Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The Fine Arts, St. Liborius

The most stunning aspect of the interior of St. Liborius are the massive painted lunettes above the arcades of the nave and transepts.
While most of the paintings were shrouded in darkness, I could pick out a couple of scenes at the beginning and end.
At the presumed beginning was the Nativity of Christ, and on the opposite place on the wall across the nave was the Resurrection, so I am going to guess that the rest of the paintings focus on the life of Christ.
I have no idea what the scene of a young Christ handing a cross to his parents is all about.
The stained glass is likewise beautiful, though some of the best pieces by Tiffany were sold decades ago and replaced with clear glass.
The high altar, described to me as originally being incredibly ornate and constructed of white marble, has been decimated. I don't know exactly when or why, but the high altar was stripped of most of its marble. What remains gives you a bit of a clue about how it once appeared.
The transept altars didn't fare much better, as this one attests, completely stripped of its marble veneer.



1 comment:

  1. Sandra Voyles NotoMay 10, 2012 at 12:38 AM

    How wonderful to see these photos of my parish home. I attended grade school in the 50s and spent many hours in that beautiful church. It is sad to see how it has fared. Thanks for sharing....

    ReplyDelete

A Blog detailing the beauty of St. Louis architecture and the buildup of residue-or character-that accumulates over the course of time.