Heavens Above – a Statue of Christ in the Landscape Ponad Niebiosa

TECHNICAL TRANSACTIONS 4/2018 ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING DOI: 10.4467/2353737XCT.18.054.8366 SUBMISSION OF THE FINAL VERSION: 28/3/2018 Magdalena Rzeszotarska-Pałka ([email protected]) Department of Landscape Design, Faculty of Environmental Management and Agriculture, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin Heavens above – a statue of Christ in the landscape Ponad niebiosa – pomnik Chrystusa w krajobrazie Abstract The monuments of Christ erected from 1920s onwards in many places throughout the world are a specific group of dominants associated with sacrum. Their effect on the perception of the landscape is very strong because of the artistic form and, above all, the symbolic dimension they have. The aim of the work is to demonstrate that land development projects around sacred landscape dominants in the form of statues of Christ should be subject to careful consideration, both in terms of functionality and composition. The adjustment of the environment to the scale and rank of the object - so as to emphasise its special role in the landscape, but also the symbolism associated with the sphere of sacrum - plays a crucial role in this case. Comparative analyses were made for ten highest statues of Christ in the world. The research was also supplemented with a presentation of the concept of land development around the statue of Christ in Świebodzin. Keywords: landscape dominants, sacrum in the landscape, statue of Christ Streszczenie Pomniki Chrystusa wznoszone od lat 20. XX wieku w wielu miejscach na świecie stanowią specyficzną grupę dominant związanych ze sferą sacrum. Ich oddziaływanie na percepcję krajobrazu jest szczególnie silne ze względu na formę artystyczną, a przede wszystkim symboliczny wymiar. Celem pracy jest wykazanie, że projekty zagospodarowania terenu wokół sakralnej dominanty krajobrazowej, którą stanowią pomniki Chrystusa powinny być starannie przemyślane pod względem funkcjonalnym i kompozycyjnym. Kluczową rolę odgrywa w tym przypadku dostosowanie otoczenia do skali i rangi obiektu – tak aby podkreślić jego szczególną rolę w krajobrazie, ale również symbolikę związaną ze sferą sacrum. Analizie porównawczej poddano dziesięć najwyższych na świecie pomników Chrystusa. Badania porównawcze zostały również uzupełnione o prezentację koncepcji zagospodarowania terenu wokół pomnika Chrystusa Króla w Świebodzinie. Słowa kluczowe: dominanty krajobrazowe, sacrum w krajobrazie, pomnik Chrystusa 55 1. Introduction Spatial dominants in the urban landscape are primarily skyscrapers and engineering structures, but also castle towers, town halls and church towers. The specific group of dominants associated with the sacred are the monuments of Christ erected from 1920s onwards in many places throughout the world - on the outskirts of cities and in the open landscape. Like all high objects, they change the key elements of the landscape’s scenic structure, such as: distant viewpoints, high-rise landmarks, or the silhouette of city panoramas [2, 3, 10, 14]. The impact of scaled high objects on the landscape is difficult to define and shape; still, such objects occurring in groups in urbanised space can create seemingly neutral vista backgrounds for other elements of the city landscape [17]. At the same time, according to Oleński: “one high-rise tower can be more visible in the city skyline than a cluster of high- rise buildings” [14]. Monumental statues of Christ have a similar effect on the perception of the landscape, with their impact being even stronger because of the artistic form and, above all, the symbolic dimension they have [11]. “Thanks to symbolism, architecture can form means of communication through the intentional, and independent from aesthetic and practical reasons, introduction of content elements – signs that evoke emotional reactions. The symbolism of the landscape can be demonstrated in the presence of symbolic objects, in the relations of the building to the surrounding space, in the symbolic shapes of the design and in the features of form, in the presence of archetypes, allegories and metaphors” [7]. The way of managing its immediate environment and location in the landscape is no less important than the very artistic form of the statue of Christ. 2. Aim and methods The subject of the research is the specific landscape dominant associated with religious worship, in the form of statues of Christ located in many places around the world. The basic criterion for the selection of objects for analysis was the height of the monument, without taking the height of its base into account. Thehighest Christ statues, which are 20 to 33 meters high, were then ordered from the highest to the lowest. The analysis covered the location of the object in the landscape, the way of managing the nearest surroundings of the object, active and passive exposure, landscape dominants, with particular emphasis on the possible perception of the monument from the nearest town. The analyses were conducted on the basis of topographic maps of the areas, the available photographic documentation, descriptions and site inspections conducted in Świebodzin and Lisbon. The test results are summarised in a collective table. The comparative research was also supplemented with a presentation of the concept of land development around the statue of Christ in Świebodzin executed under the supervision of the author of the present article in 2007. The aim of the work is to demonstrate that land development projects around the sacred landscape dominants in the form of statues of Christ should be subject to careful consideration, 56 both in terms of functionality and composition. The adjustment of the environment to the scale and the rank of the object – so as to emphasise its special role in the landscape, but also the symbolism associated with the sphere of sacrum – plays a crucial role in this case. 3. Statues of Christ in the landscape At the beginning of the 1920s, colossal statutes of Christ began to appear in the landscape, most of them in Latin America. Currently, there are 27 such monuments around the world, which are over 20 m high. None of them are as tall as the Buddha statue in Asia (Spring Temple Buddha), which is 128 meters high. The first object of this type was Cristo Redentor built in Rio de Janeiro – “It’s a religious symbol, a cultural symbol and a symbol of Brazil” – quoting Father Omar, rector of the chapel located at the base of the statue: “Christ the Redeemer brings a marvellous vista of welcoming arms to all those who pass through the city of Rio de Janeiro” [4]. Listed below are the ten highest statues of Christ in the world, ranked from the highest to the lowest (as of December 31, 2017). The test results are summarised in a collective table (Tab. 1.) 3.1. Christ the King Statue (Christ the King), Świebodzin, Poland Świebodzin is home to the world›s tallest monument of Christ the King, which is 36 meters high and is set on a 16-meter high base facing the town. Its author is Mirosław Patecki from Przyborów near Sława Śląska [19]. The statue was erected on an artificial mound covered with stone boulders (Fig. 1, 2, 3). Fig. 1. Christ the King Statue – view from the road DK3, Świebodzin, July 2017 (photo by M. Rzeszotarska-Pałka) 57 Fig. 2. Christ the King Statue – view from the mound, Świebodzin, July 2017 (photo by M. Rzeszotarska-Pałka) Fig. 3. Christ the King Statue, Świebodzin – view from the parking lot, July 2017 (photo by M. Rzeszotarska-Pałka) 58 3.2. Christ of Peace Statue (Cristo de la Concordia), Cochabamba, Bolivia The Bolivian statue of Christ was built in 1994 on the San Pedro Hill in the city of Cochabamba. The statue is 34 meters high and stands on a base that is 6.24 meters tall. You can get to it by cable car or by climbing 2000 steps. 3.3. Christ the King Statue (Cristo Redentor), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The statue of Christ the Redeemer was erected on the top of the 710-meter-high granite Corcovado Hill. In 1921, the collection of money for the construction of the monument of Christ, which was to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the independence of the state, began in Brazil. Hectora da Silva’s project was selected for construction - the statue of Christ with open arms. The head and arms of Christ were designed by the French sculptor of Polish origin, Paul Landowski. The statue measures 30 meters in height and is set on a base that is 7 meters high. The sculpture was madein France and then transported to Brazil. The unveiling of the monument of Christ the Saviour took place in 1931 and was conducted by the lighting designer Guglielmo Marconi, who switched the illumination of the statue on from a yacht moored in the port of Italian Genoa. You can reach the monument by road or cable car, and then climb to the observation deck at the base with 222 steps, or take the lift or escalator instead. Nora Heimann, dean of the Department of Art at the Catholic University of Rio, says that Cristo Redentor stands out because it is a bridge between the classic European images of Christ on the cross and the more modern, less formal styles. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Cristo is also the world’s largest Art Deco sculpture. 3.4. Christ of the Knoll (Cristo del Otero), Palencia, Spain Cristo del Otero monument was erected in 1931 according to the design of the sculptor Vitorio Macho in the style that combined Art Deco with elements of cubism. The height of the monument is 21 meters. It is located on a stone hill in near the city of Palencia and faces it. 3.5. Christ the King (Christo Rei), Lisbon, Portugal The monument represents Christ the King withopen arms and is a smaller scale copy of Christ from Rio de Janeiro.

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