Saturday, September 27, 2014

On some of the figures

On some of the figures, however, there still remains clear evidence of painting in carbon black. LENOVO IdeaPad S10 20015 laptop keyboard The apparent explanation for this is that over the long period that Michelangelo was at work, he probably, for a variety of reasons, varied his technique. Things that might affect the degree of finish achieved on a particulargiornata include the heat and humidity of the day and the length of daylight hours. Whatever the reason for the difference is, a difference in approach to the light and shade on the individual figures is clearly apparent. HP Pavilion DV7-3078nr laptop keyboard There are still intense areas of shadow which throw the Cumaean Sibyl into relief. But it is more than relief; it is the three-dimensionality which art-lovers expect to see in the work of the man who sculpted Moses.[19] Critics of the restoration claim that this was Michelangelo's aim and that many frescoes had brightly contrasting colours laid side-by-side that were then worked over a secco to achieve this effect and that this is what has been lost by a too-scrupulous cleaning.[18] Toshiba Satellite L550-20W CPU Fan Consistently missing from the restored ceiling is the crisp a secco detailing of the architecture: the scallop shells, acorns and "bead and reel" ornament which Michelangelo possibly would have left for completion by an assistant, when he moved on to the next panel. The treatment of these details varied considerably. In a few places, around the Ezekias spandrel, for example, the architectural detailing was painted buon fresco and remains intact. SONY Vaio VPC-EB3E1R/BQ CPU Fan A comparison of two spandrels reveals different post-restoration states. The one on the left has shadows and details defined in black. The green robe with yellow highlights has been washed with black and defined with deep shadow. On the fictive architecture each motif is picked out in black. The eyes of the child are detailed in black and white. The continued presence of these details suggests that they were completed while the plaster was damp. Dell Precision M4500 CPU Fan The entire right spandrel has an unfinished look. Before cleaning it also had black defining the shadows of the robes and crisp detailing on the architecture. On the corner pendentives, each of which depicts a violent subject, the removal of the carbon black has diminished the dramatic intensity of all four scenes. HP G71-340US CPU Fan This is particularly noticeable in the loss of depth in the Punishment of Haman. Where once the figure projected starkly against the darkly shadowed interior, now foreshortening, definition and drama is lost in the pastel monotone that remains. The curator, Fabrizio Mancinelli, quotes the 18th-century French traveller De Lalande in saying that the colouring of the ceiling was, Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7016 CPU Fan by that time, monotonous, "tend[ing] towards dull red and grey". Mancinelli writes that the restoration reveals "a new Michelangelo" as a colourist and that this "new character makes much better sense of his historical position".[7] He goes on to say that perceptive viewers of the Sistine Chapel ceiling have always been aware that the range of colours used was very different from that which could be seen,[7] HP Pavilion dv5-2135dx CPU Fan and included the same pinks, apple greens, oranges, yellows and pale blues that were employed by Michelangelo's teacher, Domenico Ghirlandaio, one of the most competent fresco painters of the Renaissance. The brilliant palette ought to have been expected by the restorers as the same range of colours appears in the works of Giotto, Masaccio and Masolino, HP Envy 17-3000er CPU Fan Fra Angelicoand Piero della Francesca, as well as Ghirlandaio himself and later fresco painters such as Annibale Carracci and Tiepolo. The reason for employing this range of colours is that many other pigments are not usable in fresco as they have chemical properties that react badly in interaction with wet plaster. The colour that is noticeably missing from Michelangelo's ceiling, but not The Last Judgment, is the intense blue of lapis lazuli.  HP Envy 17 Series CPU Fan This colour, achieved by grinding semi-precious stone, was always applied as a secondary, a secco stage, along with the gold leaf applied as haloes and decoration to robes. The aspect of the colouring which was most unexpected was Michelangelo's treatment of shadows. The painting of theLibyan Sibyl and the Prophet Daniel, which are side-by-side, are exemplary. HP 532614-001 CPU Fan On the yellow dress of the Sibyl, Michelangelo has bright yellow highlights, passing through carefully graded tones of deeper yellow to pale orange, darker orange and almost to red in the shadows. While red shadows are of themselves unusual in a fresco, the gradation through adjacent parts of the spectrum is a natural enough solution. On Daniel's robes, there is no such gentle gradation. HP Envy 17-3000er CPU Fan The yellow lining of his cloak becomes a sudden dense green in the shadows, while the mauve has shadows that are intensely red. These colour combinations, which are best described as iridescent, can be found at various places on the ceiling, including the hose of the young man in the Mathan lunette which is pale green and reddish purple. HP 532614-001 CPU Fan In some instances, the colour combinations look garish: this is particularly the case with the Prophet Daniel. A comparison of the "restored" and "unrestored" figure gives strong evidence that Michelangelo worked over this figure in a wash of carbon black, and that the technique was preplanned.[22] The bright red used on the robes of Daniel and the Libyan Sibyl does not, on its own, create effective shadows. HP 532614-001 CPU Fan In these and many other cases it appears to have been intended as underpainting, to be seen only through a thin black wash and with the deepest shadows picked out in more intense black, as they still are on the Cumaean Sibyl. This use of bright, contrasting colours as underpainting is not a common feature of frescoes, but it is commonly employed in both oil painting and tempera.  HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan Like Daniel, the Libyan Sibyl's yellow garment once had much more subtlety in its folds and shadows than it has now. There is absolutely no doubt that before the restoration, the whole ceiling was dirtier, more muted and more monochrome than Michelangelo ever intended, but when images of the frescoes are viewed in their stained and unrestored state the subtle washes and intense definitions, HP 493001-001 CPU Fan described by Beck and Arguimbau,[18][19] still make their presence known, giving mass and bulk to the forms. The painter and biographer Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Artists, describes the figure of Jonah as it appeared in the mid-16th century:"Then who is not filled with admiration and amazement at the awesome sight of Jonah, the last figure in the chapel? Toshiba BFB0605HA CPU Fan The vaulting naturally springs forward, following the curve of the masonry; but through the force of art it is apparently straightened out by the figure of Jonah, which bends in the opposite direction; and thus vanquished by the art of design, with its lights and shades, the ceiling even appears to recede."[23] The large figure of Jonah is of great significance to the total composition, both pictorially and theologically, being symbolic of the Risen Christ. HP Pavilion dv5-1174ca CPU Fan The figure occupies the pendentive which rises from the altar wall to support the vault, and strains backward, his eyes turned towards God. The foreshortening described by Vasari was innovative and highly influential to later painters. The cleaning of this significant figure has left a few remnants of black shadow visible to the extreme left side of the painting. Toshiba Satellite A110-101 CPU Fan All the other, less intense, black lines and washes have been removed, lessening the impact of the radical foreshortening, and also robbing the great fish, the genii behind Jonah, and the architectural figures of much detail. The missing depth is not the only factor that the critics deplore. An important feature of Michelangelo's work which, in many places, has disappeared forever is the painting of the eyeballs.[24] HP Pavilion dv5-1174ca CPU Fan Eyes appear in many instances to have been painted buon fresco. Wherever they have not been painted buon fresco but added a secco, they have been removed by the restorers.[24] They are an essential part of the most impressive and famous of the frescoes, the Creation of Adam. Adam gazes at God. God looks directly at Adam. And under God's protective arm, Eve turns her eyes sideways in a look of admiration for her husband-to-be. HP 535442-001 CPU Fan Again and again, Michelangelo painted telling gazes into the faces of his characters. The eye sockets of the family in the Zorobabel lunette are empty as are the eyes of the man in the Aminadab lunette, but the removal that has caused the most distress to the critics are the eyes of the little figure in green and white who once looked out of the gloom above the lunette of Jesse. HP Pavilion dv6-3049tx CPU Fan Arguimbau says:Have you ever felt that some things never fade and remain an inspiration for all time? That was the Sistine Chapel, now chemically stripped down of divine inspiration and looking shockingly out of place. ...It is the duty of the restorer not to alter the intent of the artist, but the scientist cannot help himself. Who cares if Colalucci discovered Michelangelo as a colorist and can explain the Colorist trends of Pontormo and Rossi. ACER Aspire 5730Z Series CPU Fan His job is to make sure the thing is stuck on there and leave it alone. In comparing before and after photos there is much proof that Colalucci removed ‘a secco' passages and left many areas sketchy and thin and. [sic] Proof of one single change of the artist's intent is negligence of which there are many. Carlo Pietrangeli, former Director General of the Vatican Museums, writes of the restoration:  HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan "It is like opening a window in a dark room and seeing it flooded with light."[6] His words resonate with those of Giorgio Vasari who, in the 16th century, said of the Sistine Chapel ceiling:There is no other work to compare with this for excellence ... The ceiling has proved a veritable beacon for our art, of inestimable benefit to all painters, restoring light to a world that for centuries had been plunged into darkness.[23] HP Pavilion dv5-2135dx CPU Fan Pietrangeli, in his foreword to The Sistine Chapel, written after the restoration of the lunettes, but prior to the restoration of the ceiling, commends those who had the courage to commence the restoration process, and thanks not only those who visited the restoration while it was in progress and gave the benefit of their knowledge and experience, but also those who were critical of the enterprise. Toshiba Satellite L650-1MT CPU Fan Pietrangeli made acknowledgement that these people spurred the team on to punctilious documentation so that a full report of criteria and methods should be available to those who are interested, both in the present and the future. Pope Sixtus IV (Latin: Xystus IV; 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 9 August 1471 to his death in 1484. SONY Vaio VGN-NW350F CPU Fan His accomplishments as pope included building the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age. He also established the Vatican Archives. Sixtus furthered the agenda of the Spanish Inquisition and annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance. Toshiba Satellite M35X-S329 CPU Fan He was famed for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi Conspiracy.Francesco was born to a family of modest means from Liguria, Italy, the son of Leonardo della Rovere and Luchina Monleoni. He was born in Celle Ligure, a town near Savona.As a young man Della Rovere joined the Franciscan Order, an unlikely choice for a political career, and his intellectual qualities were revealed while he was studying philosophy and theology at the University of Pavia. SONY Vaio VGN-TX2XP/B CPU Fan He went on to lecture at Padua and many other Italian universities.[3] In 1464, Della Rovere was elected Minister General of the Franciscan order at the age of 50. In 1467, he was appointedCardinal by Pope Paul II with the titular church being the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli. Before his papal election,  LENOVO IdeaPad S10 20015 Laptop Keyboard Cardinal della Rovere was renowned for his unworldliness and had even written learned treatises entitled On the Blood of Christ and On the Power of God.[4] His pious reputation was one of the deciding factors that prompted the College of Cardinals to elect him pope upon the unexpected death of Paul II at the age of fifty-four. Upon being elected pope Della Rovere adopted the name Sixtus – a name that had not been used since the 5th century. FUJITSU Lifebook S7110 Laptop Keyboard One of his first acts was to declare a renewed crusade against the Ottoman Turks in Smyrna. However, after the conquest of Smyrna, the fleet disbanded.[6] Some fruitless attempts were made towards unification with the Greek Church. For the remainder of his pontificate, Sixtus turned to temporal issues and dynastic considerations. Sixtus IV sought to strengthen his position by surrounding himself with relatives and friends.  DELL Vostro 3550 Laptop Keyboard In the fresco by Melozzo da Forlì he is accompanied by his Della Rovere and Riarionephews, not all of whom were made cardinals: the protonotary apostolic Pietro Riario (on his right), the future Pope Julius II standing before him, and Girolamo Riario and Giovanni della Rovere behind the kneeling Platina, author of the first humanist history of the Popes.[7] His nephew Pietro Riario also benefited from his nepotism. TOSHIBA PK130260100 Laptop Keyboard Pietro became one of the richest men in Rome and was entrusted with Pope Sixtus' foreign policy. However, Pietro died prematurely in 1474, and his role passed to Giuliano della Rovere. The secular fortunes of the Della Rovere family began when Sixtus invested his nephew Giovanni with the lordship of Senigallia and arranged his marriage to the daughter of Federico III da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino; Lenovo 45N2205 Laptop Keyboard from this union came a line of Della Rovere dukes of Urbino that lasted until the line expired in 1631.[8] Six of the thirty-four cardinals that he created were his nephews.[9] In his territorial aggrandizement of the Papal States, Sixtus' niece's son Cardinal Raffaele Riario, for whom the Palazzo della Cancelleria was constructed, HP 636376-001 Laptop Keyboard was a leader in the failed "Pazzi conspiracy" of 1478 to assassinate both Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother Giuliano and replace them in Florence with Sixtus IV's other nephew, Girolamo Riario. Francesco Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa and a main organizer of the plot, was hanged on the walls of the Florentine Palazzo della Signoria. To this, Sixtus IV replied with an interdict and two years' of war with Florence. HP Pavilion dv6-2112sa Laptop Keyboard According to the later published chronicle of the Italian historian Stefano Infessura, "Diary of the City of Rome", Sixtus was a "lover of boys and sodomites" - awarding benefices and bishoprics in return for sexual favours, and nominating a number of young men as cardinals; some of whom were celebrated for their good look.HP 517865-031 Laptop Keyboard However, Infessura had partisan allegiances to the Colonna and so is not considered to be always reliable or impartial.[13] The English churchman and protestant polemicist John Bale writing a century later, attributed to Sixtus "the authorisation to practice sodomy during periods of warm weather" to the "Cardinal of Santa Lucia".[14] However, such accusations are easily dismissed as anti-Catholic propaganda,[10] HP Compaq NC8430 Laptop Keyboard but did nevertheless prompt the noted historian of the Catholic Church, Ludwig von Pastor, to issue a firm rebuttal. Sixtus continued a dispute with King Louis XI of France, who upheld the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438), according to which papal decrees needed royal assent before they could be promulgated in France.[3] This was a cornerstone of the privileges claimed for the Gallican Church, SAMSUNG NP-N102-JA01DX Laptop Keyboard and could never be shifted as long as Louis XI maneuvered to replace King Ferdinand I of Naples with a French prince. Louis was thus in conflict with the papacy and Sixtus could not permit it. On 1 November 1478, Sixtus published the papal bull Exigit Sincerae Devotionis Affectus, through which the Spanish Inquisition was established in the Kingdom of Castile. DELL V119525BS1 Laptop Keyboard Sixtus consented under political pressure from Ferdinand of Aragon, who threatened to withhold military support from his kingdom of Sicily.[citation needed]Nevertheless, Sixtus IV quarrelled over protocol and prerogatives of jurisdiction, was unhappy with the excesses of the Inquisition and condemned the most flagrant abuses in 1482.[16] As a temporal prince who constructed stout fortresses in the Papal States, he encouraged the Venetians to attack Ferrara, which he wished to obtain for another nephew. TOSHIBA Satellite P500 Laptop Keyboard Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, was allied with the Sforzas of Milan, the Medicis of Florence along with the King of Naples, normally a hereditary ally and champion of the papacy. The angered Italian princes allied to force Sixtus IV to make peace, to his great annoyance.[3] For refusing to desist from the very hostilities that he himself had instigated (and for being a dangerous rival to Della Rovere dynastic ambitions in the Marche),  Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard Sixtus placed Venice under interdictin 1483. He also lined the coffers of the state by unscrupulously selling high offices and privileges.[6]In ecclesiastical affairs, Sixtus promoted the cult of the Immaculate Conception, which had been confirmed at the Council of Basle in 1439[6] and designated 8 December as the Feast day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. He formally annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance in 1478. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard The two papal bulls issued by Pope Nicholas V, Dum Diversas of 1452 and Romanus Pontifex of 1455, had effectively given the Portuguese the rights to acquire slaves along the African coast by force or trade. These concessions were confirmed by Sixtus in his own bull, Aeterni regis of 21 June 1481.[17] Arguably the "ideology of conquest" expounded in these texts became the means by which commerce and conversion were facilitated.[18] DELL AEFM8U00310 Laptop Keyboard In November 1476 Isabel and Fernando ordered an investigation into rights of conquest in the Canary Islands, and in the spring of 1478 they sent Juan Rejon with sixty soldiers and thirty cavalry to the Grand Canary, where the natives retreated inland. Sixtus' earlier threats to excommunicate all captains or pirates who enslaved Christians in the   DELL 0P445M Laptop Keyboard bull Regimini Gregis of 1476 could have been intended to emphasise the need to convert the natives of the Canary Islands and Guinea and establish a clear difference in status between those who had converted and those who resisted.[19] The ecclesiastical penalties were directed towards those who were enslaving the recent converts.  TOSHIBA Mini NB 255-SP1002L Laptop Keyboard As a civic patron in Rome, even the anti-papal chronicler Stefano Infessura agreed that Sixtus should be admired. The dedicatory inscription in the fresco by Melozzo da Forlì in the Vatican Palace records: "You gave your city temples, streets, squares, fortifications, bridges and restored the Acqua Vergine as far as the Trevi..." SONY Vaio VGN-SZ73B/B CPU Fan In addition to restoring the aqueduct that provided Rome an alternative to the river water that had made the city famously unhealthy, he restored or rebuilt over 30 of Rome's dilapidated churches, among them San Vitale (1475) and Santa Maria del Popolo, and added seven new ones. The Sistine Chapel was sponsored by Sixtus IV, as was the Ponte Sisto,[7] Dell Latitude E6510 CPU Fan the Sistine Bridge – the first new bridge across the Tiber since antiquity – and the building of Via Sistina (later named Borgo Sant'Angelo), a road leading from Castel Sant'Angelo to Saint Peter. All this was done to facilitate the integration of the Vatican Hill and Borgo with the heart of old Rome. This was part of a broader scheme of urbanization carried out under Sixtus IV, SONY UDQFRZH13CF0 CPU Fan who swept the long-established markets from the Campidoglio in 1477 and decreed in a bull of 1480 the widening of streets and the first post-Roman paving, the removal of porticoes and other post-classical impediments to free public passage. At the beginning of his papacy in 1471, HP Pavilion dv6-3370ca CPU Fan Sixtus donated several historically important Roman sculptures that founded a papal collection of art that would eventually develop into the collections of theCapitoline Museums. He also re-founded, enriched and enlarged the Vatican Library.[7] He hadRegiomontanus attempt the first sanctioned reorganization of the Julian calendar and increased the size and prestige of the papal chapel choir, HP G62-341NR CPU Fan bringing singers and some prominent composers (Gaspar van Weerbeke, Marbrianus de Orto, and Bertrandus Vaqueras) to Rome from the North.In addition to being a patron of the arts, Sixtus was a patron of the sciences. Before becoming pope, he spent time at the then very liberal and cosmopolitan University of Padua, which maintained considerable independence from the Church and had a very international characterHP 535438-001 CPU Fan . As Pope, he issued a papal bull allowing local bishops to give the bodies of executed criminals and unidentified corpses to physicians and artists for dissection. It was this access to corpses which allowed the anatomist Vesalius, along with Titian's pupil Jan Stephen van Calcar, to complete the revolutionary medical/anatomical text De humani corporis fabrica. Dell Vostro 3450 CPU Fan Pope Sixtus' tomb was destroyed in the Sack of Rome in 1527. Today, his remains, along with the remains of his nephew Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere), are interred in St. Peter's Basilica in the floor in front of the monument to Pope Clement X. A simple marble tombstone marks the site. His bronze funerary monument, now in the basement Treasury of St. Peter's Basilica, DELL XPS M170 CPU Fan like a giant casket of goldsmith's work, is byAntonio Pollaiuolo. The top of the casket is a lifelike depiction of the Pope lying in state. Around the sides are bas relief panels, depicting with allegorical female figures the arts and sciences (Grammar, Rhetoric, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Painting, Astronomy, Philosophy, and Theology). SONY Vaio VGN-SZ2XP/C CPU Fan Each figure incorporates the oak tree ("rovere" in Italian) symbol of Sixtus IV. The overall program of these panels, their beauty, complex symbolism, classical references, and arrangement relative to each other is one of the most compelling and comprehensive illustrations of the Renaissance worldview. HP Pavilion dv6z-3100 CTO CPU Fan,HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan, Dell Vostro 3500 CPU Fan,ASUS BFB0705HA CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv6720er CPU Fan

Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes

http://www.all-laptopfan.com/,http://www.all-keyboard.com/,http://www.laptopbattery-shop.co.uk/ The restoration of the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel was one of the most significant art restorations of the 20th century.The Sistine Chapel was built by Pope Sixtus IV within the Vatican immediately to the north of St. Peter's Basilica and completed in about 1481. French Macaron Pillow ,Creative Cushion - Matty's Its walls were decorated by a number of Renaissance painters who were among the most highly regarded artists of late 15th century Italy, including Ghirlandaio, Perugino, and Botticelli.[1] The Chapel was further enhanced under Pope Julius II by the painting of the ceiling by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512 and by the painting of the Last Judgment, commissioned by Pope Clement VII and completed in 1541, again by Michelangelo.[2] French Macaron Pillow ,Creative Cushion - Matty's The tapestrieson the lowest tier, today best known from the Raphael Cartoons (painted designs) of 1515–16, completed the ensemble.Together the paintings make up the greatest pictorial scheme of the Renaissance. Individually, some of Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling are among the most notable works of western art ever created.[a] Sony VAIO PCG-31111M battery The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel and in particular the ceiling and accompanying lunettes by Michelangelo have been subject to a number of restorations, the most recent taking place between 1980 and 1994. This most recent restoration had a profound effect on art lovers and historians, as colours and details that had not been seen for centuries were revealed. Sony VAIO PCG-31112M battery It has been claimed that as a result "Every book on Michelangelo will have to be rewritten".[3] Others, such as the art historianJames Beck of ArtWatch International, have been extremely critical of the restoration, saying that the restorers have not realised the true intentions of the artist. This is the subject of continuing debate. The frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel had a number of interventions prior to the restoration process which was started in 1980. Sony VAIO PCG-31113M battery Initial problems with the ceiling appear to have been caused by water penetrating through the floor above. In about 1547 Paolo Giovio wrote that the ceiling was being damaged bysaltpetre and cracks. The effect of saltpetre is to leave a white efflorescence. Gianluigi Colalucci, Head Restorer at the Laboratory for the Restoration of Paintings for Papal Monuments, Sony VAIO PCG-31114M battery Museums and Galleries, states in his essay Michelangelo's colours rediscovered,[4] that the early conservators treated this cosmetically by an application of linseed or walnut oil which had the effect of making the crystalline deposit more transparent. In 1625, a restoration was carried out by Simone Lagi, the "resident gilder", who wiped the ceiling with linen cloths and cleaned it by rubbing it with bread. Sony VAIO PCG-31111V battery He occasionally resorted to wetting the bread to remove the more stubborn accretions. His report states that the frescoes "were returned to their previous beauty without receiving any harm".[5] Colalucci states that Lagi "almost certainly" applied layers of glue-varnish to revive the colours but does not state this in his report in the interests of "preserving the secrets of their [the restorers'] craft".[4] Sony VAIO PCG-31112V battery Between 1710 and 1713 a further restoration was carried out by the painter Annibale Mazzuoli and his son. They used sponges dipped in Greek wine which Colalucci suggests was necessitated by the accretion of grime caused by soot and dirt trapped in the oily deposits of the previous restoration. Mazzuoli then worked over the ceiling, according to Colalucci, strengthening the contrasts by overpainting details. Sony VAIO PCG-31113V battery They also repainted some areas the colours of which were lost because of the efflorescence of salts. Areas of repainting were hatched or treated with a linear brushstroke.[b] Colalucci states that Mazzuoli also applied a great deal of glue varnish. The restoration concentrated on the ceiling and less attention was paid to the lunettes.[4] The penultimate restoration was undertaken by the Restoration Laboratory of the Vatican Museum between 1935–38. Sony VAIO PCG-31114V battery The scope of the work was to consolidate some areas of the intonaco at the eastern end of the building and partially remove the soot and dirt. The preliminary experimentation for the modern restoration began in 1979. The restoration team comprised Gianluigi Colalucci, Maurizio Rossi, Piergiorgio Bonetti, and others,[6] Sony VAIO PCG-GRS100 battery who took as their guidelines the Rules for restoration of works of art as established in 1978 by Carlo Pietrangeli, director of the Vatican's Laboratory for the Restoration of Pictures, which govern the procedure and methods employed in restoration. An important part of modern restoration procedure, as established by these rules, is the study and analysis of the artwork.[4] Part of this was the recording of every stage of the restoration process. Sony VAIO PCG-41111M battery This was done by the photographer Takashi Okamura for Nippon Television Network Corporation.[7] Between June 1980 and October 1984 the first stage of restoration, the work upon Michelangelo's lunettes, was achieved. The focus of the work then transferred to the ceiling, which was completed in December 1989 and from there to the Last Judgment. Sony VAIO PCG-41112M battery The restoration was unveiled by Pope John Paul II on 8 April 1994.[8] The final stage was the restoration of the wall frescoes, approved in 1994 and unveiled on 11 December 1999. In 1979 Colalucci undertook a series of experiments to discover the right approach for the restoration of the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Sony VAIO PCG-41111V battery The investigation began by testing small areas of the wall fresco, Conflict over the Body of Moses by Matteo de Lecce, which had similar physical and chemical attributes to the painting techniques employed on Michelangelo's frescoes. Trials to find the right solvents were continued on a small portion of the Eleazar and Matthan lunette.[4] SONY VAIO PCG-6Q1L CPU Fan Because of the height of the ceiling and the inaccessibility of the ceiling frescoes, the precise nature of the damage and the problems that would be encountered by the restoration team could not be entirely foreseen until after the decision to restore was taken, and the scaffolding was in place.SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard According to Colalucci, the continued scientific analysis and the response of the restorers to the particular problems was an ongoing part of the process, rather than the conservation team deciding on a single treatment for every part of the building.[4]In 1980 the decision to undertake a total restoration was taken. Nippon Television Network Corporation of Japan provided major funding of US$4.2 million in exchange for the filming rights. HP Pavilion DV9243EA Laptop Keyboard The team of restorers completed the first stage of the restoration, on the vertical surfaces and curved spandrels around the upper sections of the windows, from aluminium scaffolding projecting from just below the lunettes and using the same holes in the wall that had been made for Michelangelo's scaffold. When they moved to the ceiling, they likewise employed a system similar to Michelangelo's, FUJITSU Lifebook E8110 Laptop Keyboard which involved cantilevering a shelf outwards from the scaffolding to support a stepped and arched platform. The advantages of modern lightweight materials meant that the platform could be wheeled, facilitating easy movement along the length of the building rather than dismantling and replacement, as Michelangelo had done in 1506. Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard The findings of the investigation of 1979 were that the entire interior of the chapel, but particularly the ceiling, was covered with a grime of candle smoke comprising wax and soot (amorphous carbon). Above the windows (the main source of ventilation), the lunettes were particularly stained from the smoke and exhaust fumes of the city, being "much dirtier than the ceiling proper".[7] HP Pavilion DV8310CA Laptop Keyboard The building was a little unstable and had already shifted considerably prior to Michelangelo's work of 1508, causing cracking of the ceiling, the crack in the "Judith" pendentive being so large that it had to be filled with bricks and mortar before painting. The upper part of the ceiling provided Michelangelo an irregular surface due to cracks and water seepage.[1]  Lenovo 0A62039 Laptop Keyboard Continued ingress of water from the roof and from unroofed exterior walkways above the ceiling level had caused seepage which carried down salts from the building mortar and deposited them on the ceiling through evaporation. In places this caused the surface of the frescoes to bubble and lift. Although discolouration was a serious problem, bubbling was not, DELL Vostro 3450 Laptop Keyboard because the thinness and transparency of the paint which Michelangelo employed on the greater part of the ceiling permitted the salts to pass through rather than accumulating beneath the surface.[4] Earlier restorations had all left their marks on the frescoes. To counteract the whitening caused by salination, animal fat and vegetable oil had been applied, which effectively made the salt crystals transparent, but left a sticky layer that accumulated dirt.  TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard An additional problem, most obvious in the small putti which hold the nameplates on the pendentives, was saltpetre seeping through small cracks and appearing as dark rings on the surface. Unlike the white crystalline salt deposits, this could not be removed and the staining was irreversible. Layers of varnish and glue had been applied to many areas.  Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard This had darkened and become opaque. Restorers had repainted details over the darkened areas in order to define the features of figures. This was particularly the case for the lunettes, spandrels and lower parts of the pendentives.[4] Close examination revealed that apart from smoky deposits, seepage deposits and structural cracks, the thin "pictorial skin" of Michelangelo's frescoes was in excellent condition.[4] SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard Colalucci describes Michelangelo as having employed the best possible fresco techniques, as described by Vasari.[11] Most of the paint was well adhered and required little retouching. The plaster, or intonaco, on which the paintings were executed was found, for the most part, to be secure, as previous restorers had fixed it in places with bronze pins. HP G61-400SP Laptop Keyboard Prior to the restoration the team spent six months investigating the composition and condition of the frescoes, questioning members of the team that had restored the frescoes in the 1930s and making a detailed scientific study to ascertain which solvents and methods were best employed upon particular painted surfaces. The first stage of the physical restoration was to re-attach any areas of the plaster surface (which was approximately 5 mm thick) that were in danger of separating and breaking away. COMPAQ Presario CQ40-133TU Laptop Keyboard This was done by injecting apolyvinylacetate resin. Earlier bronze braces that had been used to stabilise surfaces were removed in those places where they were causing cracking, and the holes filled. Pigments that appeared to be not well adhered were consolidated with the application of diluted acrylic resin.[4] The restorers washed the surfaces using a variety of solvents. Distilled water was used wherever possible to remove soot and dissolve water-soluble gums. HP 317443-001 Laptop Keyboard Retouching and repainting that had been part of previous later restorations were removed with a gelatinous solvent, applied in several stages for measured times, and washed with distilled water. Salt efflorescences of calcium carbonate were treated by the application of a solution of dimethylformamide. The final step was the application of a weak solution of acrylic polymer to consolidate and protect the surface, and further washing.[4]  HP HDX18-1200 CTO Laptop Keyboard Where necessary some areas were retouched in watercolour, to integrate the pictorial material. These areas are distinctively textured with vertical brushstrokes, not visible from a distance but easily discernible as restoration work when viewed close up.[4] Certain small areas were left unrestored, in order to maintain a physical record of the previous restorations that had taken place,  DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard for example, an area left with overpainting and candle wax, and another area demonstrating the attempt to counteract salination with oil. Once the many layers of candle wax, varnish, and animal glue were removed from the surface of the Sistine Chapel frescoes, they became subject to dangers that could not have been predicted by previous restorers. SONY Vaio PCG-K215S Laptop Keyboard One of the major dangers to the frescoes is automotive exhaust, and they are also vulnerable to the effects of the crowds of tourists that pass through the chapel every day, bringing with them heat, humidity, dust and bacteria. The clean plaster surfaces are more in danger from these destructive elements than they were when they were covered with a layer of smoky wax.[12] TOSHIBA Mini NB 300 Series Laptop Keyboard Previously, the Sistine Chapel's only ventilation was from its windows in the upper level of the walls. To prevent exhaust fumes and wind-blown pollutants from entering, the windows are now permanently closed and an air conditioning system has been installed. The installation is by Carrier of the United Technologies Corporation and was developed with the cooperation of the Vatican's Office of Technical Services. GATEWAY NV-54 Laptop Keyboard It has been designed to counteract the various problems specific to the Chapel, in particular the rapid changes of heat and humidity that occur with the admission of the first crowds of tourists each morning and the departure of the last visitors each afternoon. The air conditioning varies not only the heat but also the relative humidity between the summer and winter months so that changes to the atmospheric environment occur gradually. The air near the ceiling is kept at a temperate level, while the air in the lower section of the building is cooler and circulates more rapidly, with the effect that dirt particles fall towards the floor rather than being streamed upwards. Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard Bacteria and chemical pollutants are filtered out. When the restoration of the Sistine Chapel was announced, it sparked a barrage of queries and objections from art historians from around the world. One of the most vocal of these critics was James Beck, of ArtWatch International, who issued repeated warnings about the possibility of damage to Michelangelo's work from over-strenuous restoration. SONY VAIO VGN-SZ750N/C Laptop Keyboard An argument that was used repeatedly was that all the previous interventions had caused damage of one sort or another. Any restoration, as opposed to conservation, puts an artwork at risk. Conservation, on the other hand, aids in the preservation of the work in its present state and in prevention of further deterioration. Beck has written about his concerns in Art Restoration, the Culture, the Business and the Scandal. Lenovo 45N2106 Laptop Keyboard In the rhetoric of this conversation, [the conservators] say that the previous restoration was no good – now we're going to make a really good one. It's like having a facelift. How many times can people go through one without their poor faces looking like an orange peel? While James Beck became "embroiled in a public debate" with Gianluigi Colalucci, SAMSUNG R522 laptop keyboard Ronald Feldman, a New York art dealer, started a petition supported by 15 well-known artists including Robert Motherwell, George Segal, Robert Rauschenberg, Christo and Andy Warholasking Pope John Paul II to call a halt to the procedure and also the restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper.[14]  Lenovo 45N2141 laptop keyboard An undertaking of the restoration team was that everything would be handled in a transparent fashion, that reporters, art historians and others with a bona fide interest should have ready access to information and to view the work. However, a single company, Nippon Television Network Corporation, had sole photography rights. HP Pavilion dv6-2133ee laptop keyboard Michael Kimmelman, chief art critic of The New York Times, wrote, in 1991, that the criticism of the restoration of the ceiling and lunettes was in part fuelled by the Nippon Television Network's reluctance to make public those photographs that they had taken by exclusive right, which had recorded every stage of the process and which were the only solid evidence that the work was being done appropriately. HP COMPAQ NX6320 laptop keyboard According to Kimmelman, the reason for their reluctance to produce the detailed photos, which could have put to rest the worst fears of many of the interested parties, was the intention of the company to produce a large limited-edition two-volume coffee-table book ("as large as a coffee table"). This book, when produced retailed for US$1,000. Kimmelman refers to the fact that these photos were only made available to the few who could afford the exorbitant price as "ungenerous" and "immoral".[15] ASUS X85S laptop keyboard As the work was progressively completed, there were those who were delighted; Pope John Paul II spoke an inaugural homily after each stage. In December 1999, after the completion of the wall frescoes, he said:It would be difficult to find a more eloquent visual commentary on this biblical image than the Sistine Chapel, whose full splendour we can enjoy today thanks to the recently completed restoration. SONY VAIO VGN-N31Z/W laptop keyboard Our joy is shared by the faithful throughout the world, who not only cherish this place because of the masterpieces it contains, but also for the role it plays in the Church's life. —Pope John Paul II, [9] Cardinal Edmund Szoka, governor of Vatican City, said: "This restoration and the expertise of the restorers allows us to contemplate the paintings as if we had been given the chance of being present when they were first shown."[16] ASUS X53S laptop keyboard Other writers were less flattering. Andrew Wordsworth of The Independent, London, expressed the major point of concern:There seems little doubt that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was in part painted a secco (that is, once the plaster was dry), but the restorers none the less decided that radical cleaning was necessary, given the amount of dirt that had accumulated (in particular from candle smoke).  LENOVO AEQA1STU010 laptop keyboard As a result the ceiling now has a curiously washed-out look, with pretty but flavourless colouring – an effect quite unlike that of Michelangelo's intensely sensual sculpture. —Andrew Wordsworth, [17] This crucial matter was also emphasised by Beck and defined in very clearly expressed terms on the website of the artist, Peter Layne Arguimbau.  Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 laptop keyboard That part of the restoration in the Sistine Chapel which has caused the most concern is the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo. The emergence of the brightly colouredAncestors of Christ from the gloom sparked a reaction of fear that the processes being employed in the cleaning were too severe. Despite warnings, the work on the ceiling proceeded and, according to critics such as James Beck, their worst fears were confirmed once the ceiling was completed.[ COMPAQ Presario CQ40-133TU laptop keyboard The cause for dissent lies in the analysis and understanding of the techniques utilised by Michelangelo, and the technical response of the restorers to their understanding of those techniques. A close examination of the frescoes of the lunettes convinced the restorers that Michelangelo worked exclusively in "buon fresco"; that is, the artist worked only on freshly laid plaster and each section of work was completed while the plaster was still in its fresh state. Lenovo 3000 Y500 laptop keyboard In other words, Michelangelo did not work "a secco"; he did not come back later and add details onto the dry plaster. The restorers, by assuming that the artist took a universal approach to the painting, took a universal approach to the restoration. A decision was made that all of the shadowy layer of animal glue and "lamp black", all of the wax, and all of the overpainted areas were contamination of one sort or another: smoke deposits, HP Mini 110-3519la laptop keyboard earlier restoration attempts and painted definition by later restorers in attempt to enliven the appearance of the work. Based on this decision, according to Arguimbau's critical reading of the restoration data that has been provided, the chemists of the restoration team decided upon a solvent that would effectively strip the ceiling down to its paint-impregnated plaster. After treatment, only that which was painted "buon fresco" would remain. HP COMPAQ 486654-001 laptop keyboard According to critics, the inherent problem with this approach is that it relied heavily upon an assumption that Michelangelo only painted buon fresco, that he was always satisfied with the result at the end of the day, and that in four and a half years spent on the ceiling, he stuck exclusively to one approach, and never made small alterations or added details. TOSHIBA Satellite L755-S5357 laptop keyboard Arguimbau, on his website, quotes Colalucci, the head of the team, as contradicting himself on this matter. A summary of the relevant statements of Colalucci, in the order that they occur in the Appendix entitled Michelangelo's colours uncovered is as follows:The elderly restorers who had taken part in the restoration of the 1930s were interviewed as part of the preparatory process. SONY N860-7676-T101 laptop keyboard They claimed that Michelangelo worked over the frescoes a secco using velature or glazes as a binder. Colalucci rejects this, stating that Michelangelo worked exclusively in buon fresco. Colalucci then contradicts this by stating that Michelangelo had worked a secco, but "to a minimal degree" and "not at all in the lunettes". DELL E141395 laptop keyboard Colalucci then talks of Michelangelo's "rigorous maintenance" of buon fresco technique, contradicting this by describing the a secco retouchings that Michelangelo made to the shoulder of Eleazar and the foot of Reboam, both of which are in the lunettes. He then says that Michelangelo worked in buon fresco with "no pentimenti proper", (pentimenti means the changes) but only small corrections in fresco.[4] HP 518965-001 laptop keyboard The on-going criticism has been that the restorers presumed to know what end result the master was seeking to achieve in every separate case across the ceiling, and by what method he sought to achieve it. The disagreements about this have been vociferous and are unresolved. The restorers took for granted that all of the layers of grease and soot on the ceiling were the result of candle smoke. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard Contrary to this view, James Beck and numerous artists have suggested that Michelangelo used carbon black in a wash of glue to lay on shadows and crisp dark definition, a secco. If this is the case, then the greater part was removed in the restoration.[21]

Thursday, September 25, 2014

The innovative features of this building and the Manjakamiadana

The innovative features of this building and the Manjakamiadana it inspired—particularly the verandas supported by exterior columns—became the new norm in highlands architecture, especially upon the adoption of brick as the principal building material.[54] On each floor of the two-storey building, the floor plan consisted of a large central room flanked on either side by two smaller rooms.[39] SONY PCG-7134M battery Although the interior was laid out according to traditional cosmological norms with a north-south orientation and central supporting pillar, the decor was entirely innovative. Tranovola was the first building in Imerina to feature glass windows. Its walls were inlaid with mirrors[51] and painted with naive art frescoes of Merina sovereigns and royal army imagery in a style that has drawn comparisons with French 19th century Épinal prints.[39] SONY PCG-7131M battery The building's fine silk brocaded curtains, chandeliers, cabinets in ebony and gold, and sculptures in alabaster and bronze were remarked upon by a European visitor in 1823, as were the colourful fabric wall coverings imported from England.[51] During the reign of Ranavalona I, Crown Prince Rakoto (later King Radama II) occupied Tranovola as his personal residence. After the Queen's death, Sony VAIO PCG-7171M battery Radama continued to occupy rooms on the second storey of the building, using the smaller rooms on the ground floor as storage space.[55] A British visitor in 1873 reported that the wooden floors of Tranovola were highly polished, while the walls were hung with French wallpaper and decorated with imported mirrors and oil paintings including a portrait of Queen Victoria given as a gift to Radama II. Sony PCG-61211M battery Just inside the front door sat a seven-pound Armstrong gun in its carriage with numerous imported sofas, costly decorative objects and other items placed throughout the vast space.[47] Under Gallieni's colonial administration, Tranovola was annexed to L'Ecole le Myre de Vilers housed in the nearby Manjakamiadana.[49] Sony PCG-71213M battery Later, in 1902, Tranovola became the headquarters of the Académie Malgache (Malagasy Academy) before being transformed into a museum of palaeontology. Manampisoa, also called Lapasoa ("Beautiful Palace"), was a small villa in the form of a cross designed by James Cameron for Queen Rasoherina.[35] Construction was overseen by William Pool.[39] Sony PCG-71311M battery After the first corner post of the building was raised on 25 April 1865, work continued for two years before Manampisoa was complete. Measuring approximately 19 metres (62 ft) long, 9.1 metres (30 ft) wide and 15 metres (49 ft) high,[16] the structure was built using traditional vertical wood wall boards topped by a wooden roof and featured sliding windows protected by heavy wooden shutters.[49] Sony PCG-71212M battery It was built on a site formerly occupied by the wooden house called Marivolanitra, which was relocated to Mahazoarivo to make room for the new building.[48] Inside, the layout consisted of two floors with four rooms each, linked by a central staircase with a decorative wooden balustrade. Ebony and rosewood were used for the interior panelling, floors and ceilings while the floor of the central hall exhibited a diamond parquet design in oak and rosewood.[39] Sony PCG-71313M battery An 1873 visitor described the floor as "highly polished ... all right enough for bare feet but rather slippery for boots". Wallpaper adorned the walls of the central hall, which was approximately 15 metres (49 ft) long, 6.1 metres (20 ft) wide and 3.7 metres (12 ft) high. The queen's couch occupied the northeast corner of the room, a space reserved for the ancestors according to traditional Malagasy cosmology, where she would receive visitors in repose.[49] Sony VAIO PCG-31111M battery A room formerly used as an office by Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony occupied the portion of the second floor facing the stairway.Manampisoa was one of the residences of queens Rasoherina, Ranavalona II and Ranavalona III, the last three monarchs of the Kingdom of Madagascar.[47] Once complete, Manampisoa was used by Rasoherina as her primary residence but the queen was only able to inhabit the house for approximately one year before dying in April 1868. Sony VAIO PCG-31112M battery After Rasoherina's death, her successor, Ranavalona II, used the building as a temporary worship space during work on the stone chapel.[48] Upon the collapse of the monarchy following French colonisation, the colonial authority transformed Manampisoa into a museum of Malagasy culture. To the south of Manjakamiadana and Tranovola stood a number of smaller, older wooden houses, Sony VAIO PCG-31113M battery each between 15 metres (49 ft) and 18 metres (59 ft) high built in the traditional Merina architectural style reserved for the noble class. Three of these were of particular importance: Besakana, Mahitsy and Masoandro. Besakana is believed to have been the first residence of a Merina sovereign on the Rova site. Historical accounts claim that the first sovereign of Antananarivo, Andrianjaka, built the original Besakana as his personal residence at his newly established capital in the mid-17th century. Sony VAIO PCG-31114M battery This original building was torn down and reconstructed in the same design by Andriamasinavalona around 1680, and again by Andrianampoinimerina in 1800, each of whom used the building as their personal residence. Radama I lived in Besakana for much of his time in the Rova compound.[35] The first school in Imerina was established at Radama's behest on 8 December 1820 by David Jones of the London Missionary Society to educate the children of the royal family. Sony VAIO PCG-31111V battery This school initially operated from Besakana for a short while until classes were transferred to the larger, recently remodelled Bevato nearby.[56] Sovereigns were enthroned in Besakana and their mortal remains were displayed here before burial.[16] A visitor writing in 1888 described this ancient building as "the official state room for civil affairs... regarded as the throne of the kingdom."[55] Sony VAIO PCG-31112V battery Mahitsielafanjaka (Mahitsy) became the residence of Andrianampoinimerina after he moved his capital from Ambohimanga to Antananarivo.[39] Described in 1888 as the seat of ancestral spiritual authority at the Rova, the traditional sacrifice of a rooster during the ceremony of the Fandroana took place here, and ombiasy (astrologers) asked to perform sikidy(divination) for a sovereign would do so within this space.[55] Sony VAIO PCG-31113V battery The building also formerly housed a major royal idol called Manjakatsiroa[39] (or the entire collection of royal idols, according to another account) until the supposed public burning of all such relics by Queen Ranavalona II in 1869 following her conversion to Christianity.[16] Built in 1796, the traditional wooden Mahitsy follows traditional architectural norms: Sony VAIO PCG-31114V battery the roof is supported by the central pillar, and two superimposed beds—the highest for the king and the other for his wives—are located in the northeast corner, the portion of the home reserved for royalty and the ancestors. These beds are raised high off the ground to protect the sleepers from a nocturnal attack. Sony VAIO PCG-GRS100 battery Items formerly on display in this building after the end of the Merina monarchy in 1897 until the destruction of the original structure in the 1995 fire included Andrianampoinimerina's filanzana (palanquin), several wooden trunks and a pot of jaka (zebu confit) said to date from the king's reign.[39] The name Masoandrotsiroa (Masoandro) was given to a series of buildings on the Rova grounds. Sony VAIO PCG-41111M battery The original Masoandro was one of the first three residences built by the Rova's founder, Andrianjaka, in the early 17th century,[12] and over time it became the house reserved for occupation by a new sovereign immediately following coronation.[55] This same Masoandro or a restored version of it was still standing on the Rova grounds and occupied by one of Andrianampoinimerina's wives two hundred years later.[21] Sony VAIO PCG-41112M battery However, historic sources offer seemingly contradictory or incomplete accounts of the fate of this historic building. A Masoandro was said to have been relocated from the Rova to Ambohimanga by Ranavalona I.[24] Another source states that Masoandro was demolished at the Rova by Ranavalona II and replaced by a house in brick, only to be demolished again by Ranavalona III. Sony VAIO PCG-41111V battery This last sovereign of Madagascar sought to build a new brick palace, also called Masoandro, with four square corner towers and a higher central tower modelled on the French Residence of Antananarivo. Work began in 1893 but was interrupted by war with France in 1895. The brick foundations of this unfinished Masoandro are still visible today.[57] SONY VAIO PCG-6Q1L CPU Fan Still another source states that Masoandro was one of three traditional wooden houses still standing at the Rova when Madagascar was colonised by the French, with the implication that the name was applied to distinct buildings at various times. Near the foundations of the brick Masoandro formerly stood Kelisoa, HP Pavilion DV9243EA Laptop Keyboard a traditional wooden structure which housed sacred animals[39]and concubines[6] at different points during the reign of Radama I and was later used by Ranavalona III to hold receptions. Also formerly standing here was Tsarahafatra ("Good Message"), a small palace built for Ranavalona I,[39] rebuilt after 1862, occupied as a primary residence by Ranavalona II and Ranavalona III,[48] and ultimately destroyed by French artillery in September 1895.[39] Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard By the 1960s, Besakana, Mahitsy and one other wooden house[39] (presumably the last wooden Masoandro[55]) were the only remaining examples of an estimated twenty ancient aristocratic houses that had occupied the Rova site during the reign of Andrianampoinimerina.[39] By 1975, this unidentified third house—said to be the oldest original structure on the grounds[39]—was no longer standing. HP Pavilion DV8310CA Laptop Keyboard Nine royal tombs were located in the north-eastern quadrant of the Rova grounds. These included the two large tombs of King Radama I (d.1828) and Queen Rasoherina (d.1868), as well as seven ancient wooden tombs known collectively as the Fitomiandalana. These older tombs, the first of which was built in 1630 for King Andrianjaka,  Lenovo 0A62039 Laptop Keyboard were a series of seven tomb pits topped with individual wooden trano masina (tomb houses) built close together in a row with their gable peaks aligned, followed by one tomb pit without a tomb house. Tomb houses are particular to highland tombs and are intended to indicate the noble rank of the deceased and house his or her spirit after death.DELL Vostro 3450 Laptop Keyboard Each tomb of the Fitomiandalana contained the bodies of early Kings of Imerina and their relatives, and was assigned a name after the principal occupant of the underlying grave. These were, in order: Andrianavalonibemihisatra (son of Andriamasinavalona and King of Antananarivo, five bodies), Andriamponimerina (son of Andriamasinavalona and King of Antananarivo at the time of future king Andrianampoinimerina's birth, three bodies),  TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard Andrianjakanavalomandimby (oldest son of Andriamasinavalona and King of Antananarivo, two bodies), Andriamasinavalona (great-grandson of Andrianjaka and King of Imerina, three bodies), Andriantsimitoviaminandriandehibe(grandson of Andrianjaka and King of Imerina, two bodies), Andrianjaka (founder of Antananarivo and King of Imerina, 12 bodies) and Andriantsitakatrandriana (son of Andrianjaka and King of Imerina, two bodies).  Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard The final tomb without a tomb house was for Andriantomponimerina (son of Andriamasinavalona and King of Antananarivo) and housed eight bodies.[13] After the dissolution of the Kingdom of Madagascar, the French colonial authorities shifted the location of these tombs thereby disrupting the original cosmological symbolism of their arrangement.[35] HP G61-400SP Laptop Keyboard When the original tombs were excavated for relocation, the French found the mortal remains of the nobles within had each been wrapped in numerous traditional lambas (woven silk cloths) then set within wooden coffins packed with charcoal. Bodies buried at Ambohimanga were found to have been entombed in the same way.[13] Two more distinctive stone tombs were built beside the Fitomiandalana, to the north of Tranovola, COMPAQ Presario CQ40-133TU Laptop Keyboard the first of which was completed in 1828 by Louis Gros for Radama I. Further north, the second tomb was originally built for Queen Rasoherina by James Cameron in 1868.[16] Both of these stone tombs were topped with a tomb house.[35] Radama's tomb bears features popularised during the reign of his father, Andrianampoinimerina: three superimposed levels (excluding the tomb house) with upright sheets of stone at the base level, HP 317443-001 Laptop Keyboard one of which could be removed to provide access to the subterranean chamber where the sovereign's body was laid upon a massive stone slab. Radama's tomb house broke with tradition by replacing the usual miniaturised version of the aristocratic wooden house (typified by Besakana and other ancient houses in the Rova grounds) with a house featuring a veranda, an architectural novelty introduced during his reign.  HP HDX18-1200 CTO Laptop Keyboard The roof of this tomb house was originally thatch made from rushes but was replaced in the 1850s with wooden shingles, an innovation introduced from nearby Reunion Island or Mauritius. By contrast, the tomb of Rasoherina, erected forty years later, featured a two-level base (excluding the tomb house) made of chiselled stone blocks held together with cement.[59]  DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard General Joseph Gallieni ordered the disinterment of the Merina sovereigns buried 21 kilometres (13 mi) away at Ambohimanga and had them reburied at the Rova.[60]The bodies of Radama II and Andrianampoinimerina were added to the tomb of Radama I, while those of Ranavalona I and Ranavalona II went into the tomb of Rasoherina. TOSHIBA Mini NB 300 Series Laptop Keyboard Several decades later in 1938, the body of Ranavalona III, who died in 1917 at her place of exile in Algiers (Algeria), was added to those of the other queens of Madagascar at the Rova. During the 1995 fire, heat from the burning wooden structures within the Rova compound caused the stone tombs to explode, leaving the mortal remains of generations of Merina sovereigns to be consumed by the flames. Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard Built by William Pool for Ranavalona II, Fiangonana ("Chapel") required eleven years to complete.[16]The structure's foundation stone was laid on 20 July 1869,[61] and its subsequent construction used over 35,000 hand-chiselled stones.[37] Inaugurated on 8 April 1880,[35] the central worship space measured 12.9 metres (42 ft) wide and 18.5 metres (61 ft) in length with an estimated capacity of 450 persons. SONY VAIO VGN-SZ750N/C Laptop Keyboard The building was designed with a private pew for the royal family, elevated on a platform approximately 0.91 metres (3.0 ft) high and accessed by a short staircase. A private entrance available to the royal family was accessible by a decorative exterior bridge linking the chapel to the raised embankment upon which Manampisoa stood.[61] Lenovo 45N2106 Laptop Keyboard The chapel boasts a number of distinctive features. At the time of its completion, its 34-metre (112 ft) tower was the only structure in Madagascar to be roofed in locally sourced slate. The windows were decorated with stained glass, and a pipe organ was installed to provide music at services. The organ and stained glass were imported from England,  Lenovo 45N2141 laptop keyboard while the pews, altar panels and queen's private pew were all ornately crafted from indigenous precious woods by local artisans.[37] During the colonial period, the chapel was used briefly as an exhibition space for European paintings before being closed to the public. On the night of 6 November 1995, a fire broke out in the Rova compound, destroying or severely damaging all of its buildings.[62] HP Pavilion dv6-2133ee laptop keyboard Once the flames had been extinguished, all that remained of the original structures were the stone shells of the royal chapel and Manjakamiadana. Fire-fighters arrived late at the scene. Their capacity to douse the fire was hampered by the discovery that their fire hoses did not properly fit onto the nearby hydrants. In addition, the water pressure at the hydrants was significantly reduced due to Analamanga hilltop's high elevation. HP COMPAQ NX6320 laptop keyboard As the fire-fighters battled the flames, numerous bystanders ran into Rova compound buildings to retrieve artefacts of historic and cultural significance. Approximately 1,675 objects were saved out of an estimated total of 6,700. Some pillaging is believed to have occurred.[63] On the night of the fire, the body of one of the queens was found in the public square in the centre of the city. ASUS X85S laptop keyboard A funeral vigil was held the following day for these royal remains.[62] The remains were later identified as belonging to Ranavalona III, and have since been re-interred in the royal tombs at Ambohimanga.[64] The destruction of the Rova of Antananarivo occurred at a time when the complex was in the final stages of the process to become classified as Madagascar's first cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site.HP Mini 110-3519la laptop keyboard Six people were initially charged in connection with the Rova's destruction in an Antananarivo court of law,[46] but the official investigation concluded that the fire was an accident.[63]Public accusations of a cover-up placed the blame for the fire on government officials, various ethnic groups, foreign powers and other parties.[62] Over fifteen years after the fire, the widespread belief persists within and outside Madagascar that a deliberate arson was the cause.[66] Lenovo 45N2205 Laptop Keyboard Rumoured justifications for arson at the Rova were numerous and remain unproven. The revelation that important financial archives had been destroyed early on the morning of the fire sparked rumours that corrupt government officials had lit the blaze to create a public distraction from their illicit activities. Other explanations have included popular dissatisfaction with the election of divisive mayor Guy Willy Razanamasy or a flare-up of long-standing tensions among coastal peoples resentful of Merina socio-political domination. HP 636376-001 Laptop Keyboard Accusations were also made against both then-president Albert Zafy and his predecessor, Didier Ratsiraka. The debate over why and how the Rova burned remains an unresolved and highly contentious subject almost two decades later. Shortly after the fire, the government of Madagascar established the Direction nationale des opérations Rova (DNOR, HP Pavilion dv6-2112sa Laptop Keyboard or National Office of Rova Operations), a body directed by four national experts within Madagascar's Ministry of Culture who were tasked with developing and overseeing plans for the reconstruction of the Rova. Two years after the fire, several key milestones in the process had been achieved, with objects recovered from the fire inventoried, site excavations completed, HP 517865-031 Laptop Keyboard preliminary restoration plans for Manjakamiadana developed, and work on the royal chapel initiated. A ramp was also built to enable site access for the necessary heavy construction vehicles. Prior to work commencing, a traditional ceremony was performed to restore the sanctity of the site, which had served a dual role as both a physical tomb and spiritual link to venerated ancestors.[67] HP Compaq NC8430 Laptop Keyboard Estimated initial reconstruction costs were put at 20 million U.S. dollars by experts from UNESCO,[67] which was the principal contributor of funds as well as expertise due to the Rova's then status as a soon-to-be officially recognised World Heritage Site. TheFrench Development Agency also pledged tens of thousands of dollars to the project while additional monies in the form of private donations from residents of SAMSUNG NP-N102-JA01DX Laptop Keyboard Antananarivo helped to fund the reconstruction of the tombs on the complex.[67] However, according to a UNESCO report released in June 2000, the majority of funds raised by UNESCO between 1997 and 2000 for the Ratsiraka administration's Rova reconstruction initiative—an estimated 700 billion Malagasy Francs—were allegedly embezzled by the DNOR Administrator, stalling reconstruction at the end of the planning stage.[68] DELL V119525BS1 Laptop Keyboard Significant progress toward reconstruction was seen under the administration of President Marc Ravalomanana (2001–2009) who created the Comité national du patrimoine (CMP, or National Heritage Committee) responsible for overseeing the effort. The less time-intensive restoration projects were the first to be undertaken and completed. TOSHIBA Satellite P500 Laptop Keyboard Efforts to restore the chapel, the monument least affected by the fire due to its stone structure,[67] focused particularly on restoring its roof, steeple and wooden pews along with altar panels that had burned in the fire. Work on the chapel was completed in 2003. Reconstruction work on Mahitsy began in 2001 and was completed in January 2003, while planning for the reconstruction of Besakana began in December 2003 but stalled in 2009.  Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard The restoration of the nine royal tombs in the Rova complex was completed in October 2003.[37] In early January 2006, Phase 1 of the Manjakamiadana reconstruction commenced. This phase was scheduled for completion in May 2008.[38] The reconstruction of the larger wooden palaces, such as Tranovola and Manampisoa, has not been planned. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard The original exterior of Manjakamiadana comprised over 70,000 granite stones, of which approximately 20,000 had become cracked during the fire and needed replacement.[38] The western wall of the palace partially collapsed in January 2004 and required complete rebuilding.[63] Every stone was removed and numbered to facilitate the reinsertion of each one in its original place with two French stone-masonry companies engaged to supervise the work.[38] DELL AEFM8U00310 Laptop Keyboard The foundation was modernised, first using laser technology to assess the topography of the site, then by driving 22 cement piles into the ground beneath the foundation base to a depth of 23 metres (75 ft).[38] Phase 2 consisted of replacing each of the numbered exterior wall stones in its original place, bolstered where needed by new stones to replace those damaged in the fire.  DELL 0P445M Laptop Keyboard Although the palace interior was originally made of wood, the reconstructed building was designed using reinforced concrete interior supporting beams for the walls, ceiling and roof due to concerns over the availability and durability of hardwood.[69] Finally, the roof was re-tiled in blue-gray slate imported from quarries near the French city of Angers.[38]  TOSHIBA Mini NB 255-SP1002L Laptop Keyboard Phases 1 and 2 of the reconstruction process were declared complete in December 2009 at a total cost of 6.5 million euros. The work employed 230 people at three sites: a granite quarry on National Route 1 (RN1), a separate site where the stones were chiselled into shape, and the site of the Rova itself.[38] Phase 3 will consist of the design and rebuilding of the interior of the palace, SONY Vaio VGN-SZ73B/B CPU Fan while Phase 4 will involve planning and subsequent development of the display and management of the museum collection to be housed on the ground floor. In late 2010, work on these final two phases of reconstruction was scheduled to begin in 2011 with completion expected within 24 months at a cost of approximately 3,765,000 euros.[70] Following the completion of the first two phases, the Minister of Culture and Heritage fast-tracked the enclosure of windows and doors to protect the building's interior and began establishing a new inventory of historic objects saved from the fire. These artefacts are currently housed in theAndafiavaratra Palace, former home of late 19th-century Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony, and will be transferred to a museum within Manjakamiadana upon its completion.[71] Dell Latitude E6510 CPU Fan In March 2009 the Ravalomanana administration was ousted following several months of opposition protests led by then-mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina. The transfer of power to Rajoelina, who adopted the title of President of the High Transitional Authority (HAT), was widely viewed as a coup d'état by members of the international community, leading many bilateral and intergovernmental donors to suspend non-humanitarian support to the regime. SONY UDQFRZH13CF0 CPU Fan The HAT declared its intention to continue the Manjakamiadana reconstruction project using a combination of state funds and donations from private Malagasy citizens. Six banking agencies in Madagascar were selected to serve as collection points for private donations.[76] HP Pavilion dv6-3370ca CPU Fan On 7 March 2011 the HAT relieved the original members of the National Heritage Committee of their posts and mandated the appointment of new members selected from among the regime's ministerial staff. Despite the introduction of these diverse strategies, the HAT struggled to obtain adequate funds to continue the pace of Rova reconstruction seen in the latter half of the Ravalomanana presidency. HP G62-341NR CPU Fan Progress toward completion advanced sporadically at a gradual rate throughout the Rajoelina administration.[77][78] Since assuming power in January 2014, theRajaonarimampianina administration has been engaged in discussions with the French Secretary of State for the Francophonie and International Development to agree upon French financial support to assist in completing the restoration work. HP 535438-001 CPU Fan In June 2014, the administration declared that the cost of completing the final two phases had risen to 6-7 million from the 3.7 million originally estimated in 2010. Dell Vostro 3450 CPU Fan,DELL XPS M170 CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv6z-3100 CTO CPU Fan

Rova of Antananarivo

http://www.all-laptopfan.com/,http://www.all-keyboard.com/,http://www.laptopbattery-shop.co.uk/ The Rova of Antananarivo /ˈruːvə/ (Malagasy: Rovan'i Manjakamiadana [ˈruvən manˌdzakəmiˈadə̥nə]) is a royal palace complex (rova) in Madagascar that served as the home of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Imerina in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as of the rulers of the Kingdom of Madagascar in the 19th century. Sony VAIO PCG-61111L battery Its counterpart is the nearby fortified village of Ambohimanga, which served as the spiritual seat of the kingdom in contrast to the political significance of the Rova in the capital. Located in the central highland city of Antananarivo, the Rova occupies the highest point onAnalamanga, formerly the highest of Antananarivo's many hills. Merina king Andrianjaka, Sony VAIO PCG-61112L battery who ruled Imerina from around 1610 until 1630, is believed to have captured Analamanga from a Vazimba king around 1610 or 1625 and erected the site's first fortified royal structure. Successive Merina kings continued to rule from the site until the fall of the monarchy in 1896, frequently restoring, modifying or adding royal structures within the compound to suit their needs. Sony VAIO PCG-61411L battery Over time, the number of buildings within the site varied. Andrianjaka founded the Rova with three buildings and a dedicated tomb site in the early 17th century. The number of structures rose to approximately twenty during the late 18th-century reign of King Andrianampoinimerina. By the late 20th century, the Rova's structures had been reduced to eleven, representing various architectural styles and historical periods. Sony VAIO PCG-71111L battery The largest and most prominent of these was Manjakamiadana, also known as the "Queen's Palace" after Queen Ranavalona I, for whom the original wooden palace was built between 1839–1841 by Frenchman Jean Laborde. In 1867 the palace was encased in stone for Queen Ranavalona II by Scotsman James Cameron, an artisan missionary of the London Missionary Society. Sony VAIO PCG-7141L battery The neighbouring Tranovola, a smaller wooden palace constructed in 1819 by Creole trader Louis Gros for King Radama I, was the first multi-storey building with verandasin the Rova. The model offered by Tranovola transformed architecture throughout the highlands over the course of the 19th century, inspiring a widespread shift toward two-storey houses with verandas. Sony VAIO PCG-7142L battery The Rova grounds also contained a cross-shaped wooden house (Manampisoa) built as the private residence of Queen Rasoherina, a stone Protestant chapel (Fiangonana), nine royal tombs, and a number of named wooden houses built in the traditional style reserved for the andriana (nobles) in Imerina. Among the most significant of these were Besakana, Sony VAIO PCG-81113L battery erected in the early 17th century by Andrianjaka and considered the throne of the kingdom, and Mahitsielafanjaka, a later building which came to represent the seat of ancestral spiritual authority at the Rova. A fire on the night of 6 November 1995 destroyed or damaged all the structures within the Rova complex shortly before it was due to be inscribed on the list ofUNESCO World Heritage Sites. Sony VAIO PCG-81114L battery Although officially declared an accident, rumours persist that politically motivated arson may have been the actual cause of the fire. The chapel and tombs, as well as Besakana and Mahitsielafanjaka, have since been fully restored with bilateral government donations, state funds and grants from intergovernmental and private donors. Completion of the reconstruction of the Manjakamiadana exterior is estimated for 2012, while interior restoration work will continue until at least 2013. Sony VAIO PCG-81115L battery Once the building is fully restored, Manjakamiadana will serve as a museum showcasing royal artefacts saved from destruction in the fire.Madagascar's central highlands were first inhabited between 200 BCE–300 CE by the island's earliest settlers, the Vazimba, who appear to have arrived by piroguefrom southeastern Borneo and established simple villages in the island's dense forests.[1] Sony VAIO PCG-81214L battery By the 15th century the Merina ethnic group from the southeastern coast had gradually migrated into the central highlands[2] where they established hilltop villages interspersed among existing Vazimba settlements ruled by local kings. In the mid-16th century these royal Merina villages (rovas)—now fortified with stone walls, gateways and deep defensive trenches[3]—were united under the rule of King Andriamanelo (1540–1575), Sony VAIO PCG-81312L battery who initiated the first military campaigns to expel or assimilate the Vazimba population by force. Villages inhabited by theandriana (noble) class established by Andriamanelo[4] typically contained a rova or palace compound.[5] The rova's earliest defining features had crystallised among the Merina as residences for local rulers at least 100 years before the emergence of the united Kingdom of Imerina under Andriamanelo. Sony VAIO PCG-8131L battery According to custom, a rova's foundation was always elevated relative to the surrounding village. The compound also always featured akianja (central courtyard) marked by a vatomasina (tall sacred stone) where the sovereign would stand to deliver kabary (royal speeches or decrees). Contained within the rova was at least one lapa (royal palace or residence) as well as the fasana (tomb) of one or more of the site's founders.[5] Sony VAIO PCG-8141L battery The sovereign's lodgings typically stood in the northern part of the rova, while the spouse or spouses lived in the southern part.[6] It was not until the dawn of the 19th century that a perimeter wall of sharpened wooden stakes would constitute another defining feature of rova construction. The Rova of Antananarivo is located 1,480 metres (4,860 ft) above sea level on Analamanga, originally the highest of the numerous hills in Antananarivo.[7] Sony VAIO PCG-8152L battery Around 1610[8] or 1625,[9] Andrianjaka, King of Imerina and grandson of King Andriamanelo, ordered a garrison of 1,000 soldiers to seize the strategic site from its original Vazimba inhabitants. He reportedly succeeded with minimal bloodshed. According to oral history, the mere encampment of his army at the foot of Analamanga was sufficient to secure the submission of the Vazimba.[10] Sony VAIO PCG-8161L battery Andrianjaka's army then cleared the forest covering the hill's summit and built a traditional rova to serve as an initial garrison, including an unnamed simple wooden house within it as a palace for the king. Soon afterward Andrianjaka built two more houses, reportedly named Masoandrotsiroa ("There Are Not Two Suns", also called Masoandro) and Besakana ("Great Breadth").[11] Sony VAIO PCG-9131L battery According to another account, Besakana may have been the name of the very first of the three houses Andrianjaka built within the Rova.[12] The king also designated the construction site and design for the royal tombs he named Trano Masina Fitomiandalana ("Seven Sacred Houses Arranged in Order", also called Fitomiandalana), which were to be laid out in a line.[13] Andrianjaka's own tomb was the first of these to be built.[14] Sony VAIO PCG-3E1M battery Generations of Andrianjaka's successors through to his great-grandson King Andriamasinavalona (1675–1710) ruled over the united central highland kingdom of Imerina from the Rova of Antananarivo. These monarchs occasionally altered the compound and its buildings to suit their purposes.[8] In particular, Besakana served as a primary royal residence and was repeatedly rebuilt, most notably for Andriamasinavalona who, Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1L battery according to oral history, had famously sought and then spared a human sacrifice in preparation for the endeavour.[12] At some point prior to 1800,[15] as the community of nobles inhabiting the Rova grew, the hilltop was lowered by 9.1 metres (30 ft) to expand the amount of level land available for construction. Consequently, among the hills of Antananarivo, the hilltop of Analamanga is now second in height to that of Ambohimitsimbina to the south.[16] Sony VAIO PCG-7148L battery The role of the Rova as a seat of power for the Kingdom of Imerina changed when Andriamasinavalona chose to divide the kingdom into four provinces ruled by his favourite sons. Antananarivo became the capital of the southern Imerina province with the Rova as its seat of government. The site retained this role until the late 18th century, when King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810) of Ambohimanga led a series of attacks beginning in 1792 that culminated in the capture of Antananarivo and its incorporation into the newly reunified Kingdom of Imerina. Sony VAIO PCG-7151L battery After Andrianampoinimerina reunited the divided and warring Kingdom of Imerina, he successfully pursued an expansionist policy that saw his authority extended over a large portion of Madagascar by the time of his death in 1810. Having captured Antananarivo by 1793[18] and transferred his capital from Ambohimanga to Antananarivo the following year,[19] Sony VAIO PCG-7152L battery Andrianampoinimerina established new structures on the Rova grounds that would become imbued with the political and historic significance of his reign. In keeping with the tradition of Merina sovereigns before him, each building was assigned a name by which it could be distinguished. Several of the buildings were used interchangeably by the king as personal residences, including Manjakamiadana ("Where It is Pleasant to Rule"),[20] Sony VAIO PCG-7153L battery Besakana, Manatsaralehibe ("Vast Improvement", also called Manatsara)—which he alone was authorised to enter—and Marivolanitra ("Beneath the Heavens"), a building reportedly designed with a staircase leading to a rooftop observation deck from which the king could observe the town and plains below.[21] A number of the Rova's buildings possessed unique design features. Sony VAIO PCG-7154L battery The modest wood building then known as Manjakamiadana was also called Felatanambola ("Silver Hands") for the hand-shaped sculptures crafted from melted silver piastres and attached to each of the building's four tandrotrano (roof horns)—an architectural design element formed from the crossed gable beams that extended past the roof line of all traditional aristocratic Merina houses. Sony VAIO PCG-7161L battery Felatanambola's decorative silver hands were later affixed to the roof horns of Besakana. Another distinctive building from this period was called Bevato ("Many Stones") because its foundation was atypically composed of stone blocks.[22] Manatsara was said to be the most well constructed of the many houses because it was built usingambora (Tambourissa parrifolia), Sony VAIO PCG-7162L battery an extremely durable and rot-resistant indigenous hardwood, rather than a traditional wood called hazomena (Weinmannia rutenbergii).[23] According to oral history, Manatsara was treasured by Andrianampoinimerina and the house was quite old but still well preserved in the mid-19th century when Queen Ranavalona I decided to recover its interior walls with wood taken from Sihanaka country.[24] Sony VAIO PCG-7171L battery Andrianampoinimerina's many wives and other family members occupied the majority of the buildings, most notably Mahitsielafanjaka ("That Which is Upright Rules Long", also called Mahitsy), the abode of wife Rabodonizimirabalahy, where the sampy (royal idol) called Manjakatsiroa was kept. Three other royal idols were kept on the Rova grounds, namely Rakelimalaza, Ramahavaly and Rafantaka, each of which were housed in their own separate buildings. Sony VAIO PCG-7172L battery Nanjakana ("Royal") was occupied by wives named Ramanantenasoa and Rasamona. Tsarazoky ("Good Eldest One") was the home of Ramiangaly,[21] while Rasendrasoa, Andrianampoinimerina's principal wife,[25]occupied Bado ("Stupid"). Rarihasana ("Armor of Sanctity") was inhabited by wives Ravaomanjaka and Razafinamboa; Andrianampoinimerina's son and heir, Radama I, would later offer this same house to Rasalimo, who eventually became one of Radama's wives. Sony VAIO PCG-7173L battery Three notable houses were inhabited by other family members. Andrianampoinimerina gave Besakana to his adopted daughter Ramavo (later to become Radama's wife and eventually Queen Ranavalona I). Andrianampoinimerina's sister, Ralaisoka, originally shared Besakana with Ramavo until a daughter named Ratsimanompo vacated a house called Fohiloha ("Short"), leaving Ralaisoka to occupy it alone. Sony VAIO PCG-7174L battery Masoandrotsiroa served as the residence of Ramavo's sister, Rangita, and an aunt named Rasalamo, a daughter of Andrianampoinimerina's grandfather KingAndriambelomasina, was given a house named Rarisambo ("Fortified Ship").[21] At least two buildings were transported in their entirety onto or away from the Rova compound during Andrianampoinimerina's reign. Sony VAIO PCG-7181L battery Miandrivola ("Guarding Money") was moved from Ambohidrano to the Rova compound, where it was inhabited by one of the king's wives, Rafaravavy.[21] The king also had Manatsara removed from Antananarivo to Ambohidrabiby. Following unification of the greater part of the island under Merina rule in the 19th century, the palaces of the Rova served as the seat of power for successive sovereigns of the Kingdom of Madagascar, Sony VAIO PCG-7182L battery including King Radama I (1810–1828), Queen Ranavalona I (1828–1861), King Radama II (1861–1863), Queen Rasoherina (1863–1868), Queen Ranavalona II (1868–1883) and lastly Queen Ranavalona III (1883–1895), who ruled from the Rova until Madagascar's annexation by France.[26] During his successful 1817 military campaign to pacify the east coast, Sony VAIO PCG-7183L battery Radama I—son and successor of Andrianampoinimerina—was favourably impressed by the houses he saw in Toamasina that had been built by newly arrived Creole merchants from Mauritius and Reunion.[27] Radama invited one of them, a craftsman named Louis Gros, to return with him to Antananarivo to redesign Bevato[28] as a home for his principal wife, Rasalimo. Sony VAIO PCG-7184L battery The new Bevato reportedly featured two stories, much like the houses Radama had seen in Toamasina.[6] Another wooden palace, Tranovola ("Silver House"), was under construction at the same time as Bevato and is considered by historians to represent the first true hybrid of Creole and traditional Merina aristocratic architecture.[29Sony VAIO PCG-7185L battery ] Its innovations included a roof of wood shingles,[27] a second storey, the addition of a veranda, glass windows, multiple interior rooms (as opposed to a single open interior space) and the use of curved shapes as design elements. Historic sources offer conflicting accounts of these two buildings. Some maintain that Bevato was relocated and remodelled to become Tranovola,[28] Sony VAIO PCG-381L battery while others maintain the buildings were separate but debate which of the two houses was the first two-storey building in the Rova (still other sources award this innovation to Marivolanitra).[30] The design of Radama's tomb likewise embodies the hybrid style[31] that was to influence and inspire not only the majority of the buildings built at the Rova in the 19th century, Sony VAIO PCG-382L battery but ultimately architecture throughout the entire highland region of Madagascar—particularly in its use of equidistant pillars supporting the overhanging roof to create a veranda.[29] Despite the stylistic innovations Radama adopted for the construction of several of the compound's buildings, the Rova largely retained its traditional features during his reign. Sony VAIO PCG-383L battery The basic layout of the compound remained largely unaltered from its original design with the sole exception of an expansion of the Rova along its north-south axis. Stone walls topped with sharpened wooden stakes were built around the new perimeter during this period. Venerable buildings such as Besakana, Nanjakana, Mahitsy and Manjakamiadana were retained, Sony VAIO PCG-41112L battery as were the houses of several of Andrianampoinimerina's wives, many of whom were still living at the time of Radama's death in 1828. During his reign, Radama undertook the restoration of Marivolanitra to serve chiefly as housing for visiting foreigners,[6] and briefly inhabited it himself[31] in addition to his main residence at Besakana. He also had a house called Kelisoa ("Petite Beauty") built as a lodging for his concubines.[6] Sony VAIO PCG-51211L battery The Rova underwent several significant changes during the lengthy reign of Queen Ranavalona I. The largest of the buildings in the modern-day compound, the wooden Manjakamiadana, was built between 1839 and 1840.[32] Ranavalona also made further modifications to Tranovola in 1845, when it became the residence of her son Radama II. Sony VAIO PCG-51311L battery The boundaries of the compound were expanded to their largest and final extent, and numerous older buildings were removed from the Rova of Antananarivo to other towns in the highlands. Voahangy ("Pearl"), the former home of Andrianampoinimerina's wife Ramisa, was moved to Alasora. The house known as Tsiazompaniry ("Forbidden to be Desired"), formerly inhabited by another of his wives, Sony VAIO PCG-51312L battery Rabodonizimirahalahy, was moved to the region of Antanamalaza.[21] Bado was moved to Ambohidrabiby. The queen also moved Fohiloha, Kelisoa, Manatsara and Masoandro to the royal village of Ambohimanga.[24] Later queens also left their mark on the Rova through major construction projects. Queen Rasoherina had Marivolanitra relocated to Mahazoarivo to make room for Manampisoa ("Adding What is Pleasant"), built from 1865 to 1867 for use as her personal residence. Sony VAIO PCG-51411L battery A Protestant chapel (Fiangonana) was erected during the reign of Ranavalona II, who also ordered the exterior of the wooden Manjakamiadana to be encased in stone. Plans to build a private residence for Ranavalona III were abandoned in 1896 at the time of French colonisation of the island.[33] According to one source, partial electrification of the Rova may have been successfully tested on Christmas Day 1892. Sony VAIO PCG-51412L battery Following this experiment, Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony and Queen Ranavalona III began working with a contractor to purchase and install the necessary equipment to expand electrification throughout the Rova, but this initiative was also interrupted by the advent of French colonisation. The 1896 French colonisation of Madagascar brought an end to the rule of the Merina sovereigns. Sony VAIO PCG-51511L battery The Rova of Antananarivo was converted into a museum the following year,[35] and the Fitomiandalana tombs were excavated and moved to a new location behind the tombs of Radama I and Rasoherina.[13] The bodies of sovereigns previously interred in the royal tombs at Ambohimanga were exhumed and transferred to the tombs in the Rova grounds, a sacrilegious move that degraded the status of Ambohimanga as a site of sacred pilgrimage. Sony VAIO PCG-51513L battery According to Frémigacci (1999), French colonial administrator General Joseph Gallieni undertook this desacralisation of the Rova in an attempt to break popular belief in the power of the royal ancestors. By the same token, his actions relegated Malagasy sovereignty under the Merina rulers to a relic of an unenlightened past. Sony VAIO PCG-61111L battery The desecration of the two most sacred sites of Merina royalty represented a calculated political move intended to establish the political and cultural superiority of the colonial power.[35] Following independence the Rova compound remained largely closed to the public throughout the First (1960–1972) and Second (1975–1992) Republics except on special occasions.[35] In 1995, three years into the Third Republic (1992–2010), the Rova compound was destroyed by fire.[36] Sony VAIO PCG-61112L battery The tombs, chapel, exterior of Manjakamiadina and two traditional wooden hou ses (Besakana and Mahitsy) have since been restored[37] with further restorations planned to continue until at least 2013.The Rova compound extends to just less than one hectare (approximately two acres), spanning 116 metres (381 ft) north to south and over 61 metres (200 ft) from east to west.[16] Sony VAIO PCG-61411L battery A barricade of thick wooden posts with sharpened ends surrounded the compound until 1897 when it was replaced with a brick wall on the orders of General Gallieni. Entered via a stone stairway leading to a large north-facing gate built byJames Cameron in 1845, this portal is topped by a bronze voromahery (eagle) imported from France by Jean Laborde in 1840.[39] Sony VAIO PCG-71111L battery Beyond the gate lies an open dirt courtyard approximately 37 metres (121 ft) square, with the far end opposite the gate delimited by the northern face and entrance of Manjakamiadana.[16] Over time, the Rova compound has contained several key buildings of political and historical significance, including five palaces, a chapel and nine tombs. Sony VAIO PCG-7141L battery Manjakamiadana was built in two stages. The original palace, built between 1859 and 1840 on the orders of Ranavalona I, was built entirely in wood by Jean Laborde. In 1867, during the reign of Ranavalona II, a stone casing was erected around the original wooden structure.[35] The 30-metre (98 ft) long, 20-metre (66 ft) wide original wooden structure was 37 metres (121 ft) high, including the steeply pitched roof of wooden shingles, Sony VAIO PCG-7142L battery itself 15 metres (49 ft) in height. These measurements exclude the two superimposed balconies that extended 4.6 metres (15 ft) from the exterior walls and encircled the entire building, supported by 0.61-metre (2.0 ft) diameter wooden posts.[16] The exterior of the entire building, including the roof, was painted white, with the exception of the balcony railings which were red.[40] Sony VAIO PCG-81113L battery The exterior walls were composed of wooden planks tightly fitted together in a repeated chevron pattern reminiscent of traditional thatch walls, while the wood planks of the interior walls were hung vertically.[41] The building could be entered by three doors: the main entrance in the northern wall, another in the southern wall and a third reserved for servants in the eastern wall.[42] Sony VAIO PCG-81114L battery An open and spacious ground floor respected the same traditional layout exemplified in Besakana and other Merina homes, including the presence of hearth stones in their customary corner.[22] Following traditional construction practices, the roof three stories above was supported by an enormous andry (central pillar) that was given the name Volamihitsy ("Genuine Silver").[41] Sony VAIO PCG-81115L battery According to popular legend, this was made of a single rosewood tree trunk transported from the eastern rain forests. Recent archaeological excavations of the site during reconstruction have since disproved this account as the pillar was found to be a composite of fitted rosewood pieces rather than a single solid post.[43] According to custom, the north-eastern corner pillar was the first to be erected. Sony VAIO PCG-81214L battery Its length necessitated the use of a pulley designed by Jean Laborde, the principal architect, to haul the trunk into place. When an accident occurred during the operation, the queen designated a Malagasy carpenter to manufacture a crane to complete the task. Thousands of the queen's subjects were forced to labour on the building's construction in lieu of paying cash taxes pursuant to a tradition called fanampoana. Sony VAIO PCG-81312L battery One historic source claimed that 25,000 subjects participated in the raising of the building's corner posts alone. The harsh working conditions were said to have been the cause of many deaths, although precise figures are unknown. Due to the deterioration of the wood of the exterior balconies over time,[45] Queen Ranavalona II commissioned James Cameron to reinforce and encase the original structure in a stone shell in 1867. Sony VAIO PCG-8131L battery Cameron's exterior replaced the wooden balconies with stone walls three stories high. On each of the three floors, seven arched windows run the length of the two longer side walls while five windows illuminate the shorter front and back walls. A square tower stands at each of the four corners of the stone shell, extending above the level of the walls and forming their junction.[16] A clock and bells were installed in the north-eastern tower.[45] Sony VAIO PCG-8141L battery The ground floor of Manjakamiadana was divided into two vast rooms[16] with furniture and decor that reflected European influence but with placement of objects respecting the norms of Malagasy cosmology.[46]Following the reign of Radama II, the building was no longer inhabited but instead was reserved for state occasions.[47] The northernmost of these two rooms was the site of the signing of important trade treaties with British and American dignitaries.[16Sony VAIO PCG-8152L battery ] It was also opened annually for the celebration of the Fandroana(Royal Bath) ceremony.[48] Following the imposition of French colonial rule, Manjakamiadana was transformed in 1897 into L'Ecole Le Myre de Vilers (Le Myre de Vilers School), a training centre for Malagasy civil servants employed by the French colonial regime.[49] When the purpose of the building changed, the elevation of the main hall's floor was raised by building a platform on top of the original wooden floor. Sony VAIO PCG-8161L battery Tranovola was first built in the Rova compound for Radama I in 1819 by Gros, then later reconstructed by Jean Laborde in 1845 on the orders of Queen Ranavalona I for her son Radama II.[35] The origin of the name Tranovola, meaning "Silver House", derives from the silver ornamentation used to decorate the exterior of the building. Sony VAIO PCG-9131L battery Sources have offered varying accounts of this silver decoration, including silver nails reportedly used to affix the roof, silver ornamentation on the window and door casings,[50] tiny silver bells hung from the roof,[6] and tiny mirrors embedded in the interior and exterior walls.[51] Another account describes silver "fringes" on the west side of the building, and gable decorations consisting of silver "buttons" and decorative images made from pounded silver.SONY VAIO PCG-81111V battery After the supposed assassination of Radama II in 1863, the palace was used by Prime Ministers Rainivoninahitriniony and Rainilaiarivony to receive ambassadors and conduct the diplomatic affairs of the Kingdom of Madagascar.[49] Built entirely of wood and surrounded by two stacked verandas around a central interior pillar supporting a steeply pitched roof, SONY VAIO PCG-81211V battery the exterior walls of Tranovola were painted red while the roof and railings of the verandas were painted white.[40] Prior to its 1845 remodel, the original 6-metre (20 ft) long and 7.2-metre (24 ft) wide Tranovola took shape in several stages over the course of Radama's reign.[52] The initial building was a two-storey house that in other respects largely followed the traditional architectural norms of the noble class in the highlands. SONY VAIO PCG-51111V battery Some time later a balcony was added on the second floor. This was eventually replaced by wraparound verandas on both floors, from which the king would deliver his royal speeches to the crowd gathered below.[53] There were two key catalysts beyond Radama's affinity for Creole architecture that inspired Gros to innovate so far beyond traditional construction norms: SONY VAIO PCG-51111M battery the recent construction of a two-storey house with a balcony in the neighbourhood of Andohalo by a British missionary (the first balcony in highland Madagascar), and the 1823 arrival of Princess Rasalimo to the Rova, necessitating the redesign of Bevato as her residence. Rasalimo, whose marriage to Radama secured the peace between the Merina Kingdom and that of her Sakalava people on the west coast, SONY VAIO PCG-51112M battery was made Radama's principal wife and reportedly demanded an exceptional palace for her home. This request led Radama to employ a Creole architect named Jean Julien to design the unprecedented two-storey house.[53] Although historic sources are divided on whether Tranovola, Bevato or Marivolanitra was the first two-storey house at the Rova, SONY VAIO PCG-51211M battery the innovations embodied in these buildings and particularly in Tranovola underscore the rising influence of foreign architectural norms in Imerina. Tranovola is widely represented by historians as the first true example of the hybridisation of Merina architectural norms and those of Europe, and its design served as a model for the larger Manjakamiadana palace some years later. SONY VAIO PCG-51212M battery