I recently have developed an obsession with Spanish architecture, particularly during the Renaissance era. There was something horrific and beautiful during this period of history. Cultural expression (in art, music, literature, etc..)developed through the political and economic interactions between different civilizations. Those interactions were often violent, tyrannical and destructive. Artistic expression developed from the residue of that violence, thus holds a violence within itself. This is a 16th century buildings in Salamanca, Spain called the Casa de las Muertes (or House of the Dead). I think this is a magnetically beautiful building. The buildings decoration of coats of arms, stone medallions, elaborate detail, and cold iron balconies iron balcony offer the impression of elegance in death. The house gets it's name from its unusual carving of skulls on the stone brackets. The mixture of the steal and stone and the dark nature of carvings offer a glimpse (I believe) of the mystery, violence, death and beauty of the time--it is cooling, confining, and sensual all at the same time....
