Sunday 29 December 2019

Wheel of Life

2009: Albertus Pictor (Engraver - L Sjööblom)
I turn to the Wheel of Life as we approach a new year.  Sweden's great medieval artist Albertus Pictor created this and other frescoes in Härkeberga Church, Uppsala.  The stamps show the start of the life, the middle and the end as the wheel endlessly turns. The mini sheet was issued for 500 years since Albertus Pictor (Albert the Painter) "left time" but his frescoes live on and can be seen in 37 of Sweden's churches.

One of Albertus Pictor's fresco's in Täby church located just outside of Stockholm show death playing chess inspired
2008: Ingmar Bergman (Design - A Wiklund; Engraver - Martin Mörck)
Ingmar Bergman who wrote and directed the 'The Seventh Seal' (1957) the story of a knight on a spiritual quest in a plague ravaged land who challenges Death to a game of chess.  The knight was played by the wonderful Max von Sydow and Death by - Bengt Ekerot.  Bergman struggled for finance so this was a low budget affair which had to be made quickly, unlike
2008: Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007 (Design - Gustav Martensson; Engraver - L Sjööblom)
Fanny and Alexander (1983) which was lavish and long with a mind-blowing number of costumes.  The episodic TV version ran for five hours and the cinema release (which won four Oscars) was cut to just over 3 hours.  The mini sheet shows Bergman on the set and as this sheet is a memorial is in black and white.  From my not always reliable memory one of the things I always remember about the film are the colours. 



Sunday Stamps II is 'Your Choice' this week - to see what choices have been made - See It On A Postcard 


4 comments:

violet s said...

I find church frescoes to be endlessly fascinating - and would have loved to have had some to look at and wonder over during some of the services I attended as a younger person!
Now I want to have a marathon viewing of Fanny and Alexander!

FinnBadger said...

The wheel of life sheet is fascinating. I wonder how someone might feel if the 'death' stamp is on a letter to them :)

Mail Adventures said...

What a pity I didn't see this fresco when I visited Uppsala! The stamps are amazing. But, as FinnBadger wrote, I'm not sure I would like to find the third one on a letter, glups!

Bob Scotney said...

The Wheel of Life could not be more appropriate at this time of year. That death stamp gets nearer every year - shudder1