Where is Europe?

Mrs. du Toit takes a visit and says it’s in the detail:

That detail, that desire for beauty where none was required, where a flat stone wall or a plain metal mold would have sufficed, intrigues me to no end. That makes me sizzle. It makes the hair on my neck stand up. It ignites a curiosity. I marvel at who those people were, that we originated from and who enabled all we became, that had risen so far beyond food, shelter, safety, that they would take the time, the incredible luxury of time and attention, to that small detail.

When I worked in London I used to walk from the tube station right past the Houses of Parliament and along the embankment, passing many places of historic and architectural interest along the way. There was much to take pleasure in on my route but the thing that impressed me the most was a set of double doors. I can’t remember what building it belonged to (opposite side of the road to the Thames on the way from the Houses of Parliament to MillbankTowers) but they looked like they were made from two huge slabs of solid pewter decorated with incredible engraving and magnificent relief work. Just a set of doors on an comparitively unremarkable building, but they left a lasting impression.

Posted by John at September 8, 2004 01:54 PM | TrackBack