The Taj Mahal- The Monument of Love
By: Sarah Riley
In the 1600’s a wonderful romance took place. Shah Jahan, and his queen, the "chosen one of the palace," Mumtaz Mahal, both barely teenagers, Mumtaz Mahal, and Shah Jahan waited half a decade until they were nineteen and then got married. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 while giving birth to one of their fourteen children. Shah Jahan left heartbroken and determined to build history’s finest monument for the love that a man has for a woman . Shah was so devastated that he built The Taj to be a tomb for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Shah Jahan started building the Taj after his wife’s death in 1629. It is hard to pin down when construction began and ended, but after about twenty years of labor, and the work of more than twenty thousand workers and craftsmen, the Taj was finished in 1648. The Taj was built on the bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, India. Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal emperor of India from 1628 until 1658. Mumtaz Mahal was a Muslim Persian Princess. Shah’s wife stood behind him in whatever he did. Mumtaz also inspired Shah to give to charity and to look out for the needy.
The designer of this grand eighth wonder of the world was believed to have been Ustad Ahmad Lahori, a master architect of the age. Ustad Ahmad used an "interlocking arabesque" method in the architectural designs. Sir Edwin Arnold described the architecture of the Taj as, "not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stone". "The Taj marks the most developed stage of Mughal architecture, it is a dream in marble". The Taj Mahal is said to be the best display of the old Indian Islamic Architecture in the entire world. Building materials were retrieved from all of India, central Asia, China, Tibet, and even the Indian Ocean. Red sandstone was brought from local quarries and marble was dug from the ground in Makran. Jade and crystal was brought from China; turquoise from Tibet, rare shells and coral was brought from the Indian Ocean. Even through all these other materials were brought in from outside places the majority of the Taj is made of white marble.
The magnificent gateway that is about 100ft high and 150 ft wide has a famous archway at the threshold. The heavy door below is made of almost 10 different metals. The gateway is constructed of red stone and has inlaid gems in white marble, in a floral design. Also in the archway there are inscribed passages from the Holy Koran. From the gateway, when entering, the first sight is the beautiful gardens. The gardens spread from the gateway all the way to the foot of the Taj. The gardens are enclosed by a huge wall, and are divided into four squares. The gardens at the Taj are a type of Persian garden, which are so geometric and organized that they almost look unnatural.
In the center of the garden, in the middle of the tomb and the gateway there is a raised tank. This tank has been perfectly placed to reflect the Taj in it crystal clear wate. There are also four channels in the gardens that represent the four rivers in Islamic paradise that all meet at the tank.
On both sides of the Taj there are buildings made of red sandstone. The mosque is the one on the west, and it is used for prayer. It faces towards Mecca because all mosques must face Mecca. Inside the Mosque is decorated with inscriptions from the Koran. To the East of the Taj is another building that looks just like the Mosque, but this building is used as a Rest House. It is also made of red sandstone. Because the Rest House is faced away from Mecca it couldn't be a Mosque. Inside, the Rest House has a beautiful floral design in the white marble.
Towering over and sitting between the Rest House and the Mosque is the Dome. The Dome is an Islamic decoration that stands two hundred and twenty feet high and fifty-eight feet wide. Over time legends say that the dome came from the Turks. Others say that it came from the pear- shaped tents of the Tatars who live in the Himalayas. The Dome goes up and tapers into a spire, topped by a crescent.
The Crown Palac continues the tradition of Mughal garden tombs, the Humayun’s tomb was the first. Even though the marble walls of the best known monument in the world have been tarnished by smoke and air pollution, this sixteen century building is still the best kept up and most beautiful tomb in all the world. This eighth wonder of the worl is the symbol of eternal love (Peswani 2) and is the most romantic monument in the entire world showing a man’s love for a woman.
On one end of the garden decorated with fountains and marble pavement is the Mausoleum. The Mausoleum has inlaid designs of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems like agate and jaspe. Shah wanted to build a second Taj Mahal in black Marble on the other side of the Yamuna River to be his own tomb. Shah had planned to connect the two Tajs with a silver bridge, but for unknown reasons changed his mind. Since Shah Jahan didn't make a second Taj, it makes the one and only all the more meaningful. Shah Jahan died and was placed next to his queen Mumtaz Mahal in the mausoleum, instead of the second Taj that had been planned to build. Today under the dome, below the ground, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal lay next to each other as a symbol of their eternal love.
The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia is one of the largest and most important art galleries in the world. The vast collections at the Hermitage are displayed in four buildings, the main one being the Winter Palace which was once the residence of the Russian Tsars.
Catherine the Great started things off in 1764, when she purchased a collection of more than 250 paintings. Over the past few hundred years, the museum has expanded to hundreds of thousands of exhibits displaying a variety of art from around the world. The museum is home to works by many of the world’s greatest artists. However, under the old communist government, for many years little was known in the West of the full extent of the works in the Hermitage Museum.
During World War II, the Nazis seized numerous valuable works of art from wealthy Jewish families and governments from all over conquered Europe which Hitler used to set up a museum in Germany. In addition, Hermann Göring gathered for himself an enormous personal collection of stolen art. As Russian soldiers were the first to enter Berlin, Germany at the end of the war, a great many of these paintings, plus paintings legitimately belonging to the German Government, were looted by Russian soldiers for themselves while many other priceless works of art were taken by the Soviet government.
After the fall of communism and Russia’s more open policies, in 1995 the Hermitage Museum unveiled a collection of near priceless Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. The existence of a number of these paintings astonished members of the art world who for fifty years had thought they had been destroyed during World War II. After this revelation, a massive number of claims were made for many pieces in the Hermitage collection. The Russian government has retuned some of these, as have some of the families of soldiers who looted art, but negotiations continue on many, many more.
Interior view
The museum has a collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin and a few of the great painters whose works are in the Hermitage are:
Paul Cezanne
Willem Drost
Paul Gauguin
Edouard Manet
Henri Matisse
Michelangelo
Claude Monet
Camille Pissarro
Raphael
Rembrandt
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Peter Paul Rubens
Titian
Vincent Van Gogh
Leonardo da Vinci
Elizabeth Vigée-Lebrun
ANGKOR WAT (Angkor, Cambodia)
Angkor Wat, in its beauty and state of preservation, is unrivaled. Its mightiness and magnificence bespeak a pomp and a luxury surpassing that of a Pharaoh or a Shah Jahan, an impressiveness greater than that of the Pyramids, an artistic distinctiveness as fine as that of the Taj Mahal.
Angkor Wat is located about six kilometers (four miles) north of Siem Reap, south of Angkor Thom. Entry and exit to Angkor Wat can only be access from its west gate. Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the 12th century (113-5BC). Estimated construction time of the temple is 30 years by King Suryavarman II, dedicated to Vishnu (Hindu), replica of Angkor Thom style of art.
BACKGROUND Angkor Wat, the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief's and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world.
Wat is the Thai name for temple (the French spelling is "vat "), which was probably added to "Angkor "when it became a Theravada Buddhist monument, most likely in the sixteenth century (for the etymology of the name 'Angkor' see page 17) After 1432 when the capital moved to Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat was cared for by Buddhist monks.
It is generally accepted that Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and oriented to the west to conform to the symbolism between the setting sun and death. The bas-reliefs, designed for viewing from left to right in the order of Hindu funereal ritual, support this function.
ARCHITECTURAL PLAN The plan of Angkor Wat is difficult to grasp when walking through the monument because of the vastness. Its complexity and beauty both attract and distract one's attention. From a distance Angkor Wat appears to be a colossal mass of stone on one level with a long causeway leading to the center but close up it is a series of elevated towers, covered galleries, chambers, porches and courtyards on different levels linked by stairways.
The height of Angkor Wat from the ground to the top of the central tower is greater than it might appear: 213 meters (699 feet), achieved with three rectangular or square levels. Each one is progressively smaller and higher than the one below starting from the outer limits of the temple. Covered galleries with columns define the boundaries of the first and second levels.
The third level supports five towers –four in the corners and one in the middle and these is the most prominent architectural feature of Angkor Wat. This arrangement is sometimes called a quincunx. Graduated tiers, one rising above the other, give the towers a conical shape and, near the top, rows of lotuses taper to a point. The overall profile imitates a lotus bud,
Several architectural lines stand out in the profile of the monument. The eye is drawn left and right to the horizontal aspect of the levels and upward to the soaring height of the towers. The ingenious plan of Angkor Wat only allows a view of all five towers from certain angles. They are not visible, for example, from the entrance. Many of the structures and courtyards are in the shape of a cross. The. Visitor should study the plan on page 86 and become familiar with this dominant layout. A curved sloping roof on galleries, chambers and aisles is a hallmark of Angkor Wat. From a distance it looks like a series of long narrow ridges but close up from identifies itself. It is a roof made of gracefully arched stone rectangles placed end to end. Each row of tiles is capped with an end tile at right angles the ridge of the roof. The scheme culminates in decorated tympanums with elaborate frames.
Steps provide access to the various levels. Helen Churchill Candee, who visited Angkor in the 1920s, thought their usefulness surpassed their architectural purpose. The steps to Angkor Wat are made to force a halt at beauteous obstruction that the mind may be prepared for the atmosphere of sanctity, she wrote
In order to become familiar with the composition of Angkor Wat the visitor should learn to recognize the repetitive elements in the architecture. Galleries with columns, towers, curved roofs, tympanums, steps and the cross-shaped plan occur again and again. It was by combining two or more of these aspects that a sense of height was achieved. This arrangement was used to link one part of the monument to another. Roofs were frequently layered to add height, length or dimension. A smaller replica of the central towers was repeated at the limits of two prominent areas-the galleries and the entry pavilions. The long causeway at the entrance reappears on the other side of the entry pavilion.
SYMBOLISM Angkor Wat is a miniature replica of the universe in stone and represents an earthly model of the cosmic world. The central tower rises from the center of the monument symbolizing the mythical mountain, Meru, situated at the center of the universe. Its five towers correspond to the peaks of Meru. The outer wall corresponds to the mountains at the edge of the world, and the surrounding moat the oceans beyond.
LAYOUT Even though Angkor Wat is the most photographed Khmer monument, nothing approaches the actual experience of seeing this temple. Frank Vincent grasped this sensation over 100 years ago.
The general appearance of the wonder of the temple is beautiful and romantic as well as impressive and grand it must be seen to be understood and appreciated.
One can never look upon the ensemble of the vat without a thrill, a pause, a feeling of being caught up onto the heavens. Perhaps it is the most impressive sight in the world of edifices.
Angkor Wat occupies a rectangular area of about 208 hectares (500 acres) defined by a laetrile wall. The first evidence of the site is a moat with a long sandstone causeway (length 250 meters, 820 feet; width 12 meters, 39 feet) crossing it and serving as the main access to the monument. The moat is 200 meters (656 feel) wide with a perimeter of 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles).
The west entrance begins with steps leading to a raised sandstone terrace in the shape of a cross at the foot of the long causeway. Giant stone lions on each side of the terrace guard the monument.
Looking straight ahead, one can see at the end of the causeway the entry gate with three towers of varying heights and with collapsed upper portion. This entry tower hides the full view of the five towers of the central group. A long covered failure with square columns and a curved roof extends along the moat to the left and right of the entry tower. This is the majestic facade of Angkor Wat and a fine example of classical Khmer architecture. Helen Churchill candee must have been standing on this terrace almost 70 years ago when she wrote
Any architect would thrill at the harmony of the fasade, an unbroken stretch of repeated pillars leading from the far angles of the structure to the central opening, which is dominated, by three imposing towers with broken summits.
This facade originally had another row of pillars with a roof. Evidence of this remains in a series of round holes set in square based in front of the standing pillars. Tip Before proceeding along the causeway turns right, go down the steps of the terrace and walk along the path a few meters for a view of all five towers of Angkor Wat. Return to the center of the terrace and walk down the causeway towards the main part of the temple. The left-hand side of the causeway has more original sand stone than the right-hand side, which was restored by the French. In the 1920 when RJ Casey walked on this causeway he noted it was an oddity of engineering The slabs were cut in irregular shapes, which meant that each had to be chiseled to fit the one adjoining. The effect as seen under the noonday sun...is like that of a long strip of watered silk'10
On the left side just before the midway point in the causeway two large feet are carved in a block of sandstone. They belong to one of the figures at the entrances to Angkor Thom and were brought to Angkor Wat in this century the causeway was repaired with reused stones.
The causeway leads to the cross-shaped entry tower mentioned earlier. The upper portions of the three sections on this tower-one each at the center and the two ends – have collapsed. The porches on each end of the gallery may have served as passages for elephants, horses and carts as they are on ground level. When Helen Churchill Candee saw these entrances in the 1920 she remarked that architecture made to fit the passage of elephants is an idea most inspiriting. A figure of a standing Visnu (eight arms) is in the right inside the entry tower. Traces of original color can be seen on the ceiling of the entry tower at the left.
Continue westward along a second raised walkway (length 350 meters, 1,148 feet; width 9 meters, 30 feet). A low balustrade resembling the body of a serpent borders each side. Short columns support the balustrade. Looking west one sees the celebrate view of Angkor Wat that appears on the Cambodian flag. Standing at this point one teels compelled to get to the wondrous group of the five domes, companions of the sky, sisters of the clouds, and determine whether or not one lives in a world of reality or in a fantastic dream.
Six pairs of ceremonial stairs with platforms on each side of the walkway lead to the courtyard. A continuation of the serpent balustrade along the walkway frames the stairs. This arrangement is sometimes called a landing platform. The balustrade terminates with the body of the serpent making a turn at right angles towards the sky and gracefully spreading its nine heads to from the shape of a fan.
Two buildings, so-called libraries stand in the courtyard on the left and right, just past the middle of the causeway. These 'jewel-boxes Khmer art 'are perfectly formed. A large central area, four porches, columns and steps present a symmetrical plan in the shape of a cross. Some of the columns have been replaced with cement copies for support. An original pillar lies on the ground before the library on the left.
In front of the libraries are two basins (length 65 meters, 213 feet, width 50 meters, 164 feet the one on the left is filled with water whereas the other lone is usually dry. Tip Turn left at the first steps after the library and before the basin and follow the path for about 40 meters (131 feet) to a large tree for a superb view of the five towers of Angkor Wat, particularly at sunrise.
The walkway leads to a terrace kin the shape of a cross, known as the Terrace of Honor, just in front of the principal entry tower of Angkor Wat , supporting columns and horizontal carved molding around the base accentuate the form of the terrace. Steps flanked by lions on pedestals are on three sides of the terrace. Ritual dances were performed here and it may have been where the king viewed processions and received foreign dignitaries. R Casey sensed such activity in the 1920s.
One cannot but feel that only a few hours ago it was palpitating with life. The torches were burning about the altars. Companies of priests were in the galleries chanting the rituals. Dancing girls were flitting up and down the steps... that was only an hour or two ago, monsieur....it cannot have been more..
From the top of the terrace there is a fine view of the gallery on the first level, known as the Gallery of Bas-reliefs (215 by 187 meters, 705 by 614 feet). The outer side, closest to the visitor, comprises a row of 60 columns whereas the inner side is a solid wall decorated with bas-reliefs.
Tip: At this point the visitor has the choice of continuing straight to the central towers or turning right to see the Gallery of Bas-reliefs (see pages 96-108 for a description of the bas-reliefs).
The unit providing a link between the first and second levels is the Cross-shaped Galleries. This unique architectural design consists of two covered galleries with square columns in the shape of a cross and a courtyard divided into four equal parts with paved basins and steps. The method used by the Khmers to form corbel arches is visible in the vaults. Several decorative features in these galleries stand out windows with balusters turned as if they were made of wood, rosettes on the vaults, a frieze of Apsaras under the cornices, and ascetics at the base of the columns.
Tip: Some of the pillars in the galleries of this courtyard have inscriptions written in Sanskrit and Khmer. On either side of the courtyard there are two libraries of similar form but smaller than the ones along the entrance causeway.
The Gallery of 1,000 Buddha's, on the right, once contained many images dating from the period when Angkor Wat was Backlist. Only a few of these figures remain today.
The gallery on the left is the Hall of Echoes, so named because of its unusual acoustics.
Tip: to hear the resonance in the Hall of Echoes walk to the end of the gallery, stand in the left-hand corner with your back to the wall, thump your chest and listen carefully.
Those who want to visit the library should leave the door at the end of this gallery. There is a good view of the upper level of Angkor Wat from this library. Return to the center of the cross-shaped galleries and continue walking toward the central towers. Another set of stairs alerts one to the continuing ascent. The outer wall of the gallery of the second level, closest to the visitor, (100 by 115 meters, 328 by 377 feet), is solid and undecorated, probably to create an environment for meditation by the priests and the king.
The starkness of the exterior of the second level gallery is offset by the decoration of the interior. Over 1,500 Apsaras (celestial dancers) line the walls of the gallery offering endless visual and spiritual enchantment. These graceful and beautiful females delight all visitors. They were crated by the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. When one first walks into the courtyard the multitude of female figures on the walls and in the niches may seem repetitive but as one moves closer and looks carefully one sees that every one of these celestial nymphs is different, the elaborate coiffures, headdresses and jewellery befit, yet never overpower, these 'ethereal inhabitants of the heavens'
Apsaras appear at Angkor Wat for the first time in twos and threes. These groups break with the traditional of decoration kin other part of the temple by standing with arms linked in coquettish postures and always in frontal view except for the feet, which appear in profile.
Pang, a Cambodian poet, in a tribute to the Khmer ideal of female beauty wrote of the Apsaras in the seventeenth century.
These millions of gracious figures, filling you with such emotion that the eye is never wearied, the soul is renewed, and the heart sated! They were never carved by the hands of men! They were created by the gods living, lovely, breathing women!
Only the king and the high priest were allowed on the upper or third level of Angkor Wat it lacks the stately covered galleries of the other two but is the base of the five central towers, one of which contains the most sacred image of the temple.
The square base (60 meters, 197 feet long) of the upper level is 13 meters (43 feet) high and raises over 40 meters (131 feet) above the second level. Twelve sets of stairs with 40 steps each one in the center of each side and two at the corners-ascend at a 70-degree angle giving access to this level.
Tip: The stairway to the third level is less steep on the west (center) but those who suffer from vertigo should use the south stairway (center, which has concrete steps and a handrail. the steps on all sides are exceptionally narrow. the visitor should ascend and descend sideways.
All the repetitive elements of the architectural composition of Angkor Wat appear on the upper level. The space is divided into a cross-shaped area defined with covered galleries and four paved courts. An entry tower with a porch and columns is at the top of each stairway. Passages supported on both sides with double rows of columns link the entry tower to the central structure. The corners of the upper level are dominated by the four towers. Steps both separate and link the different parts. A narrow covered gallery with a double row of pillars and windows and balusters on the outer side surrounds the third level.
The Central sanctuary (17) rises on a tiered base 42 meters (137 feet) above the upper level. The highest of the five towers, it is equal in height to the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris This central sanctuary sheltered the sacred image of the temple. It originally had four porches opening to the cardinal directions.
The central core was walled up some time after the sacking of Angkor in the middle if the fifteenth century. Nearly 500 years later French archaeologists discovered a vertical shaft 27 meters (89 feet) below the surface in the center of the upper level with a hoard of gold objects at the base.
At the summit the layout of Angkor Wat reveals itself at last. The view is a spectacle of beauty befitting the Khmer's architectural genius for creating harmonious proportions. Tip: Walk all the way around the outer gallery of the upper level to enjoy the view of the surrounding countryside, the causeway in the west and the central group of towers.
You have not quite an aerial view the Phnom [summit] is not high enough for that ...But you can see enough to realize something of the superb audacity of the architects who dared to embark upon a single plan measuring nearly a mile square. Your point of view is diagonal, across the north-west corner of the moat to the soaring lotus-tip of the central sanctuary, you can trace the perfect balance of every faultless line, Worshipful for its beauty bewildering in its stupendous size, there is no other point from which the Wat appears so inconceivable an undertaking to have been attempted-much less achieved by human brains and hands.
GALLERY OF BAS- RELIEFS
The Gallery of Bas-reliefs, surrounding the first level of Angkor Wat, contains 1,200 square meters (12,917 square feet) of sandstone carvings. The relief covers most of the inner wall of all four sides of the gallery and extend for two meters (seven feet) from top to bottom. The detail, quality composition and execution give them an unequalled status in world art. Columns along the outer wall of the gallery create an intriguing interplay of light and shadow on the relief. The effect is one of textured wallpaper that looks like the work of painters rather than sculptors' The bas-reliefs are of dazzling rich decoration-always kept in check, never allowed to run unbridled over wall and ceiling possess strength and repose, imagination and power of fantasy, wherever one looks [the] main effect is one of "supreme dignity "wrote a visitor 50 years ago.
The bas-reliefs are divided into eight sections, two on each wall of the square gallery each section depicts a specific theme. In addition the two pavilions at the corners of the west Gallery have a variety of scenes. The book does not include description of badly damaged relief. Some others are unidentifiable .The composition of the relief can be divided into two types scenes without any attempt to contain or separate the contents and scenes contain or separate the contents; and scenes contained in panels which are some-times superimposed on one another-this type is probably later. The panels run horizontally along the wall and generally consist of two or three parts. Sometimes the borders at the top bottom are also decorated.
Themes for the bas-reliefs derive from two main sources-Indian epics and sacred books and warfare of the Angkor Period. Some scholars suggest that the placement of a relief has a relevance to its theme. The relief on the east and west walls, for example, depict themes related to the rising and setting sun.
The word bas means low or shallow and refers to the degree of projection of the relief. The method of creating relief at Angkor Wat was generally to carve away the background leaving the design in relief. Sometime, though the method was reversed giving a sunken appearance.
Parts of some of the relief have a polished appearance on the surface. There are two theories as to why this occurred. The position of the sheen and its occurrence in important parts of the relief suggest it may have resulted from visitors rubbing their hands over them. Some art historians, though think it was the result of lacquer applied over the relief. Traces of gilt and paint, particularly black and red, can also be found on some of the relief's. They are probably the remains of an undercoat or a fixative.
Several primitive artistic conventions are seen in the bas-reliefs. A river is represented by two parallel vertical lines with fish swimming between them. As in Egyptian art, a person's rank is indicated by size. The higher the rank the larger the size. In battle scenes, broken shafts on the ceremonial umbrellas of a chief signify defeat. Perspective is shown by planes placed one above the other. The higher up the wall, the further away is the scene. Figures with legs far apart and knees flexed are in a flying posture.
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