
Stained glass refers to coloured
glass
Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained
glass art
Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including gl ...
ists also include three-dimensional structures and
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. Modern vernacular usage has often extended the term "stained glass" to include domestic
lead light and ''
objets d'art
In art history, the French term objet d'art (; ) describes an ornamental work of art, and the term objets d’art describes a range of works of art, usually small and three-dimensional, made of high-quality materials, and a finely-rendered finish ...
'' created from glasswork, for example in the famous lamps of
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...
.
As a material ''stained glass'' is glass that has been coloured by adding
metallic salts during its manufacture. It may then be further decorated in various ways. The coloured glass may be crafted into a stained-glass window, say, in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead, called
cames or calms, and supported by a rigid frame.
Paint
Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...
ed details and yellow-coloured
silver stain are often used to enhance the design. The term ''stained glass'' is also applied to
enamelled glass
Enamelled glass or painted glass is glass which has been decorated with vitreous enamel (powdered glass, usually mixed with a binder) and then fired to glass fusing, fuse the glasses. It can produce brilliant and long-lasting colours, and be tr ...
in which the colors have been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln.
Stained glass, as an
art
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
and a
craft
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...
, requires the artistic skill to conceive an appropriate and workable design, and the engineering skills to assemble the piece. A window must fit snugly into the space for which it is made, must resist wind and rain, and also, especially in the larger windows, must support its own weight. Many large windows have withstood the test of time and remained substantially intact since the
Late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
. In
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
, together with
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s, they constitute a major form of medieval visual art to have survived. In this context, the purpose of a stained glass window is not to allow those within a building to see the world outside or even primarily to admit light but rather to control it. For this reason stained-glass windows have been described as "illuminated wall decorations".
The design of a window may be abstract or figurative; may incorporate narratives drawn from the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, history, or literature; may represent saints or patrons, or use symbolic motifs, in particular armorial. Windows within a building may be thematic, for example: within a church – episodes from the
life of Christ; within a parliament building – shields of the constituencies; within a college hall – figures representing the arts and sciences; or within a home – flora, fauna, or landscape.
Glass production
During the late
medieval period
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
, glass factories were set up where there was a ready supply of
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
, the essential material for glass manufacture. Silica requires a very high temperature to melt, something not all glass factories were able to achieve. Such materials as
potash
Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form. ,
soda, and
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
can be added to lower the melting temperature. Other substances, such as
lime, are added to make the glass more stable. Glass is coloured by adding metallic oxide powders or finely divided metals while it is in a molten state. Copper oxides produce green or bluish green, cobalt makes deep blue, and gold produces wine red and violet glass. Much of modern red glass is produced using copper, which is less expensive than gold and gives a brighter, more vermilion shade of red. Glass coloured while in the clay pot in the furnace is known as pot metal glass, as opposed to
flashed glass
Flashed glass, or flash glass, is a type of glass created by coating a colorless gather of glass with one or more thin layers of colored glass. This is done by placing a piece of melted glass of one color into another piece of melted glass of a dif ...
.
Cylinder or mouth-blown ('muff') glass
Using a blow-pipe, a glass maker will gather a glob of molten glass that was taken from the pot heating in the furnace. The 'gather' is formed to the correct shape and a bubble of air blown into it. Using metal tools, molds of wood that have been soaking in water, and gravity, the gather is manipulated to form a long, cylindrical shape. As it cools, it is reheated so that the manipulation can continue. During the process, the bottom of the cylinder is removed. Once brought to the desired size it is left to cool. One side of the cylinder is opened, and the cylinder is then put into another oven to quickly heat and flatten it, and then placed in an
annealer to cool at a controlled rate, making the material more stable. "Hand-blown" or "mouth-blown" cylinder (also called muff glass) and crown glass were the types used in the traditional fabrication of stained-glass windows.
Crown glass
Crown glass is hand-blown glass created by blowing a bubble of air into a gather of molten glass and then spinning it, either by hand or on a table that revolves rapidly like a
potter's wheel
In pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in the shaping (known as throwing) of clay into round ceramic ware. The wheel may also be used during the process of trimming excess clay from leather-hard dried ware that is stiff but malleable, ...
. The
centrifugal force
Centrifugal force is a fictitious force in Newtonian mechanics (also called an "inertial" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It appears to be directed radially away from the axi ...
causes the molten bubble to open up and flatten. It can then be cut into small sheets. Glass formed this way can be either coloured and used for stained-glass windows, or uncoloured as seen in small paned windows in 16th- and 17th-century houses. Concentric, curving waves are characteristic of the process. The centre of each piece of glass, known as the "bull's-eye", is subject to less acceleration during spinning, so it remains thicker than the rest of the sheet. It also has the
pontil mark
A pontil mark or punt mark is the scar where the pontil, punty or punt was broken from a work of blown glass. The presence of such a scar indicates that a glass bottle or bowl was blown freehand, while the absence of a punt mark suggests either ...
, a distinctive lump of glass left by the "pontil" rod, which holds the glass as it is spun out. This lumpy, refractive quality means the bulls-eyes are less transparent, but they have still been used for windows, both domestic and ecclesiastical. Crown glass is still made today, but not on a large scale.
Rolled glass
Rolled glass (sometimes called "table glass") is produced by pouring molten glass onto a metal or
graphite
Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
table and immediately rolling it into a sheet using a large metal cylinder, similar to rolling out a pie crust. The rolling can be done by hand or by machine. Glass can be "double rolled", which means it is passed through two cylinders at once (similar to the clothes wringers on older washing machines) to yield glass of a specified thickness (typically about 1/8" or 3mm). The glass is then annealed. Rolled glass was first commercially produced around the mid-1830s and is widely used today. It is often called
cathedral glass
Cathedral glass is the name given commercially to monochromatic sheet glass. It is thin by comparison with 'slab glass', may be coloured, and is textured on one side. The name draws from the fact that windows of stained glass were a feature of me ...
, but this has nothing to do with medieval cathedrals, where the glass used was hand-blown.
Flashed glass
Architectural glass must be at least of an inch (3 mm) thick to survive the push and pull of typical wind loads. However, in the creation of red glass, the colouring ingredients must be of a certain concentration, or the colour will not develop. This results in a colour so intense that at the thickness of inch (3 mm), the red glass transmits little light and appears black. The method employed to create red stained glass is to laminate a thin layer of red glass to a thicker body of glass that is clear or lightly tinted, forming "
flashed glass
Flashed glass, or flash glass, is a type of glass created by coating a colorless gather of glass with one or more thin layers of colored glass. This is done by placing a piece of melted glass of one color into another piece of melted glass of a dif ...
".
A lightly coloured molten gather is dipped into a pot of molten red glass, which is then blown into a sheet of laminated glass using either the cylinder (muff) or the crown technique described above. Once this method was found for making red glass, other colours were made this way as well. A great advantage is that the double-layered glass can be engraved or
abraded to reveal the clear or tinted glass below. The method allows rich detailing and patterns to be achieved without needing to add more lead-lines, giving artists greater freedom in their designs. A number of artists have embraced the possibilities flashed glass gives them. For instance, 16th-century heraldic windows relied heavily on a variety of flashed colours for their intricate crests and creatures. In the medieval period the glass was abraded; later,
hydrofluoric acid
Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colorless, acidic and highly corrosive. A common concentration is 49% (48–52%) but there are also stronger solutions (e.g. 70%) and pure HF has a boiling p ...
was used to remove the flash in a chemical reaction (a very dangerous technique), and in the 19th century sandblasting started to be used for this purpose.
Islamic civilization played a major role in inspiring the art of stained glass from the 8th century onward. Mosques, homes, and cities were transformed into beautiful spaces decorated with glass. Beauty and function were essential elements of design in Islamic civilization. Perhaps in an effort to supply thousands of mosques, but also thanks to the input provided by thriving scientific activity in fields such as optics and chemistry, Islamic glassmakers transformed what had previously been a craft into Islamic stained glass, an industry employing new technologies and a large workforce from across Islamic civilization.
Across Islamic civilization, glass vessels were mass-produced from the 8th century onwards, either by blowing liquid glass in chambers or by cutting it from crystal. Glassmakers in
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, and to a lesser extent Egypt, inherited and improved upon this glassmaking technique, developing their own techniques for mastering the art of Islamic stained glass, its coloring, and its decoration, expanding the variety of products.
The history of stained glass in
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
dates back to ancient times, as
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
was influenced by successive civilizations, such as the Roman and Byzantine.
Syrian
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
stained glass is characterized by its intricate geometric and floral designs, reflecting the skill of Syrian artisans.
There are a number of glass factories, particularly in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the United States,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, and
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, which produce high-quality glass, both hand-blown (cylinder, disc, and crown) and rolled (cathedral and opalescent). Contemporary stained glass artists have a number of resources to draw on in their work for centuries from other artists, from whom they learn, continuing the tradition in new ways. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, there were many innovations in techniques and types of glass used. Many new types of glass were developed for use in stained glass windows, notably Tiffany glass and stained glass panels.
Techniques
"Pot metal" and flashed glass
The primary method of including colour in stained glass is to use glass, originally colourless, that has been given colouring by mixing with metal oxides in its melted state (in a crucible or "pot"), producing glass sheets that are coloured all the way through; these are known as "pot metal" glass. A second method, sometimes used in some areas of windows, is
flashed glass
Flashed glass, or flash glass, is a type of glass created by coating a colorless gather of glass with one or more thin layers of colored glass. This is done by placing a piece of melted glass of one color into another piece of melted glass of a dif ...
, a thin coating of coloured glass fused to colourless glass (or coloured glass, to produce a different colour). In medieval glass flashing was especially used for reds, as glass made with gold compounds was very expensive and tended to be too deep in colour to use at full thickness.
Glass paint

Another group of techniques give additional colouring, including lines and shading, by treating the surfaces of the coloured sheets, and often fixing these effects by a light firing in a furnace or kiln. These methods may be used over broad areas, especially with silver stain, which gave better yellows than other methods in the Middle Ages. Alternatively they may be used for painting linear effects, or polychrome areas of detail. The most common method of adding the black linear painting necessary to define stained glass images is the use of what is variously called "glass paint", "vitreous paint", or "
grisaille
Grisaille ( or ; , from ''gris'' 'grey') means in general any European painting that is painted in grey.
History
Giotto used grisaille in the lower registers of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua () and Robert Campin, Jan van Ey ...
paint". This was applied as a mixture of powdered glass, iron or rust filings to give a black colour, clay, and oil, vinegar or water for a brushable texture, with a binder such as
gum arabic
Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a partic ...
. This was painted on the pieces of coloured glass, and then fired to burn away the ingredients giving texture, leaving a layer of the glass and colouring, fused to the main glass piece.
Silver stain
"Silver stain", introduced soon after 1300, produced a wide range of yellow to orange colours; this is the "stain" in the term "stained glass".
Silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
compounds (notably
silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides. It was once called ''lunar causti ...
) are mixed with binding substances, applied to the surface of glass, and then fired in a furnace or kiln. They can produce a range of colours from
orange-red to yellow. Used on blue glass they produce greens. The way the glass is heated and cooled can significantly affect the colours produced by these compounds. The chemistry involved is complex and not well understood. The chemicals actually penetrate the glass they are added to a little way, and the technique therefore gives extremely stable results. By the 15th century it had become cheaper than using pot metal glass and was often used with glass paint as the only colour on transparent glass. Silver stain was applied to the opposite face of the glass to silver paint, as the two techniques did not work well one on top of the other. The stain was usually on the exterior face, where it appears to have given the glass some protection against weathering, although this can also be true for paint. They were also probably fired separately, the stain needing a lower heat than the paint.
"Sanguine" or "Cousin's rose"
"Sanguine", "carnation", "Rouge
Jean Cousin" or "Cousin's rose", after its supposed inventor, is an iron-based fired paint producing red colours, mainly used to highlight small areas, often on flesh. It was introduced around 1500. Copper stain, similar to silver stain but using copper compounds, also produced reds, and was mainly used in the 18th and 19th centuries.
[Historic England, 290]
Cold painting
"Cold paint" is various types of paint that were applied without firing. Contrary to the optimistic claims of the 12th century writer
Theophilus Presbyter
Theophilus Presbyter (fl. c. 1070–1125) is the pseudonymous author or compiler of a Latin text containing detailed descriptions of various medieval arts, a text commonly known as the ''Schedula diversarum artium'' ("List of various arts") or ''D ...
, cold paint is not very durable, and very little medieval paint has survived.
Scratching techniques
As well as painting, scratched
sgraffito
(; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...
techniques were often used. This involved painting a colour over pot metal glass of another colour, and then before firing selectively scratching the glass paint away to make the design, or the lettering of an inscription. This was the most common method of making inscriptions in early medieval glass, giving white or light letters on a black background, with later inscriptions more often using black painted letters on a transparent glass background.
File:Détail vitrail st Etienne photo.png, Detail from a 13th-century window in the Basilica of Saint-Quentin depicting the creation of a stained-glass window in Middle Ages.
File:Roundel with Saint Lambrecht of Maastricht MET cdi32-24-48.jpg, Renaissance roundel using only black or brown glass paint, and silver stain. The bishop-saint Lambrecht of Maastricht stands in an extensive landscape, 1510–20. Diameter . Designed to be placed low, close to the viewer.
File:Stained Glass Panel with the Visitation MET MED700.jpg, Detail of German panel (1444) of '' Visitation''; pot metal, including white glass, black vitreous paint, yellow silver stain, and olive-green enamel. The plant patterns in the red sky are formed by scratching away black paint from the red glass before firing. Restored with new lead cames.
File:Ecce Homo (one of a pair) MET DT279321 (cropped).jpg, German glass, Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, after a drawing by Sebald Beham, c. 1525. Silver stain produces a range of yellows and gold, and painted on the reverse of the blue sky, gives the dark green of the cross.
"Pot glass" colours
These are the colours in which the glass itself is made, as opposed to colours applied to the glass.
Transparent glass
Ordinary
soda-lime glass
Soda lime, a mixture of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and calcium oxide (CaO), is used in granular form within recirculating breathing environments like general anesthesia and its breathing circuit, submarines, rebreathers, and hyperbaric chambers and ...
appears colourless to the naked eye when it is thin, although iron oxide impurities produce a green tint which becomes evident in thick pieces or with the aid of scientific instruments. A number of additives are used to reduce the green tint, particularly if the glass is to be used for plain window glass, rather than stained-glass windows. These additives include
manganese dioxide
Manganese dioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula . This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese and a component of manganese nodules. The principal use for is for dry-cel ...
which produces
sodium permanganate
Sodium permanganate is the inorganic compound with the formula sodium, NaPermanganate, MnO4. It is closely related to the more commonly encountered potassium permanganate, but it is generally less desirable, because it is more expensive to produce ...
, and may result in a slightly mauve tint, characteristic of the glass in older houses in
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
.
Selenium
Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...
has been used for the same purpose.
[Illustrated Glass Dictionary](_blank)
www.glassonline.com. Retrieved 3 August 2006
Green glass
While very pale green is the typical colour of transparent glass, deeper greens can be achieved by the addition of
Iron(II) oxide
Iron(II) oxide or ferrous oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula FeO. Its mineral form is known as wüstite. One of several iron oxides, it is a black-colored powder that is sometimes confused with rust, the latter of which consists ...
which results in a bluish-green glass. Together with
chromium
Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium ...
it gives glass of a richer green colour, typical of the glass used to make
wine bottle
A wine bottle is a bottle, generally a glass bottle, that is used for holding wine. Some wines are fermentation (wine), fermented in the bottle while others are bottled only after fermentation. Recently the bottle has become a standard unit of ...
s.
The addition of chromium yields dark green glass, suitable for flashed glass. Together with tin oxide and arsenic it yields
emerald green
Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint ...
glass.
Blue glass
*In medieval times, blue glass was made by adding
cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminium(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighte ...
, which at a concentration of 0.025% to 0.1% in soda-lime glass achieves the brilliant blue characteristic of
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...
.
*The addition of
sulphur
Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...
to boron-rich
borosilicate glass
Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with silica and boron trioxide as the main glass-forming constituents. Borosilicate glasses are known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion (≈3 × 10−6 K−1 at 20 °C), ma ...
es imparts a blue colour.
* The addition of
copper oxide at 2–3% produces a
turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue.
The robi ...
colour.
* The addition of
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
, at different concentrations, produces blue, violet, or black glass.
Red glass
* Metallic
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
, in very low concentrations (around 0.001%), produces a rich ruby-coloured glass ("ruby gold"); in even lower concentrations it produces a less intense red, often marketed as "
cranberry glass". The colour is caused by the size and dispersion of gold particles. Ruby gold glass is usually made of lead glass with tin added.
* Pure metallic
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
produces a very dark red, opaque glass. Glass created in this manner is generally "flashed" (laminated glass). It was used extensively in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and exploited for the decorative effects that could be achieved by sanding and engraving.
*
Selenium
Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...
is an important agent to make pink and red glass. When used together with cadmium sulphide, it yields a brilliant red colour known as "Selenium Ruby".
Yellow glass
*This was very often achieved by "silver stain" applied externally to the sheets of glass (see above).
* The addition of sulphur, together with
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
and iron salts, is used to form iron polysulphides and produce amber glass ranging from yellowish to almost black. With
calcium
Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...
it yields a deep yellow colour.
* Adding
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
produces
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
ish-
brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black.
In the ...
glass. Titanium is rarely used on its own and is more often employed to intensify and brighten other additives.
*
Cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...
together with sulphur results in deep yellow colour, often used in glazes. However, cadmium is toxic.
*
Uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
(0.1% to 2%) can be added to give glass a fluorescent yellow or green colour.
Uranium glass
Uranium glass is glass which has had uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a glass mix before melting for colouration. The proportion usually varies from trace levels to about 2% uranium by weight, although some 20th-century pieces ...
is typically not
radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
enough to be dangerous, but if ground into a powder, such as by polishing with sandpaper, and inhaled, it can be
carcinogenic
A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and Biological agent, biologic agent ...
. When used with lead glass with a very high proportion of lead, it produces a deep red colour.
Purple glass
* The addition of
manganese
Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...
gives an
amethyst
Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...
colour. Manganese is one of the oldest glass additives, and purple manganese glass has been used since early Egyptian history.
*
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
, depending on the concentration, produces blue, or
violet, or even
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
glass.
Lead crystal
Lead glass, commonly called crystal, is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass contains typically 18–40% (by mass) lead(II) oxide (PbO), while modern lead crystal, historically ...
with added nickel acquires a purplish colour.
White glass
*
Tin dioxide
Tin(IV) oxide, also known as stannic oxide, is the inorganic compound with the formula SnO2. The mineral form of SnO2 is called cassiterite, and this is the main ore of tin. With many other names, this oxide of tin is an important material in ti ...
with
antimony
Antimony is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Sb () and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient t ...
and
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...
oxides produce an opaque
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
glass, first used in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
to produce an imitation
porcelain
Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
. White glass was used extensively by
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...
to create a range of
opalescent, mottled and streaky glasses.
File:Chartres - Vitrail de la Vie de Joseph.JPG, 13th-century window from Chartres showing extensive use of the ubiquitous cobalt blue with green and purple-brown glass, details of amber and borders of flashed red glass.
File:Poligny (Jura) Collegiale 150223.JPG, A 19th-century window illustrates the range of colours common in both medieval and Gothic Revival glass, Lucien Begule, Lyon (1896).
File:N-D de Tournai Tax on food stalls.JPG, A 16th-century window by Arnold of Nijmegen showing the combination of painted glass and intense colour common in Renaissance windows.
File:Stained glass window - geograph.org.uk - 1461459.jpg, A late 20th-century window showing a graded range of colours. Ronald Whiting, Chapel Studios. Tattershall Castle, UK.
File:John-the-baptist-by-tiffany.jpg, A window by Tiffany illustrating the development and use of multi-coloured flashed, streaky glasses at the end of the 19th century.
Creating stained-glass windows
Design
The first stage in the production of a window is to make, or acquire from the architect or owners of the building, an accurate template of the window opening that the glass is to fit.
The subject matter of the window is determined to suit the location, a particular theme, or the wishes of the patron. A small design called a ''Vidimus'' (from Latin "we have seen") is prepared which can be shown to the patron. A scaled model
maquette
A ''maquette'' is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture or work of architecture. The term is a loanword from French. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', a diminutive of the Italian word for a sketch.
Sculpture
A maquette ...
may also be provided. The designer must take into account the design, the structure of the window, the nature and size of the glass available and his or her own preferred technique.
A traditional narrative window has panels which relate a story. A figurative window could have rows of saints or dignitaries. Scriptural texts or mottoes are sometimes included and perhaps the names of the patrons or the person to whose memory the window is dedicated. In a window of a traditional type, it is usually left to the discretion of the designer to fill the surrounding areas with borders, floral motifs and canopies.
A full-sized cartoon is drawn for every "light" (opening) of the window. A small church window might typically have two lights, with some simple
tracery
Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...
lights above. A large window might have four or five lights. The east or west window of a large
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
might have seven lights in three tiers, with elaborate tracery. In medieval times the cartoon was drawn directly on the surface of a whitewashed table, which was then used as a pattern for cutting, painting and assembling the window. The cartoon is then divided into a patchwork, providing a template for each small glass piece. The exact position of the lead which holds the glass in place is also noted, as it is part of the calculated visual effect.
Selecting and painting the glass
Each piece of glass is selected for the desired colour and cut to match a section of the template. An exact fit is ensured by "grozing" the edges with a tool which can nibble off small pieces. Details of faces, hair and hands can be painted onto the inner surface of the glass using a special glass paint which contains finely ground lead or copper filings, ground glass, gum arabic and a medium such as wine, vinegar or (traditionally) urine. The art of painting details became increasingly elaborate and reached its height in the early 20th century.
From 1300 onwards, artists started using "silver stain" which was made with
silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides. It was once called ''lunar causti ...
. It gave a yellow effect ranging from pale lemon to deep orange. It was usually painted onto the outside of a piece of glass, then fired to make it permanent. This yellow was particularly useful for enhancing borders, canopies and haloes, and turning blue glass into green glass. By about 1450, a stain known as "Cousin's rose" was used to enhance flesh tones.
In the 16th century, a range of glass stains were introduced, most of them coloured by ground glass particles. They were a form of
enamelled glass
Enamelled glass or painted glass is glass which has been decorated with vitreous enamel (powdered glass, usually mixed with a binder) and then fired to glass fusing, fuse the glasses. It can produce brilliant and long-lasting colours, and be tr ...
. Painting on glass with these stains was initially used for small heraldic designs and other details. By the 17th century a style of stained glass had evolved that was no longer dependent upon the skilful cutting of coloured glass into sections. Scenes were painted onto glass panels of square format, like tiles. The colours were then annealed to the glass before the pieces were assembled.
A method used for embellishment and gilding is the decoration of one side of each of two pieces of thin glass, which are then placed back to back within the lead
came. This allows for the use of techniques such as
Angel gilding
Angel gilding is gilding glass or gold plating by electroless chemical deposition.
Gold chloride is dissolved in water, mixed with other chemicals and poured on clean glass that has been treated with stannous chloride. The gold layer is delica ...
and
Églomisé to produce an effect visible from both sides but not exposing the decorated surface to the atmosphere or mechanical damage.
Assembly and mounting
Once the glass is cut and painted, the pieces are assembled by slotting them into H-sectioned lead cames. All the joints are then soldered together and the glass pieces are prevented from rattling and the window made weatherproof by forcing a soft oily cement or
mastic between the glass and the cames. In modern windows, copper foil is now sometimes used instead of lead. For further technical details, see
Came glasswork
Came glasswork is the process of joining cut pieces of art glass through the use of came strips or foil into picturesque designs in a framework of soldering, soldered solder, metal.
Final products include a wide range of glasswork, including ...
.
Traditionally, when a window was inserted into the window space, iron rods were put across it at various points to support its weight. The window was tied to these rods with lead strips or, more recently, with copper wires. Some very large early Gothic windows are divided into sections by heavy metal frames called ''ferramenta''. This method of support was also favoured for large, usually painted, windows of the Baroque period.
File:Heaton, Butler and Bayne01.png, Maquette by Heaton, Butler and Bayne
Heaton, Butler and Bayne was a British firm that produced stained-glass windows from 1862 to 1953.
History
Clement Heaton (1824–1882) Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London: Allen Lane, p. 371 ...
, 19th-century English manufacturers
File:Pt-coimbra-sevelha3.jpg, Exterior of a window at Sé Velha de Coimbra, Portugal, showing a modern steel armature
File:Canterbury Cathedral 012 window showing leading and support.JPG, Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...
window from Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
showing the ''pot metal'' and painted glass, lead H-sectioned ''cames'', modern steel rods and copper wire attachments
File:Meaux Vitrail 1867 30808 3.jpg, Skilled glass cutting and leading in a 19th-century window at Meaux Cathedral
Meaux Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church in the town of Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France, and a cathedral as the seat of the Bishop of Meaux. It is a historical monument of France.
History
Construction of the cathedral began about 1170, when ...
, France
File:Eyneburg 7.jpg, Detail from a 19th or 20th-century window in Eyneburg, Belgium, showing detailed polychrome painting of face.
History
Origins
Coloured glass has been produced since ancient times. Both the
Egyptians
Egyptians (, ; , ; ) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to Geography of Egypt, geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretchi ...
and the
Romans excelled at the manufacture of small colored glass objects.
Phoenicia
Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
was important in glass manufacture with its chief centres
Sidon
Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
,
Tyre and
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
. The
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
holds two of the finest Roman pieces, the
Lycurgus Cup, which is a murky mustard color but glows purple-red to transmitted light, and the
cameo glass
Cameo glass is a luxury form of glass art produced by cameo glass engraving or etching and carving through fused layers of differently colored glass to produce designs, usually with white opaque glass figures and motifs on a dark-colored backgro ...
Portland vase
The Portland Vase is a Roman glass, Roman cameo glass vase, which is dated between AD 1 and AD 25, though low BC dates have some scholarly support. It is the best known piece of Roman cameo glass and has served as an inspiration to many glass an ...
which is midnight blue, with a carved white overlay.
In early Christian churches of the 4th and 5th centuries, there are many remaining windows which are filled with ornate patterns of thinly-sliced
alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
set into wooden frames, giving a stained-glass like effect.
Evidence of stained-glass windows in churches and monasteries in Britain can be found as early as the 7th century. The earliest known reference dates from 675 AD when
Benedict Biscop
Benedict Biscop ( – 690), also known as Biscop Baducing, was an Anglo-Saxon abbot and founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory (where he also founded the famous library) and was considered a saint after his death.
It has been suggested that B ...
imported workmen from France to glaze the windows of the monastery of St Peter which he was building at
Monkwearmouth
Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in England. Monkwearmouth is located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth ...
. Hundreds of pieces of coloured glass and lead, dating back to the late 7th century, have been discovered here and at
Jarrow
Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...
.
In the Middle East, the glass industry of Syria continued during the Islamic period with major centres of manufacture at
Raqqa
Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...
,
Aleppo
Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
and
Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and the most important products being highly transparent colourless glass and gilded glass, rather than coloured glass.
File:Alabastron Italy Louvre S2375.jpg, A perfume
Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...
flask from 100 BC to 200 AD
File:Portland Vase BM Gem4036 n5.jpg, The Portland Vase
The Portland Vase is a Roman glass, Roman cameo glass vase, which is dated between AD 1 and AD 25, though low BC dates have some scholarly support. It is the best known piece of Roman cameo glass and has served as an inspiration to many glass an ...
, a rare example of Roman flashed glass
File:Orvieto083.jpg, An alabaster window in Orvieto Cathedral
Orvieto Cathedral () is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 1986, the cathedral in Orvieto has been the episcopal seat ...
, Italy
In Southwest Asia
The creation of stained glass in
Southwest Asia
West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...
began in ancient times. One of the region's earliest surviving formulations for the production of colored glass comes from the
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n city of
Nineveh
Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...
, dating to the 7th-century BC. The ''Kitab al-Durra al-Maknuna'', attributed to the 8th century
alchemist
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
Jābir ibn Hayyān, discusses the production of colored glass in ancient Babylon and Egypt. The ''Kitab al-Durra al-Maknuna'' also describes how to create colored glass and artificial gemstones made from high-quality stained glass. The tradition of stained glass manufacture has continued, with mosques, palaces, and public spaces being decorated with stained glass throughout the Islamic world. The stained glass of Islam is generally non-pictorial and of purely geometric design, but may contain both floral motifs and text.
Stained glass creation had flourished in Persia (now Iran) during the
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...
(1501–1736 A.D.), and
Zand dynasty
The Zand dynasty () was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later expanded to include much of the rest of contemporary Iran (except for the provi ...
(1751–1794 A.D.).
In Persia stained glass
sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass.
History
...
s are called Orosi windows (or transliterated as Arasi, and Orsi), and were once used for decoration, as well as controlling the incoming sunlight in the hot and semi-arid climate.
File:Nasir-al molk -1.jpg, Extensive stained glasses of Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque
The Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque (; ), also known as the Pink Mosque (), is a mosque located in Shiraz, in the province of Fars province, Fars, Iran. Completed in 1888 Common Era, CE, the Qajar Iran, Qajar era mosque is located in the Gowd-e Araban di ...
in Shiraz
Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...
, Iran, and the light passing through them
File:Stained glass Photo From Sahand Ace..jpg, Stained glass at Dowlat Abad Garden in Yazd
Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...
, Iran
File:Stained glass window in a mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem (12393551704).jpg, From a mosque in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, this window contains highly detailed text.
Medieval glass in Europe
Stained glass, as an art form, reached its height in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
when it became a major pictorial form used to illustrate the narratives of the Bible to a largely illiterate populace.
In the
Romanesque and Early
Gothic period, from about 950 to 1240, the untraceried windows demanded large expanses of glass which of necessity were supported by robust iron frames, such as may be seen at
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...
and at the eastern end of
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
. As
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
developed into a more ornate form, windows grew larger, affording greater illumination to the interiors, but were divided into sections by vertical shafts and tracery of stone. This elaboration of form reached its height of complexity in the
Flamboyant
Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...
style in Europe, and windows grew still larger with the development of the
Perpendicular style
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...
in England and
Rayonnant
Rayonnant was a very refined style of Gothic Architecture which appeared in France in the 13th century. It was the defining style of the High Gothic period, and is often described as the high point of French Gothic architecture."Encylclopaedia B ...
style in France.
Integrated with the lofty verticals of Gothic cathedrals and parish churches, glass designs became more daring. The circular form, or
rose window
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...
, developed in France from relatively simple windows with openings pierced through slabs of thin stone to wheel windows, as exemplified by the west front of Chartres Cathedral, and ultimately to designs of enormous complexity, the tracery being drafted from hundreds of different points, such as those at
Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
Construction b ...
, Paris and the "Bishop's Eye" at
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...
.
While stained glass was widely manufactured,
Chartres
Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...
was the greatest centre of stained glass manufacture, producing glass of unrivalled quality.
File:Vitrail Chartres 210209 07.jpg, Detail of a 13th-century window from Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...
File:Musee-de-l-Oeuvre-Notre-Dame-Strasbourg-IMG 1465 crop.JPG, ''Charlemagne'' from a Romanesque window in Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...
File:Poitiers, Cathédrale Saint-Pierre -PM 34985 lighter.JPG, The Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
window of Poitiers Cathedral
Poitiers Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic Church architecture, church in Poitiers, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Poitiers.
History
Its construction began in 1162 by Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine on the ruins of a R ...
File:Vitrail Cathédrale d'Evreux 22 02 09 13.jpg, Late Gothic Tree of Jesse
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse (biblical figure), Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schemati ...
window from Evreux Cathedral
File:Chartres RosetteSued 122 DSC08269.jpg, The south transept windows from Chartres Cathedral
File:King David in Augsburg Cathedral light.JPG, ''King David'' from Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
Cathedral (early 12th century). One of the oldest examples in situ.
File:Graz_Leechkirche_20061105_adjusted.JPG, ''Crucifixion with Ss Catherine, George and Margaret'', Leechkirche, Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
, Austria
File:Koeln-Hohe Domkirche St Peter und Maria-Zentrum des Chorobergadens mit Koenigsfenstern b.jpg, The windows of the choir of Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
(early 14th century)
File:Kapellenfenster Köln um 1340 KGM paste.JPG, ''The Crucifixion'' and ''Virgin and Child in Majesty'', Cologne Cathedral (1340)
File:Ulm-Muenster-BessererKapelle-SuedFenster adjusted.JPG, Ulm Munster, ''The Last Judgement'' by Hans Acker (1430)
File:England YorkMinster JesseTree c1170.JPG, Detail of a Tree of Jesse
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse (biblical figure), Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schemati ...
from York Minster
York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
(c. 1170), the oldest stained-glass window in England
File:Canterbury Cathedral 020 Poor Mans Bbible Window 01 adj.JPG, The Poor Man's Bible
The term ''Poor Man's Bible'' has come into use in the modern era to describe works of art within churches and cathedrals which either individually or collectively have been created to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for a largely illiterat ...
window from Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
(13th century)
File:Canterbury Cathedral window crop.JPG, South transept window at Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
(13th century)
File:York York minster windows 003 crop.JPG, The west window of York Minster (1338–39)
File:Fairford st mary 011.jpg, ''The Last Judgement'', St Mary's Church, Fairford
Fairford is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswold hills on the River Coln, east of Cirencester, west of Lechlade and north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park.
History
I ...
, Barnard Flower (1500–17)
Renaissance, Reformation and Classical windows
Probably the earliest scheme of stained-glass windows that was created during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
was that for Florence Cathedral, devised by
Lorenzo Ghiberti
Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptister ...
.
[ The scheme includes three ocular windows for the dome and three for the facade which were designed from 1405 to 1445 by several of the most renowned artists of this period: Ghiberti, ]Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
, Uccello and Andrea del Castagno
Andrea del Castagno () or Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (; – 19 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance painter in Florence, influenced chiefly by Masaccio and Giotto, Giotto di Bondone. His works include fresc ...
. Each major ocular window contains a single picture drawn from the Life of Christ or the Life of the Virgin Mary, surrounded by a wide floral border, with two smaller facade windows by Ghiberti showing the martyred deacons, St Stephen
Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity.["St ...]
and St Lawrence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258.
...
. One of the cupola windows has since been lost, and that by Donatello has lost nearly all of its painted details.[Lee, Seddon and Stephens, pp. 118–121]
In Europe, stained glass continued to be produced; the style evolved from the Gothic to the Classical, which is well represented in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, despite the rise of Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
. In France, much glass of this period was produced at the Limoges
Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...
factory, and in Italy at Murano
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was o ...
, where stained glass and faceted lead crystal
Lead glass, commonly called crystal, is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass contains typically 18–40% (by mass) lead(II) oxide (PbO), while modern lead crystal, historically ...
are often coupled together in the same window. The French Revolution brought about the neglect or destruction of many windows in France. Nonetheless, the country still holds the largest set of Renaissance stained glass in its churches, particularly in the regions of Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
and Champagne
Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
where there were vivid ateliers in many cities until the early 17th century with the stained glass painter Linard Gonthier being active in Troyes
Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
until 1642. There are 1042 preserved 16th-century windows in the Aube
Aube ( ) is a French departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube (river), Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019), department alone.
At the Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
in England, large numbers of medieval and Renaissance windows were smashed and replaced with plain glass. The Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
and the injunctions of Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
against "abused images" (the object of veneration) resulted in the loss of thousands of windows. Few remain undamaged; of these the windows in the private chapel at Hengrave Hall
Hengrave Hall is a Grade I listed Tudor era, Tudor manor house in Hengrave near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England and was the seat of the Kitson and Rokewode-Gage baronets, Gage families 1525–1887. Both families were Roman Catholic recusant ...
in Suffolk are among the finest. With the latter wave of destruction the traditional methods of working with stained glass died, and were not rediscovered in England until the early 19th century. See Stained glass – British glass, 1811–1918 for more details.
In the Netherlands a rare scheme of glass has remained intact at Grote Sint-Jan Church, Gouda. The windows, some of which are 18 metres (59 feet) high, date from 1555 to the early 1600s; the earliest is the work of Dirck Crabeth and his brother Wouter
Wouter is a Dutch language, Dutch masculine Dutch given name, given name popular in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is the Dutch equivalent of the English name Walter (name), Walter and French name :fr:Gauthier, Gauthier, both of Germanic languages ...
. Many of the original cartoons still exist.[Vidimus, ]
Dirck Peterz. Crabeth
'' Issue 20 (accessed 26 August 2012)
File:Paolo uccello, vetrata della resurrezione.jpg, ''The Resurrection'', Paolo Uccello
Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italian Renaissance painter and mathematician from Florence who was notable for his pioneering work on visual Perspective (graphical), perspective in art. In his book ''Liv ...
(1443–1445), one of a series in the dome of Florence Cathedral
Florence Cathedral (), formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower ( ), is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Florence in Florence, Italy. Commenced in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed b ...
designed by renowned Renaissance artists
File:Giovanni di Domenico, The Angel of the Annunciation, 1498-1503, NGA 1472.jpg, ''The Angel of the Annunciation'', Giovanni di Domenico (1498–1503), National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
File:De-moles-vitrail.jpg, Renaissance stained glass, Auch Cathedral
Auch Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church building, church located in the town of Auch in the Midi-Pyrénées, France. It is a national monument, and is the seat of the Archbishopric of Auch. Under the Concordat of 1801, the ecclesiastical off ...
, France, Arnaud de Moles (detail, 1507–1513)
File:King's College Chapel, Cambridge - The Great East Window.jpg, East window of King's College Chapel, Cambridge
King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bu ...
, Galyon Hone (1515–1531)
File:Limours Saint-Pierre 738 adjusted.JPG, ''The Passion of Christ
The Passion (from latin language, Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy ...
'': the Capture and Crucifixion, Saint-Pierre, Limours
Limours, often referred to as ''Limours-en-Hurepoix'' () is a communes of France, commune the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France.
Geography
Limours is located from Paris.
Population
Inhabitants of Li ...
, France (1520)
File:Beauvais (60), église Saint-Étienne, baie n° 5 a.jpg, ''Tree of Jesse
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse (biblical figure), Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schemati ...
'' window, Church of St-Étienne, Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris.
The Communes of France, commune o ...
, France, Engrand Le Prince (1522–1524)
File:Stadtpfarrkirche Steyr - Renaissancefenster crop detail.JPG, The '' Death and Assumption of the Virgin Mary'', Church of SS Ägidius and Koloman, Steyr
Steyr (; ) is a statutory city (Austria), statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd lar ...
, Austria (1523)
File:Chalons-en-Champagne (81-A) straight.JPG, Detail of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
from the Cathedral of St-Etienne, Châlons-en-Champagne
Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims.
Formerly called Châlons ...
, France
File:Paris ArtsDécoratifs Paulus 54.JPG, alt=Domestic window by Dirck Crabeth for the house of Adriaen Dircxzoon van Crimpen of Leiden. (1543) The windows show scenes from the lives of the Prophet Samuel and the Apostle Paul. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris., Domestic window by Dirck Crabeth for the house of Adriaen Dircxzoon van Crimpen of Leiden (1543). The windows show scenes from the lives of the Prophet Samuel
Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
and the Apostle Paul
Paul may refer to:
People
* Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people
* Paul (surname), a list of people
* Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament
* Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.[
File:Conversión de San Pablo, Vicente Menardo.jpg, Window of the Conversion of St Paol, Chapel od St James, ]Seville Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (), better known as Seville Cathedral (), is a Catholic cathedral and former mosque in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alc� ...
, Spain, Visente Mentdo (1560)
File:Stained glass window of right transept of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice).jpg, Renaissance window in the church of SS Giovanni and Paolo, Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
(16th century)
File:Vitrail Cathédrale de Moulins 160609 17.jpg, The story of how the ''Crown of Thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...
'' passed from John of Brienne
John of Brienne ( 1170 – 19–23 March 1237), also known as John I, was the king of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He was the youngest son of Erard II of Brienne, a wealthy nobleman in Cham ...
and Baldwin II of Constantinople
Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Courtenay (; ; late 1217 – October 1273), was the last Latin Emperor ruling from Constantinople. He was the only Latin Emperor born in Constantinople.
Biography
Baldwin II was born in Constantinople, a yo ...
to Saint Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...
, Moulins Cathedral, France (16th century)
File:Gouda-Sint-Janskerk-Glas01.jpg, ''The Triumph of Freedom of Conscience'', Sint Janskerk, maker Adriaen Gerritszoon de Vrije ( Gouda); design Joachim Wtewael (Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
), Netherlands (1595–1600)
File:Zürich - Mordnacht 1350 Wappenscheibe.jpg, Glass painting depicting Mordnacht (murder night) on 23/24 February 1350 and heraldry of the first Meisen guild's Zunfthaus, Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, Switzerland (c. 1650)
In Latin America
Stained glass was first imported to Latin America during the 17th–18th centuries by Portuguese and Spanish settlers. By the 20th century, many European artists had begun to establish their own studios within Latin America and had started up local production. With these new local studios came inventive techniques and less traditional imagery. Examples of these more modern works of art are the Basílica Nuestra Señora de Lourde and the Templo Vótivo de Maipú both located in Chile.
File:Quito’s Basilica del Voto Nacional.jpg, Largest rose window in the Basílica del Voto Nacional located in Quito
Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
, Ecuador
File:Basílica Nuestra Señora de Lourdes.jpg, Large stained-glass window at the Basílica Nuestra Señora de Lourdes. Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Revival in Great Britain and Ireland
The Catholic revival in England, gaining force in the early 19th century with its renewed interest in the medieval church, brought a revival of church building in the Gothic style, claimed by John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
to be "the true Catholic style". The architectural movement was led by Augustus Welby Pugin. Many new churches were planted in large towns and many old churches were restored. This brought about a great demand for the revival of the art of stained-glass window making.
Among the earliest 19th-century English manufacturers and designers were William Warrington and John Hardman of Birmingham, whose nephew, John Hardman Powell, had a commercial eye and exhibited works at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876, influencing stained glass in the United States of America. Other manufacturers included William Wailes, Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows.
History
Ward and Hughes was preceded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created a large w ...
, Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...
, Heaton, Butler and Bayne
Heaton, Butler and Bayne was a British firm that produced stained-glass windows from 1862 to 1953.
History
Clement Heaton (1824–1882) Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London: Allen Lane, p. 371 ...
and Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lychg ...
. A Scottish designer, Daniel Cottier, opened firms in Australia and the US.
File:St Andrews window 08 6 west John and Paul.jpg, Detail, ''Apostles John and Paul'', Hardman of Birmingham (1861–1867), typical of Hardman in its elegant arrangement of figures and purity of colour. St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
File:Lincoln Cathedral East window.jpg, One of England's largest windows, the east window of Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...
, Ward and Nixon (1855), is a formal arrangement of small narrative scenes in roundels
File:Chilham StMarys EastWindow19thC.JPG, William Wailes. This window has the bright pastel colour, wealth of inventive ornament, and stereotypical gestures of windows by this firm. St Mary's, Chilham
File:Peterborough Cathedral glass 02 b.JPG, Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...
. A narrative window with elegant forms and colour which is both brilliant and subtle in its combinations. Peterborough Cathedral
Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...
Revival in France
In France there was a greater continuity of stained glass production than in England. In the early 19th century most stained glass was made of large panes that were extensively painted and fired, the designs often being copied directly from oil paintings by famous artists. In 1824 the Sèvres
Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...
porcelain factory began producing stained glass to supply the increasing demand.
In France many churches and cathedrals suffered despoliation during the French Revolution. During the 19th century a great number of churches were restored by Viollet-le-Duc. Many of France's finest ancient windows were restored at that time. From 1839 onwards much stained glass was produced that very closely imitated medieval glass, both in the artwork and in the nature of the glass itself. The pioneers were Henri Gèrente and André Lusson.[Gordon Campbell, ''The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts'', Oxford University Press, ]
Other glass was designed in a more Classical manner, and characterised by the brilliant cerulean colour of the blue backgrounds (as against the purple-blue of the glass of Chartres) and the use of pink and mauve glass.
File:Vitrail du 19ème siècle Reims 020208 03.jpg, Detail of a "Tree of Jesse" window in Reims Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...
designed in the 13th-century style by L. Steiheil and painted by Coffetier for Viollet-le-Duc (1861)
File:Thouars église St Médard (10).JPG, ''St Louis administering Justice'' by Lobin in the painterly style, Church of St Medard, Thouars
Thouars () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Mauzé-Thouarsais, Missé and Sainte-Radegonde were merged into Thouars.
It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known ...
(19th century)
File:Cassagnes vitrail 1.JPG, A brightly coloured window at Cassagnes-Bégonhès
Cassagnes-Bégonhès (; ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France.
Geography
The Céor flows southwest through the southern part of the commune and crosses the village.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Aveyron depar ...
, Aveyron
File:Vitrail Saint-Urbain Troyes 110208 05.jpg, West window from Saint-Urbain, Troyes ()
Revival in Germany, Austria and beyond
During the mid- to late 19th century, many of Germany's ancient buildings were restored, and some, such as Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
, were completed in the medieval style. There was a great demand for stained glass. The designs for many windows were based directly on the work of famous engravers such as Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...
. Original designs often imitate this style. Much 19th-century German glass has large sections of painted detail rather than outlines and details dependent on the lead. The Royal Bavarian Glass Painting Studio was founded by Ludwig I in 1827.[ A major firm was Mayer of Munich, which commenced glass production in 1860, and is still operating a]
''Franz Mayer of Munich, Inc.''
German stained glass found a market across Europe, in America and Australia. Stained glass studios were also founded in Italy and Belgium at this time.[
In the ]Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
and later Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, one of the leading stained glass artists was Carl Geyling, who founded his studio in 1841. His son would continue the tradition as Carl Geyling's Erben, which still exists today. Carl Geyling's Erben completed numerous stained-glass windows for major churches in Vienna and elsewhere, and received an imperial and royal warrant of appointment
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The royal warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the issuer of t ...
from emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
.
File:Cologne Cathedral window, interior view (1).jpg, One of five windows donated by Ludwig II of Bavaria
Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ...
to Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
(19th century)
File:Bruxels April 2012-11a.jpg, Three scenes of the ''Legend of the Sacrament of Miracle'', Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels, Belgium ()
File:Catherine of Sweden (1568) & pages c 1875.jpg, Queen Catherine of Sweden (1568) with two pages, Turku Cathedral
Turku Cathedral (, ) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Turku, Arch ...
, Finland ()
File:Stained glass in Saint Maurice churche, Olomouc.jpg, A window in the Late Gothic style, St Maurice's Church, Olomouc, Czech Republic (early 20th century)
Innovations in Britain and Europe
Among the most innovative English designers were the Pre-Raphaelites
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti ...
, William Morris
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
(1834–1898) and Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter.
Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...
(1833–1898), whose work heralds the influential Arts and Crafts Movement
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America.
Initiat ...
, which regenerated stained glass throughout the English-speaking world. Amongst its most important exponents in England was Christopher Whall (1849–1924), author of the classic craft manual 'Stained Glass Work' (published London and New York, 1905), who advocated the direct involvement of designers in the making of their windows. His masterpiece is the series of windows (1898–1910) in the Lady Chapel at Gloucester Cathedral. Whall taught at London's Royal College of Art and Central School of Arts and Crafts: his many pupils and followers included Karl Parsons, Mary Lowndes, Henry Payne, Caroline Townshend, Veronica Whall (his daughter) and Paul Woodroffe.[Peter Cormack, Arts & Crafts Stained Glass, Yale University Press, 2015] The Scottish artist Douglas Strachan (1875–1950), who was much influenced by Whall's example, developed the Arts & Crafts idiom in an expressionist manner, in which powerful imagery and meticulous technique are masterfully combined. In Ireland, a generation of young artists taught by Whall's pupil Alfred Child at Dublin's Metropolitan School of Art created a distinctive national school of stained glass: its leading representatives were Wilhelmina Geddes, Michael Healy and Harry Clarke.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
or Belle Époque
The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...
stained glass design flourished in France, and Eastern Europe, where it can be identified by the use of curving, sinuous lines in the lead, and swirling motifs. In France it is seen in the work of Francis Chigot of Limoges. In Britain it appears in the refined and formal leadlight designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macd ...
.
File:David's Charge to Solomon, by Burne-Jones and Morris, Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts.JPG, ''David's charge to Solomon'' shows the strongly linear design and use of flashed glass for which Burne-Jones' designs are famous. Trinity Church, Boston, US (1882)
File:Kraków - Church of St. Francis - Stained glass 01.jpg, ''God the Creator'' by Stanisław Wyspiański
Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artisti ...
, this window has no glass painting, but relies entirely on leadlines and skilful placement of colour and tone. Franciscan Church, Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Poland ()
File:Mucha window in St Vitus.JPG, Window by Alfons Mucha
Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, he was widely known for his distinctly stylized ...
, Saint Vitus Cathedral Prague, has a montage of images, rather than a tightly organised visual structure, creating an Expressionistic effect.
File:Aquarium de l'Ecole de Nancy 04 by Line1.jpg, Art Nouveau by Jacques Grüber, the glass harmonising with the curving architectural forms that surround it, Musée de l'École de Nancy
The Musée de l'École de Nancy is a museum devoted to the École de Nancy, an Art Nouveau movement founded in 1901 by Émile Gallé, Victor Prouvé, Louis Majorelle, Antonin Daum and Eugène Vallin in the city of Nancy in Lorraine, north- ...
(1904).
Innovations in the United States
J&R Lamb Studios
J&R Lamb Studios, America's oldest continuously-run decorative arts company, is famous as a stained glass maker, preceding the studios of both John LaFarge and Louis C. Tiffany. During the voyage, their father died, and a sympathetic Scottish cou ...
, established in 1857 in New York City, was the first major decorative arts studio in the United States and for many years a major producer of ecclesiastical stained glass.
Notable American practitioners include John La Farge
John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...
(1835–1910), who invented opalescent glass and for which he received a U.S. patent on 24 February 1880, and Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...
(1848–1933), who received several patents for variations of the same opalescent process in November of the same year and he used the copper foil method as an alternative to lead in some windows, lamps and other decorations. Sanford Bray of Boston patented the use of copper foil in stained glass in 1886, However, a reaction against the aesthetics and technique of opalescent windows - led initially by architects such as Ralph Adams Cram - led to a rediscovery of traditional stained glass in the early 1900s. Charles J. Connick (1875–1945), who founded his Boston studio in 1913, was profoundly influenced by his study of medieval stained glass in Europe and by the Arts & Crafts philosophy of Englishman Christopher Whall. Connick created hundreds of windows throughout the US, including major glazing schemes at Princeton University Chapel (1927–29) and at Pittsburgh's Heinz Memorial Chapel (1937–38). Other American artist-makers who espoused a medieval-inspired idiom included Nicola D'Ascenzo of Philadelphia, Wilbur Burnham and Reynolds, Francis & Rohnstock of Boston and Henry Wynd Young and J. Gordon Guthrie of New York.
File:Girl with Cherry Blossoms - Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, c. 1890.JPG, Many of the distinctive types of glass invented by Tiffany are demonstrated within this single small panel including " fracture-streamer glass" and " drapery glass".
File:John LaFarge, Angel of Help (North Easton, MA).JPG, ''The Angel of Help'', John La Farge
John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...
, North Easton, MA, shows the use of tiny panes contrasting with large areas of opalescent glass. Window restored by Victor Rothman Stained Glass, Yonkers NY.
File:Religion Enthroned 1900.jpg, ''Religion Enthroned'', J&R Lamb Studios
J&R Lamb Studios, America's oldest continuously-run decorative arts company, is famous as a stained glass maker, preceding the studios of both John LaFarge and Louis C. Tiffany. During the voyage, their father died, and a sympathetic Scottish cou ...
, designer Frederick Stymetz Lamb (). Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
. Symmetrical design, "Aesthetic Style", a limited palette and extensive use of mottled glass.
File:The Holy City.jpg, ''The Holy City'' by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1905). This 58-panel window has brilliant red, orange, and yellow etched glass for the sunrise, with textured glass used to create the effect of moving water.
File:Henry G. Marquand House Conservatory Stained Glass Window.jpg, A trompe l'oeil glass (), Eugène Stanislas Oudinot, design Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of architecture of the United States. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 ...
, for home of Henry Gurdon Marquand
Henry Gurdon Marquand (April 11, 1819 – February 26, 1902) was an American financier, philanthropist and art collector known for his extensive collection.
Early life
Marquand was born in New York City on April 11, 1819, not long after the dea ...
, New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
20th and 21st centuries
Many 19th-century firms failed early in the 20th century as the Gothic movement was superseded by newer styles. At the same time there were also some interesting developments where stained glass artists took studios in shared facilities. Examples include the Glass House in London, set up by Mary Lowndes and Alfred J. Drury and An Túr Gloine
An Túr Gloine (; Irish for "The Glass Tower") was a cooperative studio for stained glass and '' opus sectile'' artists from 1903 until 1944, based in Dublin, Ireland.
History
An Túr Gloine was conceived of in late 1901 and established Januar ...
in Dublin, which was run by Sarah Purser and included artists such as Harry Clarke
Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement.
His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...
.
A revival occurred in the middle of the century because of a desire to restore thousands of church windows throughout Europe destroyed as a result of World War II bombing. German artists led the way. Much work of the period is mundane and often was not made by its designers, but industrially produced.
Other artists sought to transform an ancient art form into a contemporary one, sometimes using traditional techniques while exploiting the medium of glass in innovative ways and in combination with different materials. The use of slab glass, a technique known as dalle de verre, where the glass is set in concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
or epoxy resin, was a 20th-century innovation credited to Jean Gaudin and brought to the UK by Pierre Fourmaintraux. One of the most prolific glass artists using this technique was the Benedictine monk
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...
Dom Charles Norris OSB of Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Congregation of Savigny, Savignac, later ...
.
Gemmail, a technique developed by the French artist Jean Crotti in 1936 and perfected in the 1950s, is a type of stained glass where adjacent pieces of glass are overlapped without using lead cames to join the pieces, allowing for greater diversity and subtlety of colour.
Many famous works by late 19th- and early 20th-century painters, notably Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
, have been reproduced in gemmail. A major exponent of this technique is the German artist Walter Womacka
Walter Womacka (22 December 1925 – 18 September 2010) was a German socialist realism, Socialist Realist artist. His work was pioneering early East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR) aesthetics.
Biography
Walter Womacka was born on ...
.
Among the early well-known 20th-century artists who experimented with stained glass as an Abstract art
Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
form were Theo van Doesburg
Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times.
Personal life
Theo van Do ...
and Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...
. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
painter Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
produced designs for many stained-glass windows that are intensely coloured and crammed with symbolic details. Important 20th-century stained glass artists include John Hayward, Douglas Strachan, Ervin Bossanyi, Louis Davis Louis Davis may refer to:
* Chip Davis (born 1947), born Louis F. Davis, American musician
* Louis Davis (architect) (1884–1962), American architect
* Louis Davis (painter) (1860–1941), British artist
See also
* Lou Davis (1881–1961), Americ ...
, Wilhelmina Geddes, Karl Parsons, John Piper, Patrick Reyntiens
Nicholas Patrick Reyntiens OBE (; 11 December 1925 – 25 October 2021) was a British stained-glass artist, described as "the leading practitioner of stained glass in this country."
Personal life
Reyntiens was born in December 1925 at 68 Cad ...
, Johannes Schreiter, Brian Clarke
Sir Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British Painting, painter, architectural artist, designer and Printmaking, printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations w ...
, Paul Woodroffe, Jean René Bazaine at Saint Séverin, Sergio de Castro at Couvrechef- La Folie (Caen
Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
), Hamburg-Dulsberg and Romont (Switzerland), and the Loire Studio of Gabriel Loire at Chartres
Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...
. The west windows of England's Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the c ...
, by Tony Hollaway
Antony Hollaway (8 March 1928 – 9 August 2000) was a British stained glass designer, craftsman and sculptor.
Biography
Hollaway was born and grew up in Dorset and educated there at Poole Grammar School and Bournemouth College of Art, followe ...
, are some of the most notable examples of symbolic work.
In Germany, stained glass development continued with the inter-war work of Johan Thorn Prikker and Josef Albers
Josef Albers ( , , ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born American artist and Visual arts education, educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westp ...
, and the post-war achievements of Georg Meistermann, Joachim Klos, Johannes Schreiter and Ludwig Schaffrath. This group of artists, who advanced the medium through the abandonment of figurative designs and painting on glass in favour of a mix of biomorphic and rigorously geometric abstraction, and the calligraphic non-functional use of leads,[Harrod, Tanya, ''The Crafts in Britain in the 20th Century'', Yale University Press (4 Feb 1999), , p. 452] are described as having produced "the first authentic school of stained glass since the Middle Ages". The works of Ludwig Schaffrath demonstrate the late 20th-century trends in the use of stained glass for architectural purposes, filling entire walls with coloured and textured glass. In the 1970s young British stained-glass artists such as Brian Clarke
Sir Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British Painting, painter, architectural artist, designer and Printmaking, printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations w ...
were influenced by the large scale and abstraction in German twentieth-century glass.
In the UK, the professional organisation for stained glass artists has been the British Society of Master Glass Painters, founded in 1921. Since 1924 the BSMGP has published an annual journal, The Journal of Stained Glass. It continues to be Britain's only organisation devoted exclusively to the art and craft of stained glass. From the outset, its chief objectives have been to promote and encourage high standards in stained glass painting and staining, to act as a locus for the exchange of information and ideas within the stained glass craft and to preserve the invaluable stained glass heritage of Britain. See www.bsmgp.org.uk for a range of stained glass lectures, conferences, tours, portfolios of recent stained glass commissions by members, and information on courses and the conservation of stained glass. Back issues of The Journal of Stained Glass are listed and there is a searchable index for stained glass articles, an invaluable resource for stained glass researchers.
After the First World War, stained-glass window memorials were a popular choice among wealthier families. Examples can be found in churches across the UK.
In the United States, there is a 100-year-old trade organization, The Stained Glass Association of America, whose purpose is to function as a publicly recognized organization to assure survival of the craft by offering guidelines, instruction and training to craftspersons. The SGAA also sees its role as defending and protecting its craft against regulations that might restrict its freedom as an architectural art form. The current president is Kathy Bernard. Today there are academic establishments that teach the traditional skills. One of these is Florida State University's Master Craftsman Program, which recently completed a high stained-glass windows, designed by Robert Bischoff, the program's director, and Jo Ann, his wife and installed to overlook Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium. The '' Roots of Knowledge'' installation at Utah Valley University
Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...
in Orem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Utah, Provo, Lindon, Utah, Lindon, and Vineyard, Utah, Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City.
Orem is one of the pri ...
is long and has been compared to those in several European cathedrals, including the Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
in Germany, Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
Construction b ...
in France, and York Minster
York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
in England. There are also contemporary stained glass artists in the US who are creating stained-glass windows based on grids, rather than recognizable images.
File:Theo van Doesburg - Composition with window with coloured glass III.JPG, De Stijl
De Stijl (, ; 'The Style') was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden (Theo van Doesburg, Jacobus Oud, J.J.P. Oud), Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár, Jan Wils) and Laren, North Holland, Laren (Piet Mo ...
abstraction by Theo van Doesburg
Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times.
Personal life
Theo van Do ...
, Netherlands (1917)
File:Tudeley church window.jpg, Expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
window by Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
, at All Saints' Church, Tudeley
Tudeley is a village in the civil parish of Capel, in the Tunbridge Wells borough of Kent, England.
The village is home to All Saints' Church, the only church in the world that has all its windows in stained glass designed by Marc Chagall. Th ...
, Kent, UK
File:Vitro_buckfast.jpg, ''Christ of the Eucharist'', slab glass designed by Dom Charles Norris from Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Congregation of Savigny, Savignac, later ...
, Devon, UK
File:Sergio de Castro, vitrail de Jonas.jpg, Abstract, detail of Jonah
Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...
window by Sergio de Castro for the Collegiate of Romont, Switzerland
File:Christinae kyrka tree of life01.jpg, Postmodernist symbolism, ''Tree of Life'' at Christinae Church, Alingsås
Alingsås () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Alingsås Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet Säv ...
, Sweden
File:Grossmünster - Innenansicht IMG 6434 ShiftN.jpg, Thin slices of agate
Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...
set into lead and glass by Sigmar Polke, Grossmünster
The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation ...
, Zürich, Switzerland (2009)
Combining ancient and modern traditions
Meistratzheim StAndré 60.JPG, ''Madonna and Child'' by Joseph Ehrismann, late 1910s. (Église Saint-André, Meistratzheim). Combines a traditional representation in a mandorla
A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in tra ...
with an Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style celestial background.
File:Derby DRI stained glass window at St Peters squared.JPG, Mid-20th-century window showing a continuation of ancient and 19th-century methods applied to a modern historical subject. Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...
window at St Peters, Derby, made for the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary
File:Ins Kirchenfenster.jpg, Figurative design using the lead lines and minimal glass paint in the 13th-century manner combined with the texture of Cathedral glass
Cathedral glass is the name given commercially to monochromatic sheet glass. It is thin by comparison with 'slab glass', may be coloured, and is textured on one side. The name draws from the fact that windows of stained glass were a feature of me ...
, Ins, Switzerland
File:St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Hill, London EC4 - Window - geograph.org.uk - 1085224.jpg, ''St Michael and the Devil'' at the church of St Michael Paternoster Row, by English artist John Hayward combines traditional methods with a distinctive use of shard-like sections of glass.
File:Vitral Templo Maipu.JPG, The principal window of the Temple of Maipú, Chile, depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ Child, by Adolfo Winternitz, showing the traditional use of blue as the predominant colour, emphasising an association with Heaven
Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
and creating an ambience in the interior.
Buildings incorporating stained-glass windows
Churches
stained-glass windows were commonly used in churches for decorative and informative purposes. Many windows are donated to churches by members of the congregation as memorials of loved ones. For more on the use of stained glass to depict religious subjects, see Poor Man's Bible
The term ''Poor Man's Bible'' has come into use in the modern era to describe works of art within churches and cathedrals which either individually or collectively have been created to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for a largely illiterat ...
.
* Important examples
** Cathedral of Chartres, in France, 11th to 13th-century glass
**Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
, in England, 12th to 15th century plus 19th- and 20th-century glass
**York Minster
York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
, in England, 11th to 15th-century glass
**Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
Construction b ...
, in Paris, 13th and 14th-century glass
**Bourges Cathedral
Bourges Cathedral ( French: ''Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges'') is a Roman Catholic church located in Bourges, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen and is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges. Built atop an earlier Romanesq ...
in France, 13th to 16th-century glass
**Florence Cathedral
Florence Cathedral (), formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower ( ), is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Florence in Florence, Italy. Commenced in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed b ...
, Italy, 15th-century glass designed by Uccello, Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
and Ghiberti
** Janskerk (Gouda), The Netherlands, date from 1555 to the early 1600s; the earliest is the work of Dirck Crabeth and his brother Wouter
Wouter is a Dutch language, Dutch masculine Dutch given name, given name popular in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is the Dutch equivalent of the English name Walter (name), Walter and French name :fr:Gauthier, Gauthier, both of Germanic languages ...
.
** St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, Australia, early complete cycle of 19th-century glass, Hardman of Birmingham.
**Fribourg Cathedral
Fribourg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Fribourg, Switzerland, built in the Gothic architecture, Gothic style, on a rocky outcrop 50 metres above the river Saane/Sarine, Sarine (Saane), dominating the medieval town below. It is the ...
, Switzerland, complete cycle of glass 1896–1936, by Józef Mehoffer
Józef Mehoffer (19 March 1869 – 8 July 1946) was a Polish painter and decorative artist, one of the leading artists of the Young Poland movement and one of the most revered Polish artists of his time.
Life
Mehoffer was born in Ropczyce ...
**Coventry Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...
, England, mid-20th-century glass by various designers, the large baptistry window being by John Piper
** Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church, extensive collection of windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...
Synagogues
In addition to Christian churches, stained-glass windows have been incorporated into Jewish temple architecture for centuries. Jewish communities in the United States saw this emergence in the mid-19th century, with such notable examples as the sanctuary depiction of the Ten Commandments in New York's Congregation Anshi Chesed. From the mid-20th century to the present, stained-glass windows have been a ubiquitous feature of American synagogue architecture. Styles and themes for synagogue stained glass artwork are as diverse as their church counterparts. As with churches, synagogue stained-glass windows are often dedicated by member families in exchange for major financial contributions to the institution.
Places of worship
File:Sainte-Chapelle Choeur.JPG, The dazzling display of medieval glass at Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
Construction b ...
, Paris
File:Nasir-al molk -1.jpg, Sunlight shining through stained glass onto coloured carpet of Nasir ol Molk Mosque
File:New Synagogue Darmstadt.jpg, The stained-glass windows and dome flanking the Torah ark
A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls.
History
The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...
of the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue, Darmstadt, designed by artist Brian Clarke
Sir Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British Painting, painter, architectural artist, designer and Printmaking, printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations w ...
File:Vitraž Svetog Save, Srpska pravoslavna crkva Svetog Vaznesenja Gospodnjeg u Subotici.jpg, The Stained Glass of Saint Sava, Serbian Orthodox Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Subotica
Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...
File:DSC04484 Istanbul - Sultan Ahmet camii (Moschea blu) - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006.jpg, Interior of the Blue Mosque, Istanbul.
File:Muslims praying in mosque in Srinagar, Kashmir.jpg, stained-glass windows in the Mosque of Srinagar, Kashmir
File:St. Jan te Gouda 2.jpg, Sint Janskerk in Gouda, South Holland
Gouda () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province , city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands , municipality in the west of the Netherlands, between Rotterdam and Utrecht (city), Utrecht, in the Provinces of the Netherland ...
, The Netherlands
File:St Andrews Sydney 07 across the nave c.jpg, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney has a cycle of 19th-century windows by Hardman of Birmingham
File:Brasília_-_Dom_Bosco_-_jan._2023_(21).jpg, Stained glass windows with 12 tonalities of blue, in the Santuário Dom Bosco (John Bosco
John Melchior Bosco, Salesians of Don Bosco, SDB (; ; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco or Dom Bosco (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer. While working in Tu ...
), a modernist
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
catholic church in Brasília
Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...
File:Savannah cathedral 2015 17 046.jpg, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
File:Stained Glass Windows - Coventry Cathedral.jpg, Coventry Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...
England, has a series of windows by different designers (Depicted: The Swedish Windows by Einar Forseth
Carl Einar Andreas Forseth (1892–1988) was a Swedish artist, remembered above all for his mosaics in the Golden Hall (Stockholm City Hall), Golden Hall in Stockholm City Hall completed in 1923.
Early life
Born in Linköping, Forseth was the son ...
, 1961)
File:Temple Ohev Sholom Stained Glass, Ascalon Studios, David Ascalon.jpg, Late 20th-century stained glass from Temple Ohev Sholom, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania by Ascalon Studios.
Mausolea
Mausolea, whether for general community use or for private family use, may employ stained glass as a comforting entry for natural light, for memorialization, or for display of religious imagery.
File:LA Cathedral Mausoleum.jpg, Stained glass in the crypt Mausoleum of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Los Angeles)
File:Stained glass commemorating the war dead, Community Mausoleum of All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.jpg, Commemoration of War Dead, Community Mausoleum of All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois
File:Chapel stained glass, All Saints Cemetery Community Mausoleum, Des Plaines, Illinois, USA.jpg, Chapel stained glass showing the Resurrection of Jesus
The resurrection of Jesus () is Christianity, Christian belief that God in Christianity, God Resurrection, raised Jesus in Christianity, Jesus from the dead on the third day after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion, starting—or Preexis ...
, All Saints Cemetery Community Mausoleum, Des Plaines, Illinois
File:2014-08-25-Homewood-Cemetery-Benedum-04.jpg, Stained-glass window in the Benedum mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Houses
Stained glass windows in houses were particularly popular in the Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
and many domestic examples survive from this time. In their simplest form they typically depict birds and flowers in small panels, often surrounded with machine-made ''cathedral glass
Cathedral glass is the name given commercially to monochromatic sheet glass. It is thin by comparison with 'slab glass', may be coloured, and is textured on one side. The name draws from the fact that windows of stained glass were a feature of me ...
'' which, despite what the name suggests, is pale-coloured and textured. Many houses of the 19th and early 20th centuries feature original leadlight windows, another popular form of window glass in domestic settings.
* Prairie style homes
* The houses of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
File:Shaki khan palace 1.jpg, Shabaka
Neferkare Shabaka, or Shabako ( Meroitic: 𐦰𐦲𐦡𐦐𐦲 (sha-ba-ka), Egyptian: 𓆷𓃞𓂓 ''šꜣ bꜣ kꜣ'', Assyrian: ''Ša-ba-ku-u'', Šabakû ) was the third Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned fr ...
(stained glass set into a wooden lattice) at the Palace of Shaki Khans
The Palace of Shaki Khans () in Shaki, northwestern Azerbaijan, is a historic monument that once served as the summer residence of the Shaki khans. It was constructed in 1797 under the rule of Muhammad Husayn Khan Mushtaq. The palace is renow ...
(18th century CE)
File:Interieur, overzicht van glas in loodraam, trapbordes, van de Haarlemse glazenier Bogtman, een jachttafereel voorstellende - Steenwijk - 20389213 - RCE.jpg, Domestic stained glass of a hunting scene by Willem Bogtman of Haarlem (1882–1955), Netherlands
File:Corning Museum of Glass - 20220312 - 42 - Stained-glass window with landscape scene from Rochroane Castle, Irvington-on-Hudson, New York (Louis C. Tiffany, 1905).jpg, Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1929–1930 at the Tiffany Studios in New York City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll, Agnes F. Northr ...
window from Rochroane Castle (1905), now in the Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated, Corning Glass Works and currently has a ...
File:Internal stained glass screen.jpg, A dividing screen in a household of musicians, by Jeffrey Hamilton, (2021), Sydney, Australia. (permission of JHamilton)
Public and commercial buildings
Stained glass has often been used as a decorative element in public buildings, initially in places of learning, government or justice but increasingly in other public and commercial places such as banks, retailers and railway stations. Public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
s in some countries make extensive use of stained glass and leaded lights to create a comfortable atmosphere and retain privacy.
File:Skylight and ceiling at Palau de la música catalana.jpg, Stained glass skylight at Palau de la música catalana
Palau de la Música Catalana (, ) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan ''modernisme, modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for Orfeó Català, a ...
in Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Spain
File:Liberec, radnice 03.jpg, Stained glass in the Town Hall, Liberec
Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...
, Czech Republic
File:Real Gabinete Português de Leitura 03.jpg, Stained glass dome in the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
File:Vitral da Lei no Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil de Belo Horizonte.jpg, stained-glass window in the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
, Brazil
File:HungarianroomWindows.jpg, Windows of the Hungarian Room, University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
File:Federalpalace-dome.jpg, The Federal Palace, Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
File:Montreal-Metro,_Champ-de-Mars-20050329.jpg, Abstract design by Marcelle Ferron at a Metro station in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada
File:Ardon Windows JNUL.jpg, Windows by Mordecai Ardon at the former National Library of Israel
The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...
building, Givat Ram campus, Jerusalem
File:Victoria Quarter Leeds modern abstract stained glass canopy by Brian Clarke,1990.jpg, The abstract stained glass ceiling of the Victoria Quarter, Leeds (1990) by Brian Clarke
Sir Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British Painting, painter, architectural artist, designer and Printmaking, printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations w ...
, which spans the 400 foot length of the street to form a covered arcade
Sculpture
File:Leonard French La Trobe 05.jpg, ''The Four Seasons'' (1978) by Leonard French at La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...
Sculpture Park in Melbourne. Australia
File:Sculpture en verre.jpg, Fused glass sculpture (2012) by Glass Sculpture in Paris. France
File:ARCHIGLASS Tomasz Urbanowicz Artistic-glass-exhibition-glasshenge-wroclaw-airport-poland.jpg, Contemporary Free-standing Glasshenge series (2013/2014) by Tomasz Urbanowicz at Wrocław Airport, Poland
See also
* Architectural glass
Architectural glass is glass that is used as a building material. It is most typically used as transparent glazing material in the building envelope, including windows in the external walls. Glass is also used for internal partitions and as an a ...
* Architecture of cathedrals and great churches
Cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monastic churches like those of abbeys and priories, often have certain complex structural forms that are found less often in parish churches. They also tend to display a higher level of contemporary a ...
* Art Nouveau glass
* Autonomous stained glass
* Beveled glass
* British and Irish stained glass (1811–1918)
* English Gothic stained glass windows
English Gothic stained glass windows were an important feature of English Gothic architecture, which appeared between the late 12th and late 16th centuries. They evolved from narrow windows filled with a mosaic of deeply-coloured pieces of glass ...
* French Gothic stained glass windows
* Float glass
Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal of a low melting point, typically tin, although lead was used for the process in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and a very flat surfa ...
* Glass beadmaking
Glass bead making has long traditions, with the oldest known beads dating over 3,000 years. People have been making beads out of glass since at least Ancient Roman times. Perhaps the earliest glass-like beads were Egyptian faience beads, a for ...
* List of stained glass windows in the Janskerk, Gouda
* Sagrada (board game)
* Stained glass conservation
* Studio glass
Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional work of art, artworks in the fine arts. The glass objects created are typically intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement, rathe ...
* Suncatcher
A suncatcher or light catcher is a small reflective, refractive, and/or iridescent ornament. It may include glass or nacre pieces and be hung indoors near a window to "catch" sunlight.
A suncatcher is like the optical equivalent of a wind ...
* Venetian glass
Venetian glass () is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Traditionally it is made with a soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techniques, as well as ...
* Window
A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent ma ...
References
*"Historic England" = ''Practical Building Conservation: Glass and glazing'', by Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
, 2011, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., , 9780754645573
google books
Further reading
* Theophilus
Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (''theós'', "God") and φιλία (''philía'', "love or affection") can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend ...
(ca 1100). ''On Divers Arts'', translated from Latin by John G. Hawthorne and Cyril Stanley Smith, Dover,
* Martin Harrison, ''Victorian Stained Glass'', Barrie & Jenkins, 1980
* ''The Journal of Stained Glass'', Burne-Jones Special Issue, Vol. XXXV, 2011
* ''The Journal of Stained Glass'', Scotland Issue, Vol. XXX, 2006
* ''The Journal of Stained Glass'', Special Issue, The Stained Glass Collection of Sir John Soane's Museum, Vol. XXVII, 2003
* The Journal of Stained Glass, America Issue, Vol. XXVIII, 2004
* Brian Clarke
Sir Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British Painting, painter, architectural artist, designer and Printmaking, printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations w ...
(editor) ''Architectural Stained Glass'' (1979). Johannes Schreiter, Martin Harrison, Ludwig Schaffrath, John Piper, and Patrick Reyntiens. Architectural Record Books. London: McGraw-Hill Education, 1979
* Peter Cormack, 'Arts & Crafts Stained Glass', Yale University Press, 2015
* Caroline Swash, 'The 100 Best Stained Glass Sites in London', Malvern Arts Press, 2015
* Nicola Gordon Bowe, 'Wilhelmina Geddes, Life and Work', Four Courts Press
* Lucy Costigan and Michael Cullen (2010). ''Strangest Genius: The Stained Glass of Harry Clarke'', The History Press, Dublin,
* Elizabeth Morris (1993). ''Stained and Decorative Glass'', Tiger Books,
* Sarah Brown (1994). ''Stained Glass- an Illustrated History'', Bracken Books,
* Painton Cowen (1985). ''A Guide to Stained Glass in Britain'', Michael Joseph,
* Husband, TB (2000). ''The Luminous Image: Painted Glass Roundels in the Lowlands, 1480-1560'', Metropolitan Museum of Art
* Lawrence Lee, George Seddon, and Francis Stephens (1976). ''Stained Glass'', Mitchell Beazley,
* Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins FLSW (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992.
Jenkins chaired the National Trust f ...
(2000). ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', Penguin,
* Robert Eberhard
Database: ''Church Stained Glass Windows''
.
* Cliff and Monica Robinson.
Database: ''Buckinghamshire Stained Glass''
.
* Stained Glass Association of America
.
* Robert Kehlmann (1992). ''20th Century Stained Glass: A New Definition'', Kyoto Shoin Co., Ltd., Kyoto,
* Kisky, Hans (1959). ''100 Jahre Rheinische Glasmalerei'', Neuss : Verl. Gesellschaft für Buchdruckerei OCLC 632380232
* Robert Sowers (1954). ''The Lost Art'', George Wittenborn Inc., New York, OCLC 1269795
* Robert Sowers (1965). ''Stained Glass: An Architectural Art'', Universe Books, Inc., New York, OCLC 21650951
* Robert Sowers (1981). ''The Language of Stained Glass'', Timber Press, Forest Grove, Oregon,
*
*
* Conrad Rudolph (2011). 'Inventing the Exegetical Stained-Glass Window: Suger, Hugh, and a New Elite Art', ''Art Bulletin'', 93, 399–422
* Conrad Rudolph (2015). 'The Parabolic Discourse Window and the Canterbury Roll: Social Change and the Assertion of Elite Status at Canterbury Cathedral', ''Oxford Art Journal'', 38, 1–19
External links
BSMGP , The home of British Stained Glass
SGAA Sourcebook Find a Studio – The Stained Glass Association of America
Church stained-glass window Database recorded by Robert Eberhard
, covering ≈ 2800 churches in the southeast of England
Institute for Stained Glass in Canada
, over 10,000 photos; a multi-year photographic survey of Canada's stained glass from many countries; 1856 to present
The Stained Glass Museum
(Ely, England)
Vitromusée Romont
(Romont (FR), Switzerland)
Stained glass workshops
(UK)
Stained glass guide
(UK)
*
Gloine – Stained glass in the Church of Ireland
Research carried out by David Lawrence on behalf of the Representative Church Body of the Church of Ireland, partially funded by the Heritage Council
Stained-glass windows by Sergio de Castro in France, Germany and Switzerland
{{Authority control
Glass architecture
Glass production
History of glass
Windows
Decorative arts