St Louis Bible in Toledo

In Toledo most tourists want to see pictures of El Greco, so they crowd in Sacristy in the cathedral, but other things often ignore. These other things are not written about in papers, so they are not famous. If they are not famous, then perhaps they are not important.
This is the case with the Bible of Saint Louis, which is exhibited in the Toledo Cathedral. It is an exquisite book of 13th century, but most of the crowd, who have to pass in front of it when they leave the sacristy, don't even stop to have a look.  

Plafond in Toledo

       Most tourists in Toledo go to the cathedral to see pictures by El Greco in the sacristy. Few people, however, look at the ceiling there. There is a painting on the ceiling, and quite an impressive one, too. El Greco, however, is famous, whereas the author of the painting on the ceiling is little known and most guide books never mention it. Who would look at the ceiling when standing in front of an original El Greco?

       I, however, think that the ceiling is very interesting. It shows the heavens open with God (shown there as a bright disc with Hebrew letters IHWH written on it) and a crowd of angels and saints singing probably hymns of praise. At the edge of the painting there are also some people unpleasantly surprised by the vision. This is an illusionist painting that is supposed to give an impression that there is no ceiling but the open heaven instead. During the baroque era in Catholic Europe this was quite popular theme, the best known example being probably the plafond of St Ignacio in Rome, but the Toledo example is certainly very good. Its author (as some guide books mention) is a Neapolitan painter Luca Giordano.

  

Naked women in the cathedral of Toledo

This is medieval stained glass in the higher windows. Possibly the reason why there is so much nudity there, is that the windows are so high that one can hardly see what is pictured there. Unless, of course, one has binoculars or a telephoto lens (neither of which were in existence at the time the window was made).

It is interesting that in Gothic cathedrals the meticulously made stained glass windows were so high that practically nobody could see them. Perhaps they were made not for the glory of men but for the glory of God, who could see them. 

Of course the cathedral in Toledo is a place where tourists go to see paintings of El Greco, not naked women in some stained glass windows.