Trying now to get back to and finish up on our heraldic tour
of Heidelberg, we returned to the church and some of its heraldry that I have
written about before, way back in December 2010 (December 16 http://blog.appletonstudios.com/2010/12/holy-spirit-church-heidelberg.html and December 20 http://blog.appletonstudios.com/2010/12/little-more-heraldry-in-holy-spirit.html),
the Heiliggeistkirche, the Holy Spirit Church.
Over one of the doors to the church is this great carved
coat of arms-like display consisting of a sunburst surmounted by the Holy
Spirit in the form of a dove rising wings displayed, with supporters of two,
well, they’re not heraldic cherubs, which consist of an infant’s head with
angel wings, so I’m not quite sure how these might be blazoned. (But then, I’m a little sleep-deprived right
now, and may be looking in the wrong place.
I also like the way the carver has taken the loop of garland of roses from either side and strung it “through” a pair of holes in the chief
of the shield.
All in all, in addition to being a nice example of the
woodcarver’s art, it’s also a nice example of canting arms and entirely
appropriate for a church, don’t you think?
A putto (plural putti, /ˈpʊti/ or POO-tee)[1] is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually nude and sometimes winged. Putti are distinct from cherubim. In the plural, "the Cherubim" refers to the biblical angels. While "cherubs" represent the second order of angels,[2] putti are secular and present a non-religious passion.[3] However, in the Baroque period of art, the putto came to represent the omnipresence of God.[3] A putto representing a cupid is also called an amorino (plural amorini).
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And now you all know just one of the many reasons I like being married to this woman!
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