Customer Reviews

The Stone Carvers: Master Craftsmen of Washington National Cathedral

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Stone Carvers, a cultural study of the men who carved the stone embelishments and sculptures of the Washington National Cathedral, offers exceptional insight into this fascinating subculture. It builds on the film, released in 1985, which won a documentary academy award for the author, Majorie Hunt of the Smithsonian anthropology staff. The characters of these unique, talented and charming men are beautifully revealed while the photographs make clear what a monument they have created. They were trained in the classic stone carving workshops of Italy, came to this country as young men and created a world of classical beauty on buildings on the Washington Mall, and in New York as well as at the Cathedral. The last of these unique men, Vincent Palumbo, carved the wonderous Creation sculpture [by Fredrick Hart] over the central door of the cathedral, the visual image of which was used without premission for the movie Devil's Advocate [Washington Episcopal Diocese sued to block release of the movie until some images were removed]. The fact that monumental stonecarving is both a dying art and a dying subculture makes this documentary book all the more valuable and poignant. I visit with Mr. Palumbo about once a week just to hear his tales of the old days when these great men walked the roofs of the sixth largest cathedral in the world and carved their impressions in immortal stone.

A really handsome volume that wonderfully illuatrates this fine art. After visiting the National Cathedral (I was there for the dedication of the tympanum over the main door) and being captivated by the work of the carvers, this superb survey of monumental work brings it all to life again.

This book was written over a decade after Hunt's research on stone carving formed the basis for an academy award-winning film. The film is entitled "Stone Carvers," and it's an excellent starting point to learn about the carvers. Watching the movie and then reading this book provides a great way of learning about this inspiring traditional art. Hunt gives us a good history of two carvers' lives and provides us with a great overview of the European apprenticeship system within which they learned their art. She then writes a vivid description of the salient aspects of the process of carving, illustrating her key points with beautifully presented photographs. The book builds up to a delightful chapter on the stories that are literally set in the cathedral's stone. Hunt documents, for example, stories such as a description of an argument between the master carver and one of the carvers which resulted in a very clever gargoyle-caricature of the master carver. This story is but one of many that are represented in numerous carvings, and visitors to the cathedral will greatly enjoy looking for the numerous in-jokes and clever stone figures that are discussed in Hunt's fine writing. Hunt closes her book with a fascinating discussion of the artistry as she uses relevant points within folklore scholarship to interpret the cultural expressivity within the workers' community. This focus makes the work an especially significant contribution to the historical record because the crafting of intricate stonework in cathedrals is likely to become a lost art and this type of workplace community of stone carvers will be remembered only in the stories of delightful carvers such as those depicted in Hunt's book.