Dazzling ceiling art: 10 of the best examples, from The Louvre to the Charminar in Hyderabad, India
- There is more to ceiling art than the friezes of The Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, from a mosque in Malaysia to a temple in Seoul to a monastery in Nepal
- Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s ceiling at a New York transport hub is a modern marvel, and Antoni Gaudi’s Palau Güell, Barcelona, is something to behold
Tourists visiting the Vatican City flock to its Apostolic Palace to gaze up at the Sistine Chapel’s famed frescoes, but the world possesses many other dazzling ceilings that can be marvelled at and have stories to tell.
Some are decorated according to ancient design systems, others with bewitching geometric patterns, folkloric symbolism, mythical beasts or epic scenes of combat.
Here are 10 of the best; from Malaysia to Scotland, and South Korea to the United States.
1. Apollo Gallery, The Louvre, Paris, France
On a recent visit, I often found myself ignoring the priceless items on the walls in favour of gazing upwards, especially in the wildly lavish Apollo Gallery.
Drenched in gilded features, the gallery is embellished by myth-laden murals on its vaulted ceilings. Most prominent among them is Apollo Slays the Python, by French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), which depicts the Greek god Apollo in a torrid battle with a serpentine beast.
2. Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque, Shah Alam, Malaysia
It feels like I am being sucked into a vortex. The giant, dark-brown ceiling above me is adorned with a concentric pattern that is hypnotising, gradually drawing my eye towards its core.
