a 17th century half-timbered style building, restored 2010-16, named after Rabbi Shlomo Yitshaki, born in Troyes in 1040, in Troyes, Aube, Grand Est, France. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_2691.jpg
  • A hand surrounded by flames emerging from a rock wall, holding a branch from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, or possibly feathers representing dry work, and with a scroll wrapped around, thought to represent the culmination of an alchemist's work, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0672.jpg
  • Statue of the Virgin in front of the rock on which the oratory is built, in the Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal, a catholic basilica and national shrine built 1924-67 in Italian Renaissance style on Mount Royal's Westmount Summit, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The interior was designed by Gerard Notebaert, with seating for 2028. The oratory was designed by architects Dalbe Viau, Alphonse Venne, Lucien Parent, Emilien Bujold and Dom Paul Bellot. It is listed as a National Historic Site of Canada. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC18_QUEBEC_MC_172.jpg
  • Coronation of the Virgin by Pietro Novelli, 18th century ceiling fresco in the Oratorio del Rosario di San Domenico, or Oratory of the Rosary of St Dominic, a Baroque oratory in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Palermo was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians, and was settled by the Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans. Its Arab and Norman centre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_ITALY_MC_111.jpg
  • Ark of the Covenant with 2 cherubs, the hand of God and 2 angels, Byzantine mosaic, 9th century, restored 1841-56, in the vault of the apse of the Carolingian Oratory or Eglise de la Tres-Sainte-Trinite, built 803-6 by Theodulf bishop of Orleans and rebuilt in 1876, at Germigny-des-Pres, Loiret, France. The church is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0538.jpg
  • Ark of the Covenant with 2 cherubs, the hand of God and 2 angels, Byzantine mosaic, 9th century, restored 1841-56, in the vault of the apse of the Carolingian Oratory or Eglise de la Tres-Sainte-Trinite, built 803-6 by Theodulf bishop of Orleans and rebuilt in 1876, at Germigny-des-Pres, Loiret, France. The church is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0537.jpg
  • Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal, a catholic basilica and national shrine built 1924-67 in Italian Renaissance style on Mount Royal's Westmount Summit, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The oratory was designed by architects Dalbe Viau, Alphonse Venne, Lucien Parent, Emilien Bujold and Dom Paul Bellot. It is listed as a National Historic Site of Canada. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC18_QUEBEC_MC_171.JPG
  • Nave of the Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal, a catholic basilica and national shrine built 1924-67 in Italian Renaissance style on Mount Royal's Westmount Summit, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The interior was designed by Gerard Notebaert, with seating for 2028. The oratory was designed by architects Dalbe Viau, Alphonse Venne, Lucien Parent, Emilien Bujold and Dom Paul Bellot. It is listed as a National Historic Site of Canada. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC18_QUEBEC_MC_259.jpg
  • Nave, looking towards the tracker grand organ, made by Rudolf von Beckerath of Germany, in the Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal, a catholic basilica and national shrine built 1924-67 in Italian Renaissance style on Mount Royal's Westmount Summit, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The interior was designed by Gerard Notebaert, with seating for 2028. The oratory was designed by architects Dalbe Viau, Alphonse Venne, Lucien Parent, Emilien Bujold and Dom Paul Bellot. It is listed as a National Historic Site of Canada. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC18_QUEBEC_MC_261.jpg
  • Nave of the Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal, a catholic basilica and national shrine built 1924-67 in Italian Renaissance style on Mount Royal's Westmount Summit, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The interior was designed by Gerard Notebaert, with seating for 2028. The oratory was designed by architects Dalbe Viau, Alphonse Venne, Lucien Parent, Emilien Bujold and Dom Paul Bellot. It is listed as a National Historic Site of Canada. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC18_QUEBEC_MC_260.jpg
  • Columns of the Baroque facade of the chiesa di San Domenico (Church and Oratory of San Domenico), 1458 - 1480, on the left, city rooftops view and snow-capped mountains in the distance, Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC559.jpg
  • Ceiling with lierne and tierron vaults and heraldic decoration, in the choir of the Chapelle Saint-Calais, built in 1498 as a private oratory for the king and consecrated 1508 by Antoine Dufour, in the Gothic Louis XII wing, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The coat of arms is of Anne of Brittany, with the fleur de lys, ermine tails and knotted cord. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0040.jpg
  • Lower Chapel or Chapelle Basse, formerly an oratory dedicated to St Peter, used since 1920 as a lapidary store room, in the Palace of Tau or Palais du Tau, the palace of the Archbishop of Reims, rebuilt 1498-1509 and modified 1671-1710, in Reims, Marne, Grand Est, France. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_1603.jpg
  • Fragment of a fresco of an angel painted 1341-47, by Puccio Capanna, originally in the Oratory of St Rufinuccio Fraternity and detached in 1955 (the sinopia still remain), now in the Confraternity Room of the Assisi Diocesan Museum, or Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, Assisi, Umbria, Italy. The museum was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini under the Cathedral Piazza to preserve works of art from Assisi's collections. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_ITALY_MC457.jpg
  • Bedroom of Madame de Maintenon, with Louis XIV style gilded and painted canopied duchess bed, late 19th century, installed by the Duke Paul de Noailles and his architect Henri Parent, and small private oratory on the right, in the petits appartements in the main building, at the Chateau de Maintenon, built 13th - 18th century, and from 1674, residence of Madame de Maintenon, 1635-1719, second wife of King Louis XIV, at Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir, France. The castle is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0244.jpg
  • Flagellation of Christ, set in front of the Temple of Minerva in Assisi, fresco painted 1341-47, by Puccio Capanna, originally in the Oratory of St Rufinuccio Fraternity and detached in 1955 (the sinopia still remain), now in the Confraternity Room of the Assisi Diocesan Museum, or Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, Assisi, Umbria, Italy. The museum was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini under the Cathedral Piazza to preserve works of art from Assisi's collections. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_ITALY_MC458.jpg
  • Crucifixion, fresco painted 1341-47, by Puccio Capanna, originally in the Oratory of St Rufinuccio Fraternity and detached in 1955 (the sinopia still remain), now in the Confraternity Room of the Assisi Diocesan Museum, or Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, Assisi, Umbria, Italy. This painting is known for the emotive expressions on the faces of the Virgin and saints. The museum was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini under the Cathedral Piazza to preserve works of art from Assisi's collections. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_ITALY_MC486.jpg
  • Metope of Europa and the Bull, with relief of Europa abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull, Greek, from Selinunte, Sicily, in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonino Salinas, in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The museum houses Greek, Punic and Sicilian artefacts and is housed in the Oratory of St Philip Neri in the Olivella complex. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_ITALY_MC_0771.jpg
  • Ceiling with lierne and tierron vaults of the choir of the Chapelle Saint-Calais, built in 1498 as a private oratory for the king and consecrated 1508 by Antoine Dufour, in the Gothic Louis XII wing, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0042.jpg
  • Louis XII, stained glass window, 1957, by Max Ingrand, in the choir of the Chapelle Saint-Calais, built in 1498 as a private oratory for the king and consecrated 1508 by Antoine Dufour, in the Gothic Louis XII wing, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0050.jpg
  • Bedroom of Madame de Maintenon, with Louis XIV style gilded and painted canopied duchess bed, late 19th century, installed by the Duke Paul de Noailles and his architect Henri Parent, and small private oratory on the right, in the petits appartements in the main building, at the Chateau de Maintenon, built 13th - 18th century, and from 1674, residence of Madame de Maintenon, 1635-1719, second wife of King Louis XIV, at Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir, France. The castle is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0217.jpg
  • St Francis enthroned amidst musicians, kneeling penitents and a dead body, obverse side of a processional banner from the Oratory of the Fraternity of St Francis of Assisi, also known as St Leonardo of the Stigmata, founded before 1301, now in the Confraternity Room of the Assisi Diocesan Museum, or Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, Assisi, Umbria, Italy. The museum was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini under the Cathedral Piazza to preserve works of art from Assisi's collections. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_ITALY_MC488.jpg
  • Mihrab with carved fretwork and mocarabe in the Oratory or Sala de la Oracion in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC202.jpg
  • Metope of the Quadriga, with relief of a chariot departing with its team of horses, the outer ones running away, led by 2 deities thought to be Hera and Athena or Demeter and Kore or Persephone, 560-550 BC, Greek, from Selinunte, Sicily, in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonino Salinas, in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The museum houses Greek, Punic and Sicilian artefacts and is housed in the Oratory of St Philip Neri in the Olivella complex. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_ITALY_MC_0770.jpg
  • Ceiling with lierne and tierron vaults and heraldic decoration, in the choir of the Chapelle Saint-Calais, built in 1498 as a private oratory for the king and consecrated 1508 by Antoine Dufour, in the Gothic Louis XII wing, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The coat of arms is of Anne of Brittany, with the fleur de lys, ermine tails and knotted cord. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0039.jpg
  • Life of St Calais, stained glass window, 1957, by Max Ingrand, in the choir of the Chapelle Saint-Calais, built in 1498 as a private oratory for the king and consecrated 1508 by Antoine Dufour, in the Gothic Louis XII wing, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0049.jpg
  • Choir of the Chapelle Saint-Calais, built in 1498 as a private oratory for the king and consecrated 1508 by Antoine Dufour, with painted ceiling and stained glass windows, 1957, by Max Ingrand, in the Gothic Louis XII wing, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC23_FRANCE_MC_0041.jpg
  • Man, possibly a monk, holding a scroll, sculptural detail on the entrance to the Oratory, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0649.jpg
  • Detail of carved polychrome stucco with cursive Arabic inscriptions, from the Mihrab in the Oratory or Sala de la Oracion in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC205.jpg
  • Nave, seen from the oratory of St Michael's Church, consecrated 974 AD, at the Abbaye Saint Michel de Cuxa, a 9th century Benedictine abbey in Codalet, Pyrenees-Orientales, France. The Pre-Romanesque church features Visigothic horseshoe arches, seen here. The abbey complex consists of the Eglise Saint-Michel, Chapelle de la Trinite, crypt, cloister and an 11th century bell tower. The abbey is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_FRANCE_MC_1438.jpg
  • Bedroom of Madame de Maintenon, with Louis XIV style gilded and painted canopied duchess bed, late 19th century, installed by the Duke Paul de Noailles and his architect Henri Parent, and small private oratory for prayer (behind), in the petits appartements in the main building, at the Chateau de Maintenon, built 13th - 18th century, and from 1674, residence of Madame de Maintenon, 1635-1719, second wife of King Louis XIV, at Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir, France. The castle is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0243.jpg
  • Virgin and child with angels and worshippers, detail, fresco painted 1341-47, by Puccio Capanna, originally in the Oratory of St Rufinuccio Fraternity and detached in 1955 (the sinopia still remain), now in the Confraternity Room of the Assisi Diocesan Museum, or Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, Assisi, Umbria, Italy. The museum was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini under the Cathedral Piazza to preserve works of art from Assisi's collections. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_ITALY_MC456.jpg
  • Painted decorative doorway of the Oratory, a small private chapel, and behind, the Chambre de la Reine or Queen's Bedroom, decorated in 16th century Renaissance style and restored by Felix Duban in 1861-66, on the first floor of the Francois I wing, built early 16th century in Italian Renaissance style, at the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. This is thought to be the room in which Catherine de Medici died in 1589, and the walls are decorated with her monogram, 2 Cs with an H for Henri II. It has a painted ceiling, tiled floor and 4-poster bed with a green canopy. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0796.jpg
  • Jason and the Argonauts in the Garden of Hesperides on the way to Colchis, part of the Quest for the Golden Fleece, polychrome relief in the Oratory at the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Fulcanelli studied this work and interpreted it in relation to alchemy, and the quest for the philosopher's stone. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0684.jpg
  • Mihrab seen through a carved horseshoe arch, in the Oratory or Sala de la Oracion in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC201.jpg
  • The Gardens of the Partal, or Jardines del Partal, once a busy kitchen garden, and behind, the Tower of the Mihrab, or Torre del Mihrab, a former Nasrid oratory and a perimeter tower of the old Palacio del Partal, Alhambra Palace, Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The Alhambra was begun in the 11th century as a castle, and in the 13th and 14th centuries served as the royal palace of the Nasrid sultans. The huge complex contains the Alcazaba, Nasrid palaces, gardens and Generalife. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC158.jpg
  • Stele with relief of a knight holding a large shield and a spear, 2nd - 1st century BC, fossiliferous calcarenite limestone, in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonino Salinas, in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The museum houses Greek, Punic and Sicilian artefacts and is housed in the Oratory of St Philip Neri in the Olivella complex. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_ITALY_MC_0767.jpg
  • Virgin and child with angels and worshippers, fresco painted 1341-47, by Puccio Capanna, originally in the  Oratory of St Rufinuccio Fraternity and detached in 1955 (the sinopia still remain), now in the Confraternity Room of the Assisi Diocesan Museum, or Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, Assisi, Umbria, Italy. The museum was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini under the Cathedral Piazza to preserve works of art from Assisi's collections. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_ITALY_MC455.jpg
  • Mihrab with carved fretwork and mocarabe in the Oratory or Sala de la Oracion in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC219.jpg
  • Detail of polychrome carved fretwork and mocarabe in the Oratory or Sala de la Oracion in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC206.jpg
  • Oratory or Sala de la Oracion seen through a carved horseshoe arch, with the mihrab below, in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC203.jpg
  • Bedroom of Madame de Maintenon, with Louis XIV style gilded and painted canopied duchess bed, late 19th century, installed by the Duke Paul de Noailles and his architect Henri Parent, and small private oratory on the right, in the petits appartements in the main building, at the Chateau de Maintenon, built 13th - 18th century, and from 1674, residence of Madame de Maintenon, 1635-1719, second wife of King Louis XIV, at Maintenon, Eure-et-Loir, France. The castle is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0209.JPG
  • Deposition, fresco, 1341-47, thought to be drawn by Pucci Capanna but painted by his assistant, Cecce di Saraceno, originally in the Oratory of St Rufinuccio Fraternity and detached in 1955 (the sinopia still remain), now in the Confraternity Room of the Assisi Diocesan Museum, or Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, Assisi, Umbria, Italy. The museum was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini under the Cathedral Piazza to preserve works of art from Assisi's collections. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_ITALY_MC487.jpg
  • Relief of griffin, carved on the side of a sarcophagus, Oratorio Cristiano delle Terme del Mitra (Christian Oratory), built in the 4th century - 5th century on the top of the mithraeum of the Baths of Mithras, Ostia Antica, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC382.jpg
  • Relief of griffin, carved on the side of a sarcophagus, Oratorio Cristiano delle Terme del Mitra (Christian Oratory), built in the 4th century - 5th century on the top of the mithraeum of the Baths of Mithras, Ostia Antica, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC381.jpg
  • Relief of griffin, carved on the side of a sarcophagus, Oratorio Cristiano delle Terme del Mitra (Christian Oratory), built in the 4th century - 5th century on the top of the mithraeum of the Baths of Mithras, Ostia Antica, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC380.jpg
  • Gothic choir of the Chapelle Saint-Calais, built 1498-1508, in the courtyard on the Louis XII wing of the Chateau Royal de Blois, built 13th - 17th century in Blois in the Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France. The chapel was consecrated in 1508 by Antoine Dufour, bishop of Marseille. The choir with its vaulted ceiling and stained glass by Max Ingrand, 1957, remains, although the nave was destroyed by Mansart during works under Gaston d'OrlÈans. The chateau has 564 rooms and 75 staircases and is listed as a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC15_FRANCE_MC_1428.jpg
  • Statue of Virgin Mary holding Christ child, with no book as Jesus is the word of God, on the altar in the Chapelle du Chateau de Montriou, a small Flamboyant Gothic chapel, 15th century, originally attached to the Chateau de Montriou, founded 1484 by Charlotte de Beauvau, daughter of a senechal of Anjou, in Feneu, Maine-et-Loire, France. The altar holds 4 statues of the 3 Marys and St Anne. In the stained glass windows are the coats of arms of the Cassin de la Loge family, of whom the current owners are descendants. The chapel is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0770.jpg
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