The Cenotaph Life After Death Summary

The Egyptians believed that real life began after death and so erected edifices to reflect their particular perspective. The pyramids, their memorials, into which the Egyptian dead would resurrect, are magnanimous structures, some of the most beautiful forms of extant architecture. They are so simple, yet so grand; so direct, yet so eloquent. The simple pyramidal form, rising high to the sky, reflects their climb to the heavens and their metaphoric bent towards the afterlife. Albeit full of secretive, circuitous chambers within; without, it is stark geometry. Here, Mies van de Rohe’s dictum of “less is more,” surely abides. Is this not, in many ways, a precursor to the Modernism of today? With a staunch emphasis on clean lines and recognizable geometric forms, the pyramid fits well within the philosophical context of modern architecture.
Mausoleum and centotaph architecture seemingly tend towards the visionary. This is probably because it is not imaginatively restrictive, as it is simply an homage to a person’s past life, and not a building for the living. Yet, there is a highly significant message that it parlays. Like a poem, it expresses a sense of immortality, as though it were a synthesis of the past, present and future. The pyramids, with its layering of steps, reach towards that ineffable state. What is at the top, but the eye of God? – as though one had reached a spiritual pinnacle. (This is, of course, our $ bill, and not the pyramids themselves!)
The Taj Mahal, a cenotaph erected in memory of the Mughal’s beloved wife, Mumtaz, reaches high to the sky formed within a complexity of structures. A noble white marble form consists of a symmetrical building topped by a large done. It is the dome that is most fascinating. Seemingly holding the earth and heavens within its bulbous top, the dome emulates a heavenly state on temporal ground. As spiritual as its intention, the Taj Mahal’s ground plan is meticulously symmetrical and balanced: the concreteness of man’s terrestrial plans married to a transcendent afterlife.
Another such monument is that designed by the 17th century architect Etienne-Louis Boullee. His Cenotaph for Newton in 1780-93 is pure mathematics: spherical in form and embedded in a circular base. It is a funerary monument celebrating the life of the famous scientist and his achievements. Like the earth itself, this cenotaph recreates the effect of both day and night. At night, it is lit by the stars, with light seeking through the perforated holes in the vaulted dome. By day, the effect is similar. Light streams though its openings, giving the appearance of the sphere hanging in the center of the universe, emitting a ethereal glow. Light represents Newton, enlightening mankind. It is as though the cenotaph is the earth hung in the balance of the heavens. The internal view of the dome shows a constellational ceiling, a planetarium. It is pure geometry. “Here the sublime is achieved by simple forms. It is regularity that sets the beauty of form: symmetry, order and overall beauty; variety produces various levels by means of which they are diversified to us. Proportion is an effect that rises from regularity, symmetry and variety. The harmony of the bodies is born from the combination and the confluence of irony: light and dark and their perpetual presence, a perfect conjunction of all it s proportions.” The building’s large sphere represents both the land and Newton’s discoveries. It is a sublime experience, meant to arouse in us a divine experience. To Boullee, architecture is the product of the mind, the fruit of both spiritual and intellectual activity.
Boullee also designed a cenotaph, similar in shape to the Egyptian pyramids Poised over a large-sized dome and pyramidal shell, the monument points to the sky. It’s plan is a product of perfect proportions. Balance, order, and harmony discipline the form that rises straight to the heavens. Perfectly structured within and without, it’s plan and form give resonance to its meaning.
Cenotaph and mausoleum architecture is intriguing in its creating imaginative metaphor and shape. Emulating what an afterlife experience would be like, some of the structures are fanciful and visionary. Whether spheres, domes, or pyramids, these monuments stretch the imagination and achieve immortality in their creativeness.

A very particular type of design and architecture, funereal structures embody the visions of the persons envisaged there. They are elegiac, lyrical metaphors for the deified. In many ways, they express the sum and essence of that person’s life. And, as such, these structures can be designed during a person’s lifetime. If you would like to pay homage to your life in this way, we can create a beautiful monument.

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