Praxiteles

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Waterford

The baroque pulpit, with evident Franch influences, built in 1883 to plans by Goldie and Sons, London:

a detail

The pulpit in St. Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford.

The influence of the “wine-glass” type of medieval English pulpits of the 15th century is clearly evident in this beo Gothic pulpit fitted to a Cathedral degigned by A.W. N. Pugin:

The pulpit in the parish church of North Cherney in Gloustershire

Some English medieval pulpits which have survived more or less incatct:

The pulpit in the parish church of Long Sutton in Somerset:

Well, as we are at it, here is the Caravaggio version from 1600 in the Cerasi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo:

@johnglas wrote:

Prax: maybe not, but these two churches are interesting examples of another ‘type’: not romanesque nor gothic nor baroque, but of a kind of academic classicism often described as ‘cold’ or ‘sterile’ but which in fact is aesthetically very pleasing and has stood the test of time. (I think the activities of the wreckovators can easily be reversed.)
Fascinating background to the ‘Conversion’ mural – it certainly needs to be protected before it is vandalised by accident or design. Is the church still open? I’m reminded of that other great ‘Conversion’, Caravaggio’s in S. Maria del Populo. It was likened to ‘an accident in a blacksmith’s’ because of the prominence given to the horse’s rear end, but along with the crucfixion of St Peter in the matching chapel on the other side of the sanctuary, it is one of the most stunning displays of ecclesiastical artwork anywhere.

PS I notice that St Mary’s still has what looks like the ‘original’ altar (from 1820?), which must be a rare survival.

These churches were, if one is not mistaken, at the time, regarded as being in the “Greek manner” as opposed to the neo palladian which had been fashionable in the late 18th early 19th centuries. This was dealt with in connection with Brother Michael Augustine Riordan.

St Mary’s Moorfields, London

A print from 1864 showing the interior of St. Mary’s Moorfield, London.

It is at this point that we have to try to imagine what St. Paul’s looked like before the iconaclastic vandals got at it in the 1970s.

This is the rebuilt ST. Mary’s.

Again, too late, I am afraid:

“The first chapel was opened in 1686, but suspended in 1689. Two further chapels were built the first destroyed in the Gordon Riots before a large Classical church in Finsbury Square was built in 1820.

The architect John Newman used a continental prototype for his design which concealed the source of light that came from above the main altar. This was made necessary by the dense buildings surrounding the Church. The plan consisted of nave, aisles and apsidal sanctuary. On the back wall was a remarkable painting of Mount Calvary by Angelo Aglio containing over fifty figures. The church, part of the first wave of building that succeeded the 1791 Catholic Relief Act, was probably the finest in structure and decoration. It served as Cardinal Wiseman’s pro-cathedral from 1850 to 1869.

In 1899 the construction of the Metropolitan Line meant that this church was pulled down and replaced by the present church in Eldon Street, which was opened on 25th March 1903. The present church incorporates many of the features of the pro-cathedral including the marble columns and the effect of a top lit sanctuary. Though smaller in scale something of the grandeur of the pro-cathedral can be seen.”

This is the present sanctuary. But, alas, all that marble sheeting conveys nothing of the dramaticità of Rubens, Salviati or Zucchari:

Sts. Peter and Paul’s, Cork

The pulpit:

And while in use by a man who has something to say:

The relatively modest pulpit in the Cathedral of Tournai:

The pulpit in Antwerp Cathedral, built in 1713,formerly belonged to the Abbey of St Bernard but was installed here in 1803:

“This oak pulpit, which was made by Michiel van der Voort (1667-1737) in 1713 for the St Bernard Abbey in Hemiksem, is richer in meaning than some sermons. It has been in the Our Lady’s Cathedral since 1804.
The banisters in the form of stems, branches and twigs, as well as the trees that hold up the sound-board that covers the casket, look very realistic. Indeed, so do the birds (among which are a parrot, a crane and a small owl) and other animals who have found a place in the lush vegetation. According to St Bernard, nature was an important source of inspiration for the faithful, and the pulpit recalls it vividly.
The base on which the casket rests consists of four female figures, each embodying a continent: Europe, Asia, America and Africa. Indeed, the word of God was to be spread across the whole of the then-known world. On the baroque casket itself the faces of Christ, Mary and St Bernard are depicted in relief. The cherubs at the edge of the sound-board in rococo style create the impression that they carry the board up with them. In a halo of light the Holy Ghost, present as a white dove, spreads its wings, while at the very top a large angel trumpets the Joyous Message. In spite of the mix of styles – naturalism, baroque, rococo – this pulpit forms an unmistakable whole that belongs to the pinnacle of Flemish sculpture”.