Posts tagged ‘Christmas’

Dec 17

No detail too small: the intricate spectacle of a Neapolitan Nativity

In a large number of countries the Nativity scene (Belem in Spain, Presepe in Italy) is as big a part of the Christmas festivities as the lights switch-on in London’s Oxford Street or the Christmas tree at the centre of a family home. Having gone to Catholic school as a boy, I still remember the prominence with which the Nativity set was placed in the front entrance, and how perplexed I was (and remain) that the teachers remained insistent that the Jesus figure should not be placed in the manger until Christmas Day: but this is a school I thought – who on earth is going to see it during the holidays?

Despite the fact that the tradition of setting out a nativity is centuries old in many a catholic country, the general belief is that it all began in Italy where St Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223 at Greccio, Italy. There he is said to have recreated the birth of Christ through placing people dressed in the various nativity roles in a cave. A tradition was born, and perhaps for this reason, it is arguable that Italy has remained the predominant master of the nativity craft. This is not least in Naples where, in the famous Via San Gregorio Armeno, the entire street is given over to the craftsmen who make every intricate detail of the characters and setting of the Neapolitan presepe.

While last Christmas I braved the crowds who had crammed their way up the dark side streets of the Spaccanapoli to get a view of this famous Neapolitan craft, this year I have had the fortune to see their masterpieces at far closer a proximity. For here in Palma de Mallorca, but 2 minutes from my flat in an inconspicuous church on the Carrer de San Miquel, there is a Neapolitan gem of its own. Set out across a mountain plane simulated from the supple bark of a cork tree, and comprising a phenomenal range of architectural features and carefully characterised figures, this Nativity demonstrates why the Neapolitan craft remains so renowned. Not a single detail of street life has been missed, from the slimy pig’s head sold by the Butcher, to the bag of eggs swung by the old housewife. What tickles me are the gruesome details of their lined faces, and their masterful expressions – so full of personality you’d swear they were alive.

In fact Palma de Mallorca holds the nativity or Belem dear to its heart, with a trail tracing once fantastic Belem to another across the city. But few could deny that the real brilliance of Belem craft has been mastered by the Neapolitans, as the nativity photos above demonstrate so well.

Dec 16

Santa Lucia and the Joy of Rialto Living

To be honest, it didn’t take me much to make up my mind to move from London to Mallorca. After a sustained period of dissatisfaction with the big city in the smoke, the comparative paradise of Palma de Mallorca took little persuasion. And yet I think I can pinpoint the exact moment when my mind was made up as being the moment when my partner and I discovered Rialto Living.

Situated in the Carrer Sant Feliu, a dark cobbled street in the heart of Palma’s old town and lined with the very best of Palma’s old palaces, Rialto Living is a lifestyle concept store which sells the very best in interior design, art, and fashion. Happily for us it also contains one of the cafe hot spots in Mallorca, a blue and white symphony of open space and high couture eating, all set within a stunning renovated palace. In short, Rialto Living is a sumptuous, stunning shop. The kind of place where you could happily while away the hours as though it were your own home (I should be so lucky), and it was upon finding this place that we knew Palma had the kind of mentality which meant that we could make the city our new home.

A paradise of interior design

Harking from Scandinavia, and founded by one of the three founders of Gant, Klas Kall, along with grafic designer Barbara Bergman, it is no wonder that Rialto Living is such a temple of interior chic. Here you will find a magazine shot in every corner, furniture to die for, and quality which bounces and glides and glitters in one’s hands. Its many sections are a delight for the eyes. Its clothes section is so chic and welcoming that it makes you want to discard your old clothes there and then for something delightfully fluffy and new. Its home section is like a paradise of design; my favourite section has to be the Alhambra recreation within whose moorish arches roll after roll of colourful material unfold; I also adore the dining area, where sun floods through the south facing windows to illuminate the multicoloured glassware.

Rialto Living’s fresh blue café

Yet despite its inherent sophistication, Rialto Living is utterly welcoming, as demonstrated last weekend when customers were welcomed to the store on Saturday lunchtime to join in carols and glogg (mulled wine) in a celebration of Santa Lucia’s day. They even had an angelic choir fitted with all of the regalia of Santa Lucia festivities, the likes of which inspired both my Norm sketch yesterday, and brought tears to my eyes.

Rialto’s celebration of Santa Lucia

So this long overdue post on Rialto Living is both a dedication to the sumptuously sophisticated palacial surrounds of my favourite shop, and a record of last weekend’s very Christmassy affair. Rialto Living: you truly are an inspiration. As long as you are in Palma, I too will remain.

Dec 15

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Norms: The Saints Collection | Santa Lucia

At this festive and, for some, religious time of year, the calendar is awash with Saint’s days and festivals which make the whole Christmas period sparkle with something rather magical. Last week, I noted the passing of St Nicholas’ day, a Saint’s day of the utmost import because it is that rotund smiling fellow who will pass out the presents this December 24th, and of course because he happens to share my name. Last Saturday, another festive favourite was celebrated: St Lucy or Santa Lucia as she is perhaps more widely known, and as the bringer of light and patron saint of sight, this Saint is equally important at this sparkling, light infused time of the year.

In fact such is Santa Lucia’s renown as the bringer of light, that her Saint’s day is celebrated with gusto in the Scandinavian lands, where darkness reigns for much of the day at this time of the year, and where locals therefore gather in reverence to the Saint in the hope that St. Lucy will bring them more light to get through the winter. Apparently her connection with light stems from the fact that at the time of her death at the hands of Emperor Diocletian, her eyes were gouged out, either by order of the Emperor, or by herself in order to disuade a potential suitor from pursuing her. Either way, the story has been taken up in popular iconography, and in more recent times, Santa Lucia has been depicted holding her eyes on a platter.

Santa Lucia Norm (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and gold paint on paper)

And so, here is Santa Lucia Norm, depicted in all her glory with eyes upon a platter. No gruesome gouging here (it is Christmas after all), but just the suggestion of it. My Santa Lucia is wearing the crown of candles which is worn by celebrants of her festival in the Scandinavian celebrations which are the basis of my depiction. Those celebrations also include choirs of children wearing white gowns, conical hats and carrying candles in homage to the Saint’s light-giving powers – celebrations which are depicted here against a snowy, Christmassy Scandinavian landscape. More about those celebrations tomorrow, but in the meantime – a Merry Christmas to all!

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Dec 11

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Mallorca Photo Folio: The reds and the greens

Last week I took you on a whistlestop tour around the city of Palma but only through the narrowest application of my artist’s palette. For the focus of my photo folio selection was shades of glittering silver – the kind of metallic sparkle which we now see regularly when the sun breaks free of wintery clouds and reflects over the expansive Mediterranean sea. This week’s folio selection follows the trend of the moment: Christmas, and as such concentrates on the colours of the season: the reds and the greens, and much in between.

Ironically, despite their being the colours of Christmas, red and green have a prominent presence here in Mallorca all year around, where the sight of green wooden shutters on sunbaked terracotta walls is amongst the most common on the island, and where tropical green leafed plants are abundant in rotund red fruits. So far from being Christmassy, these colours actually inject a feeling of the tropical into this photo collection, reminding me of paintings by the likes of Gauguin, whose earthy red paintings fringed with green tropicana were the staple of his Tahiti collections.

Back in the urban jungle of Palma, these photos are reflections on a city ripe with life, leisure and lovely, lovely views. They feature the colourful abundance of painted palaces, the plants which are lustrous and healthy even at this time of the year, and the little characterful features which make Palma such an inspirational place to live in.

Dec 10

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Christmas comes to Palma: Part 2 – Home decor

With the streets of Palma de Mallorca awash with the sparkle of Christmas, my decorations were never going to be far behind. It’s been a bizarre state of affairs – we only moved to Mallorca 3 weeks ago (although it feels like longer) and have been unpacked for barely 2 weeks, and yet now it is time to change the decor again in order to welcome Christmas through the door. And much are the decorations needed, for with the sun still beating down upon us, it certainly doesn’t feel all that Christmassy otherwise.

Regulars of The Daily Norm will know that I love my Christmas decorations, and that each year they become perhaps more extravagant in their scale and abundance. And being unwilling to lose any of my precious Christmas cargo, I faced the somewhat Herculean task of getting all of my decorations from London to Mallorca in one piece. But transport the load I did, and with some 1,000 glass baubles amongst our collection of decor, I think the angels must have graced our move for there was not a single bauble broken when we unpacked the other end – that is at least until I started decorating and the inevitable breakage or two commenced!

But with the decorations unloaded into the now bigger space of what is our Palma apartment, we have been able to go to town with our decor, even adding a tree ontop of last year’s scheme. I give you the new golden glamour tree! Abundant in its effusion of elegant embellishments, this tree is a homage to all things golden and gorgeous, and the gold offsets to spectacular effect atop a black tinsel tree, and with flashing warm white lights making each golden decoration sparkle.

Golden Glamour

But what of the others? Well as with last year, our favourite Venetian-inspired Eiffel-themed sparkling red and silver scheme makes its return, looking wonderful in this new Mallorcan setting, where the higher ceilings of the 19th century apartment block add extra glamour to this sparkling spectacle.

Venetian-Eiffel Splendour

I’ve also reintroduced the citrus theme of a previous tree, but hung yellow and orange baubles amongst cerulean blue on a tree of white. This modern and fresh Christmas look works wonderfully amongst the paintings and easels of what is my new Mallorcan art studio, reflecting the vibrancy of colours which bounce off my artwork.

Mediterranean Christmas

My grand red and green hallway tree has also made its way over to Mallorca, although the tree which previously needed to be bent at the top in order to squeeze it into my London apartment looks practically dwarfish in this new space.

Traditional Abundance

And finally the bedroom scheme, which this year takes on a much fresher blue and white theme to match the blues of our new moroccan inspired space. Stripped of all tinsel and garlands, this is a much simpler look which nevertheless remains full and abundant because of the sheer number of baubles, and a balanced hang throughout. It was something of a struggle to buy a real tree out here in the Med, but we found this 7ft beauty in a side street florist, and since it comes complete with roots and a pot, we’re hoping that it won’t become crunchy and dry within days of being installed.

Scandinavian Arabia

And of course throughout the flat there are the accessories, the smaller trees, the little scandinavian santas and the sultry comforting sound of Doris Day singing Christmas standards better than anyone before or since. All that remains is the Christmas food and the mulled wine. But it surely won’t be long in coming.

Dec 8

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Norms: The Saints Collection | Saint Nicholas

It’s a public holiday in Spain today, which can’t be bad going this close to Christmas. And the reason for the break? Why jolly old Saint Nicholas of course, a saint with whom I share both a name and no doubt a love of gift giving, and whose feast day on the 6th December is timed perfectly with the arrival of Christmas spirit across the world.

So what better excuse, thought I (as if one were needed), to relaunch a further instalment of my now close to sold-out Norm Saints Collection than to create St Nicholas Norm himself.

St Nicholas Norm (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and gold paint on paper)

Better known these days as the red-robed, large tummied, jolly old Santa Clause whose name derivates from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series ofelisions and corruptions of the transliteration of “Saint Nikolaos”, the original Saint Nicholas was far less colourful, but no less generous. The various legends surrounding the saint include his secret payment of the dowries of three daughters of a wretched poor man in order to prevent them from entering into prostitution, as well as the rescue of three boys who were being incarcerated in a tub by an evil butcher who planned to make them into pies in a kind of precursor tale to Sweeney Todd. Thus, in traditional depictions, three boys are often shown in a tub, and St Nicholas is often shown clutching three bags of coins to represent the dowries he generously bestowed upon the three girls. And naturally, true to form, both images appear in my Saint Norm depiction.

But asides from specific legends, St Nicholas is known throughout Christendom as the patron Saint of Children, and indeed of sailors, so references to both appear in this sketch, while his routes in the Orthodox world are reflected in my somewhat festive orthodox skyline. All in all, a Christmassy Norm Saint for the Christmas Season.

Dec 5

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Christmas comes to Palma

I feel like I am living in something of a hybrid world. By day, Palma feels at worst like a day in early autumn, with freshly fallen leaves still scattering the pavement; at best it could be late summer or spring. However by night, when log fires burn within the old town houses and the late-opening shops glow from outside and in, it can feel very Christmassy. But any doubts that I may enter into the Christmas spirit following my relocation to the Mediterranean were completely dispelled last Friday when Palma de Mallorca initiated the great switch-on of its Christmas lights.

Switch-on in the Plaça de Cort

In the Plaça de Cort at the heart of Palma’s old town, so many people gathered that it was as if the whole of Mallorca had descended to witness the city leap into the Christmas season. Excited children sat up on the shoulders of their parents, while on a stage set up for the event, school choirs sung Christmas carols angelically. Then finally just after 7pm, the mayor appeared on the balcony of the majestic renaissance town hall and switched on the lights. Gasps of pleasure rippled across the crowd as we saw the walls of nearby houses, balconies, and even the skies come alight with Christmas light. Thousands of lights had been strung across the spaces between buildings, over squares, and even wrapped around tree branches so that the trees seem transformed into magical forests. Even palm trees, normally synonymous with tropical beaches and summer sunshine, had their trunks dressed in Christmas lights forming illuminated pillars lining Palma’s waterfront.

The city looks nothing short of stunning. Walking around its lit up streets is like being in an open air winter wonderland – a fairytale come to life before our eyes. And it’s not just the children whose eyes are widened by this spectacle. Adults too are visibly excited by the arrival of Christmas, frequently posing for photos before this array of light, and strolling around full of the festive cheer it brings.

And with the lights have arrived Christmas markets in many of the city’s squares and streets, most notable of which can be found in the brilliantly lit Plaza Mayor. There, stalls in their plenty sell nativity figures both traditional and more handmade to be placed within the Spanish “Belenes” – the most important of the traditional Spanish Christmas decorations. There is nothing that has not been thought of when it comes to building a Belen, from little water-running fountains to mechanical blacksmiths and plants and trees of every variety.

So Christmas has truly come to Palma, and I can’t deny that despite the warmer climes, I am starting to feel the Christmas spirit take me over…Time to decorate!

Jan 22

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Natale Italiano | Rome – Day 2: Roman Holiday

It seems odd to be thinking about Christmas day. While we’re only just over 3 weeks further on in the space of a year, the Christmas period seems like an age ago. And yet my memories of my recent Italy trip seem far closer – probably because during that holiday, the hope of all the joys of Spring and Summer never seemed far away; a hope which the rays of sunshine falling over Rome only helped to engender. And yet while our Christmas day was, for all of its Roman surroundings, a very different way of spending Christmas from English Christmases past, it was an utter joy from day break until nightfall, and well worth remembering on this blog.

We woke to the sun streaming through our hotel window – that in itself made this Christmas different from the norm – and for our breakfast, a soft panettone, generously gifted to us by our hotel, and a creamy nespresso, amply supplied within the luxurious confines of our bedroom. Sitting round the little pop-up Christmas tree which we had already unpacked and packed again in Venice, and which had now become the central focus of our Rome bedroom, we promptly opened the little cards and gifts which surrounded it in a flurry of Christmas excitement. Thereafter, full of the joys of the season they brought, we strolled out into the unusually quiet streets of the city to enjoy the sunshine and another coffee.

Our pop up tree and a fresh panettone…

…and the sunshine which made it feel more like summer

That second coffee, consumed before the astounding sight of the Pantheon, turned out to be a mistake – for it meant venturing the long way around towards the Colosseum to catch the tube. That would have been alright in itself, had the tube station been accepting credit cards or euro notes – but with coins required to buy a ticket, and no human ticket salesman in sight, we found ourselves faced with the Herculaneum task of walking all the way to the Stazione Termini to make collection of the most important Christmas present of the day – the arrival of my partner’s mother, train-bound from Tuscany.

Much exhausted, and sweating profusely from the effort of crossing Rome in 10 minutes, we made it to the station just in time to reunite the family in a flurry of happiness and emotional rapture. For that was the moment when the happiness of Christmas really began.

Whisking her back to the hotel and then off to the Forum, it was clear that our Christmas Day was not going to follow the usual path of sofa-stagnant stupor which is the norm for so many households across the world (and England in particular). For we had a lunch to get to (or a “banquet” as they extravagantly called it) set on the rooftop of the Hotel Fortyseven, where breathtaking views over the Vestal Virgin’s temple and the Forum beyond made this a Christmas lunch to remember. Although strangely I don’t remember all that much of the food – but that’s what comes of indulging in one spectacular feast too many across a 9 day trip to Italy.

Present exchange, and a rooftop Christmas banquet

But what I do remember well, despite polishing off a super-strong bottle of Tuscan red over lunch, was our afternoon attempts not only to enjoy this Roman “Holiday” to the full, but also to recreate the magnificent 1953 film of the same name, starring Audrey Hepburn in her first major (and Oscar Winning) role alongside the debonair Gregory Peck. This turned out to be easier than I had thought. Our hotel room looked directly onto the entrance of the Via Margutta, where Peck’s character – Joe Bradley – had famously stayed at number 51. We had already spent the morning ambling past the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, both featured in the film, and had coffee that morning in a “sidewalk café” with the same view of the Pantheon as the twosome had enjoyed in the film. And now, after lunch, we headed off to see the famous “Bocca della Verita” (aka The Mouth of Truth) just as Princess Ann and Mr Bradley had done in the film.

Stills from Roman Holiday

It was difficult to recreate precisely the charm of the film some 60 years later when so many tourists visit the ancient monument (even on Christmas Day!) that you have to queue for around 20 minutes just to place your hand in the mouth for mere seconds while your companion takes the ONE photo allowed. Still, we managed to get away with two, and found that, as well as recreating this seminal scene in the film, the queue had also been worth the wait for leading us to the stunning Orthodox Church in whose portico the mouth resides. A beautiful atmospheric place to visit on Christmas day.

…and our own venture inside the Mouth of Truth!

But talking of Christmas, it was back to our hotel where the mini Christmas tree once again provided focus as we went about an even bigger round of present exchange commenced (now that our group had increased by one), and some wonderful presents such as the perfume I have had my eye on for years – acqua di parma, luxury clothes items, and cute teddies were enthusiastically exchanged along to the accompaniment of a bottle of Mumm’s champagne artfully chilled in the tiny hotel minibar (its contents having been emptied in order to fit the bottle inside…).

After a day of ultimate indulgence, we had very little space in our tummies nor energy in our legs to eat much more nor venture far, but for atmosphere’s sake we headed to the nearby restaurant Dilla (Via Mario de Fiori 41) whose stylish interior strung with fairy lights and fantastic grocery-shaped baubles beckoned our entry. And thank goodness we succumbed to the temptation – for the unctuous, soft pork and pistachio polpette (meatballs) I had there with a luxurious creamed potato easily rated my favourite dish of our Roman Holiday, if not the entire trip across Italia.

Belated Merry Christmas to all!

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jan 14

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The Norm Nativity (New Year’s Extra) | Madonna Norm Enthroned

Norm Nativity? I hear you ask – Didn’t we just laboriously put away our Christmas decorations for another year? Well yes. But while the birth of Jesus Norm may be over and done with, of course his life (in story terms) has only just begun. While this could theoretically lead me onto all sorts of Norm sketching paths, I have paused for the moment on a time of celebration of the birth of Jesus Norm – when the Catholic Church faithful, in their reverence to Mary Norm, recognised her role in this miraculous birth and promoted her to “Madonna” and enthroned her on high. So here she is, sat upon a mighty adorned throne with Jesus Norm, a clearly intelligent child, already installed with a book (or gospel, whatever it may be).

Madonna Norm Enthroned (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and gold paint on paper)

So why have I chosen to add this extra little scene to my Christmas Norm Nativity on what must be the equivalent of at least the 20th day of Christmas? Well, if the connection hasn’t already struck you, I was inspired to draw this additional little Norm sketch by a painting which was hanging in the Gallerie dell’Accademia and featured in yesterday’s post on Venice Day 3 – Antonio Rosso’s Madonna Enthroned. Having used Rosso’s work as the basis of my own Norm Madonna enthroned, my Norm finds herself inadvertently sat in a throne elegantly embellished with the Venetian lion of St Mark alongside all sorts of other religious characters, while at the foot of the throne below, Madonna Norm is greeted by an accompanying troupe of musical angel Norms, playing a perfect harmonious accompaniment in melodic celebration of this wonderous birth. Hallelujah – Madonna Norm is enthroned!

More gold-based Venetian lavishness coming up…tomorrow!

Jan 3

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The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week: The Napoli Puddle of Mystery

Following on from the all sparkling, all dancing spectacle of yesterday’s Italian festive lights post, today’s post, and indeed this week’s Daily Norm photograph of the week, focuses specifically on one photo from Italy which, like yesterday, features Christmas lights, but is characterised by an altogether different mood. With its gloomy dark lighting, this photograph is an altogether more mysterious image, one which feels edgy, and almost intimidating, as though we have emerged from the darkness which surrounds the frame of the photo. In the sinister blue glow, the glistening cobbles of a Naples street can be seen, fresh after a recent rainfall. The crack down the cobbles, which has collected more water owing to the incline of the road runs almost like a wound through the centre of the photo; while the puddle in the centre, reflecting the street decorations hung above, looks like some kind of mysterious magical cauldron, filled with a potion created with a sorcerer’s touch.

The fact of the matter is that no matter how fantastical my description, or indeed the finish of this photo may be, it was taken in the notoriously dark, gloomy and at times dangerous streets of Naples’ old town one December evening after the rain. Because of the rainfall, the usually crowded streets were near deserted, and the shop keepers had shut up shop for the night. That made the area, with its dark unforgiving alleyways no friend of the guileless tourist, and for me this photo carries with it the dark edginess of the mood prevailing at that time. Needless to say, shortly after it was taken my partner and I ran off to the safety of our hotel, my camera safely stowed away as we did so!

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.