Monday, February 28, 2011

Stanford Memorial Church

We live about 40 minutes away from Stanford University and go there once in a while to see the extensive and beautiful grounds, the delightful art museum, and a garden full of Auguste Rodin's sculptures.


Our latest trip was occasioned by my oldest son's losing a lego figurine of Luke Skywalker, light saber and all, which, if you are not around boys and legos much, is a disaster of major proportions. He thought he'd left it at my sister-in-law's house, which is close to Stanford. He didn't find it there and we thought we'd stop by at the campus for awhile to cheer him up a little.


For me, the biggest attraction of this part of the campus is Rodin's sculpture group, The Burgers of Calais. 


The sculpture commemorates 6 wealthy citizens of Calais, who offered their lives and keys to the city's gates to King Edward III during The Hundred Years' War in exchange for sparing the lives of the rest of the town's population.


The statues are on the ground rather than on a pedestal, which makes the figures more human. You can easily see how isolated each of them is in his grief and despair. 


The interior of the turn of the century church, though not rivaling the famous European cathedrals in beauty and splendor, is interesting and elegant...


with intricate mosaics

sandstone carvings


and stained glass
The dome is supported by four archangels set in mosaic. All of them were damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and subsequently restored.


One can easily spend a whole day here admiring the plentiful architectural details and thinking about the university's more than century-long history.


P.S. As for Luke Skywalker, he was found the next day, clean and unharmed, in a load of laundry. Mysterious are the ways of Jedi Knights.
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40 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 28, 2011 at 3:46 AM

    Wow, I would love to see this cathedral. Art and architecture, my favorite sights to see. I just picked your post and it was partially as a test. I do love the post BTW, but your post is appearing on my picks list page. This is not a place you can go to as it is a part of my Blotanical account. I just wrote to Stuart about this, but he is on holiday I think. So I was trying to see if it is causing a problem between our two blogs.If you can pick my post Photoshopping Your Work, I would appreciate it. I want to see if picks are being registered under the correct blogs. This message was too involved to leave on your plot. I gave you 5 picks and hope they went to your post and not mine.

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 28, 2011 at 3:55 AM

    Dear Masha, I am so interested to have seen these photographs of Stanford Unversity and its memorial church. If my memory serves me correctly, the University of Stanford leased Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, the Astor's place, in the 1970s before Cliveden became an hotel.

    The Rodin sculptures are indeed very fine.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 28, 2011 at 4:30 AM

    I believe that the picks are working correctly. I just picked you from here also and it looks like you are receiving them. Donna

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  4. FlowerLady LorraineFebruary 28, 2011 at 4:30 AM

    So glad all was not lost, but freshly laundered.

    What a beautiful church and grounds.

    FlowerLady

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  5. Phillip OliverFebruary 28, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Beautiful architecture and church. Have you ever been to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena? I was there a few months ago. They have Rodin statues outside the entrance to the museum.

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  6. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 6:59 AM

    Thank you, Donna. It is a beautiful place and I am glad you enjoyed looking at the pictures.

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  7. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    Dear Edith, thank you for letting me know this. I haven't known about it before, and would love to find out more. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

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  8. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:01 AM

    Thank you, Donna, for resolving the problem. I appreciate it!

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  9. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    Thank you, FlowerLady, my son was happy (and embarrassed).

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  10. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:05 AM

    Phillip, no, we haven't gone that far South yet although I really want to go. My main object would be the Getty museum - I haven't heard of the Norton Simon Museum, and thanks a lot for mentioning it to me! I hope you had a good trip.

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  11. GigaFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:38 AM

    Szkoda, że to tak daleko od Polski, bo z ochotą bym tam poszła. Pozdrawim

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  12. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:52 AM

    Thank you, Giga, I feel the same way about Polish castles too!

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  13. Jennifer@threedogsinagardenFebruary 28, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    Hi Masha,
    I am glad "the force" did not fail Luke Skywalker and he was discovered safe and sound.
    Such a beautiful church! I have been a long time fan of Rodin's artwork and quite some years ago had the privilege of visiting the Rodin museum in Paris. Your pictures of the church and sculptures are lovely.

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  14. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 9:25 AM

    Thank you, Jennifer, and lucky you to be able to go to Paris! One day I will travel again too...

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  15. Tatyana@MySecretGardenFebruary 28, 2011 at 11:15 AM

    What a beautiful place!

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  16. Neuer GartentraumFebruary 28, 2011 at 11:21 AM

    Hallo Mascha,
    Deine Bilder von der Stanford University sind sehr schön. Mir persönlich gefallen auch die Skulpturen besonders gut.
    Liebe Grüße
    Anette

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  17. Southern LadyFebruary 28, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    Beautiful. Thanks for posting. It is a gorgeous church. Carla

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  18. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Thank you, Tatyana, and I am glad to hear from you.

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  19. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Hallo, Anette, and Danke!

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  20. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Thank you, Carla, I am happy to hear from you!

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  21. AnonymousFebruary 28, 2011 at 4:35 PM

    Greetings from Southern California

    I added myself to follow you. I invite you to visit my blog and follow me if you want too.

    God bless you :-)

    ~Ron

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  22. HolleyGardenFebruary 28, 2011 at 4:48 PM

    Wow! This place is stunning - and the statues are so unique and interesting. I liked that they placed them on the ground. I was relieved to learn Luke was found.

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  23. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 4:50 PM

    Hello, Ron, and nice to meet you!

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  24. MashaFebruary 28, 2011 at 4:51 PM

    Thank you, HolleyGarden, I was relieved too: I wasn't looking forward to a week's worth of tantrums and another lego set (expensive!).

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  25. Olga PoltavaFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    That's an interesting place. I visited it a few years ago. I heard that their museum has the biggest collection of Rodin's works outside of France. I remember I was astonished to see the Gates of Hell.
    Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures.

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  26. The Redneck RosarianMarch 1, 2011 at 5:40 AM

    I love to visit churches of this caliber. It reminds me of some of the churches in Moscow at the Kremlin. The fresco's are magnificent indeed. They relate the event of the scripture in a way that cannot be told any other way. Thanks for sharing these photos.

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  27. Deborah at Kilbourne GroveMarch 1, 2011 at 6:34 AM

    Wow, what an amazing place, I am a huge fan of architecture, and this post is fabulous, not to mention the fantastic photos!

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  28. Phillip OliverMarch 1, 2011 at 7:20 AM

    Masha, I have photos of the Rodin statues at the Norton Simon Museum on my blog at http://phillipoliver.blogspot.com/2010/10/california-pt-4-pasadena-norton-simon.html

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  29. MashaMarch 1, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    Thank you, Olga, and yes, the collection is amazing. We went on a guided tour once, it was the most enlightening tour I have had in years.

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  30. MashaMarch 1, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    Thank you, the Redneck Rosarian. It never occurred to me to compare the Stanford Church to the Kremlin, but you are right, there is a resemblance.

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  31. MashaMarch 1, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    Thank you, Deborah, and nice to meet you!

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  32. MashaMarch 1, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    Thanks, Phillip, I will check them out!

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  33. thibaudMarch 1, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    No mystery as to why you've produced such noble, clear and beautiful images, Masha. Clearly, the Force is with you.

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  34. MashaMarch 1, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Thank you, thibaud. Force be with you too:)

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  35. sherryocalaMarch 1, 2011 at 5:41 PM

    Such beautiful and amazing art and architecture. I must assume that the Force wanted you to go and take these pictures for us.

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  36. Beth at PlantPostingsMarch 1, 2011 at 6:31 PM

    Masha: The Stanford campus is indeed impressive! We visited about five years ago when my son was considering the university for his college career. He ended up attending UW-Madison, which is close to home, but we both loved Stanford. You are lucky to live near it, and I imagine you share the amazing climate?

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  37. MashaMarch 1, 2011 at 8:18 PM

    Thank you, Sherry, for making me smile:)

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  38. MashaMarch 1, 2011 at 8:19 PM

    Beth, thank you, and yes, we are more or less the same climate, a bit hotter in the summer and a bit cooler in winter. I am glad you got to visit it.

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  39. sweetbayMarch 2, 2011 at 6:01 PM

    I hadn't seen any of the Standord campus before ~ it's beautiful. The cathedral is simply breath-taking. I'm glad Luke Skywalker turned up safe and sound. :)

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  40. MashaMarch 2, 2011 at 8:24 PM

    Thank you, Sweetbay, me too!

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I am so glad you have stopped by!