Église Saint Gervaise, Gisors
John Taylor Arms; David Strang
Description
Subject Matter:
The image depicts the Saint-Gervais Saint-Protais church in the town of Gisors, Normandy, France. The church was originally built in the 13th century, with additions and alterations continuing into the 16th century. The print was No. 35 of Arms' series "French Churches".
Physical Description:
This image builds up from a densely packed lower foreground, comprised of a tree and sloping rooftops littered with chimneys. A church tower, surrounded by birds, rises against a blank sky in the top center of the image, forming an overall pyramidal composition that leads the viewer’s eye up. The roofs of the houses in the foreground seem to waver with unevenly laid shingles, indicating that this is an old village. The church tower combines a gothic-style rose window and pointed arches with rounded windows and a much less ornately ornamented belltower, all more characteristic of Romanesque and Renaissance styles than Gothic.
The style of etching combines both precise descriptive detail and more summary, sketchy renderings. Title in pencil, lower left of margin. Signed and dated in pencil right of center below platemark: "John Taylor Arms, 1932".
Usage Rights:
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