Entrance to Blenheim Palace
Just a quick note on the new cover photo. It’s part of the ceiling above the portico of the main entrance to Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. I was there over the weekend, and as I wrote in my other post, it was fabulous. The eyes are supposed to be those of the 9th Duke of Marlborough and his second wife Gladys Deacon (an American), with the blue being the Duchess’ eye. It’s rather different, but it does make for an interesting picture!
To quote Blenheim Palace’s website: “The reason for the unusual eyes being painted remains something of a mystery and has baffled the historians as there is no written documentation about them. Speculation has included possible connections to the mystical ‘number three’ and the symbolic ‘evil eye’, or that the brown eyes could belong to the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, first wife of the 9th Duke. An early photograph showing the eyes being painted has a caption by Gladys ‘Colin Gill painting our eyes’. For this reason they are believed to be the eyes of the Duke and Duchess watching over the Palace.”
As with the cover photo I put up from La Posta Vecchia, a place outside of Rome, Italy, I will post a short comment on any new cover photos. It’s always nice to have some context for these things.
A View 