New! Gargoyles – "Stonemasons Working on Gargoyles" – Matthäus Schiestl – Catholic Art Print – Archival Quality

Gargoyles are a prominent feature of Medieval Catholic architecture. They are fantastical creatures made out of stone, sometime creepy, which are attached to the side of Gothic buildings. Their purpose is to protect the building. Sometimes they were disguised water gutters to take the rain off the masonry. When they were just stone beasts, their only function was to frighten off would-be interlopers, be they of the natural or supernatural world.

They are extremely common on old Catholic architecture. Notre Dame is covered with them (see postcard). They were even used widely up through the 20th Century, often on mainstream buildings, but modernism et. al. finally finished them off.

Matthäus Schiestl (German, 1869–1939) is one of our favorite Catholic artists. He was very famous in his day, selling tons of art and books and postcards and even designing stamps for the German government. Gargoyles are just a small part of your Catholic heritage, but I thought you might enjoy this one. Schiestl’s painting is one of the most attractive ways to connect with it. “Stonemasons Working on Gargoyles on the Construction Site of a Gothic Cathedral” 1913. Pastel on paper. 77 x 45cm.

** IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ** We print with a white border around the image. The image is not quite square, so the image size of the 8.5x11 paper is not quite 6x6. The image size of the 11x14 is not quite 7.9x7.9. The image size of the 5x7 is not quite 4x4. On the 13x17 and 16x20 paper, the image size is about 10x10 and 13x13, respectively. On the 18x24 and 24x36, we can do the margin on the short side to as low as 1/2 an inch, which we will do if you don't ask for a custom margin. That would mae the image size about 17x17 and 23x23 respectively.

– Acid-free paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks!
Sue & John

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven
Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.