This is a picture of the new fireplace.
You can see the Alphonse Mucha Nocturne slumber ladies most clearly in the top photo. Mucha was a Czech and created wonderful posters, prints and paintings during the Art Nouveau period. Unfortunately, when the Germans invaded Czechoslovkia, he was one of the first people arrested and questioned by the Gestapo. He died shortly after that on 14 July 1939. I think he created lovely posters and really captured the essence of the French Art nouveau.
You can see the Alphonse Mucha Nocturne slumber ladies most clearly in the top photo. Mucha was a Czech and created wonderful posters, prints and paintings during the Art Nouveau period. Unfortunately, when the Germans invaded Czechoslovkia, he was one of the first people arrested and questioned by the Gestapo. He died shortly after that on 14 July 1939. I think he created lovely posters and really captured the essence of the French Art nouveau.The bottom photo shows the whole of the fireplace. It is a cast iron surround. Apparently wd 40 is very good for cleaning cast iron. You can use linseed oil as well. Because it is an integral mantel and surround, it looks better in the space available. If we had gone for the more conventional cast iron with a wood surround, the portions would not have been right for the chimney breast and wall space.
As inquiring minds might want to know the wooden frog hanging from the door was bought for my eldest when we went to Italy, way back when he was 2. The poster above the fireplace is my Character poster from Hans Kornell champagne that I bought the summer before I went to England the first time. And the other poster is from the 1999 Cambridge Folk festival.
I am contning to work on my editing the Viking but suspect that I am too close. It is not exactly wrong, just not quite how I want it yet...
