Sketch of a column detail in the Natural History Museum
Photo of a detail on a column in the Natural History Museum
When we visited the Natural History Museum I was immediately struck by the beauty of the building on the inside and outside. I was even more intrigued when I looked closer at the walls columns and ceiling and noticed the immense, and purposeful, amount of detail that was present. The stonework in particular contained lots of small surprises that could be easily overlooked, such as this monkey that was clinging to the column. I thought that these details were great because they correlated with the function of building, which was a natural history museum. Just as a religious building would have religious iconography engraved in the stone, this museum had its main characters carved into the building, acting as a constant reminder of the space that you are in.
First off, your sketch is really good, I wish I could draw like that. On the other hand, I also agree with being struck by the beauty of the interior of the Natural History Museum. While eating lunch outside of the museum, the complexities were not shown on the exterior of the building. The structure was large but it didn’t give away any hints as to what could be inside of the building. Once we entered, the rest of the group and I were blown away by the high ceilings and arches. As you noticed, small details such as carved monkeys and birds were in the columns and grands rooms were converted into gallery spaces. Overall, it was an interesting space because of the gothic style architecture containing all of the natural history artifacts. It’s nice to hear you enjoyed it as much as I did!