The Mausoleum Enters the Twenty First Century
- At March 27, 2013
- By Doug Keister
- In Doug Keister's Blog
- 0
When I first began photographing mausoleums for my book Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity in 1997, my primary focus was documenting historic mausoleums, mostly from the late nineteenth century. After all, my background was in photographing historic architecture (mostly Victorian and Arts and Crafts homes). Mausoleums were simply another type of historic residential architecture.
Almost every architectural or design style eventually makes it into the cemetery. When Napoleon invaded Egypt with both soldiers and artists, it triggered a phenomenon that became known as Egyptian Revival architecture thanks mostly to a French book of drawings by Napoleon’s artists, Description de l’Égypte, published in 1809. Egyptian Revival was, of course, the perfect architectural style for cemeteries and mausoleums since almost all Egyptian architecture had something to do with death and the afterlife.
The same can be said for Gothic Revival churches, Greek temples, and Art Deco theaters. All of those styles eventually made it into the cemetery in the form of mausoleums and other monuments.
Read More»Thinking Outside the Box
- At April 03, 2013
- By Doug Keister
- In Doug Keister's Blog
- 0
We’re all familiar with the old saw “you only have one chance to make a first impression.” Turning the expression on its heels, you only have one chance to make a last impression. In the last couple decades, mausoleum architects and manufacturers have been constructing some truly remarkable last impressions. To coin another phrase, they are “thinking outside the box.”
Although the Golden Age of the Mausoleum was roughly from after the Civil War until the Great Depression, we seem to be entering a new Golden Age. Certainly Classical Revival Style mausoleums dominate cemetery grounds, but more and more creative, fantastical, one-of-a-kind mausoleums are beginning to pepper the cemetery landscape.
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