Ceiling of the Grand Court, Ca’ d’Zan Mansion

Ceiling of Grand Court, Ca’ d’Zan Mansion, Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida

–  Click on the image to enlarge or purchase  –

Ceiling of the Grand Court, Ca’ d’Zan Mansion

Having looked at the external architectural details of the Ca’ d’Zan Mansion at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida (see other posts: Colored glass door, Belvedere Tower; Venetian Gothic Architectural Details and External corridor) it is time to move inside.

This image is a single shot tonemapped and processed in HDR Efex Pro (tripods were not allowed to be used inside the building). It shows how the intricate details of the Venetian Gothic architecture seen on the outside of the mansion are continued throughout the interior.  This shot shows the ceiling of the Grand Court, the central room on the first floor.  Each wooden panel of the ceiling has been painted with a different heraldic shield. Even the dividers between the panels have detailed patterns painted on them.  The skylights are constructed of the same multi-colored lead paneled glass as the windows (unfortunately, being a single-shot HDR I was unable to capture this).  One-of-a-kind tapestries from the 1650’s line the walls of the passageway on the second floor seen behind the glass chandelier.

The John Ringling Estate as the mansion and surrounding grounds are known is included as part of the Caples–Ringling Estates Historic District which also includes the Charles Ringling Estate  and the Ralph Caples Estate, all of which are located next door to one another along Bayshore Drive in Sarasota.  The Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 1982.  Both the Charles Ringling Estate and the Ralph Caples Estate are now part of the campus of New College of Florida.

Click here to learn more about John Ringling’s years in Sarasota where he wintered the famous circus and the built his now famous winter home.

We will continue our tour of the Ca’ d’Zan Mansion in the next post with a look some of the artifacts in the circus museum that document the history of the circus.