Lapis lazuli
On the occasion of the renovation of the Catholic Church in Windisch (CH) in 2006, I was asked to do the art work for the Lady Chapel. I decided to present the wall behind the Madonna figure as a classical fresco on fresh plaster as a way of paying my respects to the Old Masters whom I venerate.
30 glazes of lapis lazuli pigments for a Madonna blue
The monochrome painting with lapis lazuli pigments on panel constitutes a partition between the main part of the church and the Lady Chapel. During 30 days of work, I glazed various thin layers of lapis lazuli from Afghanistan und Chile. Mysteriously, the lapis lazuli pigment does not lose its qualities in the dark: at nightfall, its brightness does not die, but instead, the intense blue seems to glow from the inside. When it’s getting light, it’s possible to see myriads of little stars in the blue dawn: crystals of lazurite, pyrite, and quartz.
