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Stained glass

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Art

   A large Perpendicular style Gothic window of eight lights in Canterbury
   Cathedral, c. 1400, which contains medieval glass.
   A large Perpendicular style Gothic window of eight lights in Canterbury
   Cathedral, c. 1400, which contains medieval glass.

   The term stained glass refers either to the material of coloured glass
   or to the art and craft of working with it.

   As a material the term generally refers to glass that has been coloured
   by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The coloured glass is
   crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are
   arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by
   strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame.

   Painted details and yellow stain are often used to enhance the design.
   The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which all the
   colours have been painted onto the glass and then annealed in a
   furnace.

   Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to
   conceive the design, and the engineering skills necessary to assemble
   the decorative piece, traditionally a window, so that it is capable of
   supporting its own weight and surviving the elements.

   Although usually set into windows, the purpose of stained glass is not
   to allow those within a building to see out 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 non-figurative or figurative. It may
   incorporate narratives drawn from the Bible, history or literature, or
   represent saints or patrons. It may have 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.

Manufacture

Glass production

   From the 10th or 11th century, when stained glass began to flourish as
   an art, glass factories were set up where there was a ready supply of
   silica, the essential product of glass manufacture. Glass was usually
   coloured by adding metallic oxides to the glass while in a molten state
   in a clay pot over a furnace. Glass coloured in this way was known as
   pot metal. Copper oxides were added to produce green, cobalt for blue,
   and gold was added to produce red glass.

   Cylinder glass This glass was then collected from the pot into a molten
   globule and blown, being continually manipulated until it formed a
   large cylindrical bottle shape of even diameter and wall-thickness. It
   was then cut open, laid flat and annealed to make it stable. This is
   the type of glass most commonly used for ancient stained glass windows.

   Crown glass This glass was partly blown into a hollow vessel, then put
   onto a revolving table which could be rapidly spun like a potter's
   wheel. The centrifugal force caused the molten material to flattened
   and spread outwards. It could then be cut into small sheets. This glass
   could be made coloured and used for stained glass windows, but is
   typically associated with small paned windows of 16th and 17th century
   houses. The concentric, curving ripples are characteristic of this
   process. The centre of each piece of glass received less force during
   the spinning, and thus produced was a thicker piece. These were
   sometimes used for the special effect created by their lumpy,
   refractive quality. They are known as bull's eyes and are feature of
   late 19th century domestic lead lighting and are sometimes used with
   cathedral glass or quarry glass in church windows of that date.

   Table glass This glass was produced by tipping the molten glass onto a
   metal table and sometimes rolling it. The glass thus produced was
   heavily textured by the reaction of the glass with the cold metal.
   Glass of this appearance is commercially produced and widely used
   today, under the name of cathedral glass, although it was not the type
   of glass favoured for stained glass in ancient cathedrals. It has been
   much used for lead lighting in churches in the 20th century.

   Flashed glass Red pot metal glass was often undesirably dark in colour
   and prohibitively expensive. The method developed to produce red glass
   was called flashing. In this procedure, a semi-molten cylinder of
   colourless glass was dipped into a pot of red glass so that the red
   glass formed a thin coating. The laminated glass thus formed was cut,
   flattened and heat annealed.

   There were a number of advantages to this technique. It allowed a
   variety in the depth of red, ranging from very dark and almost opaque,
   through ruby red to pale and sometimes streaky red that was often used
   for thin border pieces. The other advantage was that the red of
   double-layered glass could be engraved or abraded to show colourless
   glass underneath. In the late Medieval glass this method was often
   employed to add rich patterns to the robes of Saints. The other
   advantage, much exploited by late Victorian and early 20th century
   artists, was that sheets could be flashed in which the depth of colour
   varied across the sheet. Some stained glass studios, notably Lavers and
   Barraud, made extensive use of large segments of irregularly flashed
   glass in robes and draperies.

   There still exist a number of glass factories, notably in Germany, USA,
   England, France, Poland and Russia which continue to produce high
   quality glass by traditional methods primarily for the restoration of
   ancient windows. Modern stained glass windows often use machine made
   glass, slab glass, which as its name suggests is very thick, and
   so-called cathedral glass which is sometimes heavily textured.

Creating stained glass windows

     * The first stage in the production of a window was to make, or
       acquire from the architect or owners of the building, an accurate
       template of the window opening that the glass was to fit.

     * The subject matter of the window was determined to suit the
       location, a particular theme, or the whim of the patron. A small
       design called a Vidimus was prepared which could be shown to the
       patron.

     * A narrative window would have glass panels which related a story. A
       figurative window would have rows of saints. Certain scriptural
       texts would sometimes be included and perhaps the names of the
       patrons or the person as whose memorial the window was dedicated.
       It was usually at the discretion of the designer to fill the
       surrounding areas with borders, floral motifs and canopies.

     * A full sized cartoon was drawn for every "light" (opening) of the
       window. A small window might typically be of two lights, with some
       simple tracery lights above. A large window might have four or five
       lights. The east or west window of a large cathedral might have
       seven lights in three tiers with elaborate tracery. In Medieval
       times the cartoon was drawn straight onto a whitewashed table,
       which was then used for cutting, painting and assembling the
       window.

     * The designer would take into account the design, the structure of
       the window, the nature and size of the glass available and his own
       preferred technique. The cartoon would then be divided into a
       patchwork as a template for each small glass piece. The exact
       position of the lead which held the glass in place was part of the
       calculated visual effect.

     * Each piece of glass was selected for the desired colour and cut to
       match a section of the template. An exact fit was ensured by
       grozing the edges with a tool which could nibble off small pieces.

     * Details of faces, hair and hands were painted onto the inner
       surface of the glass in a special glass paint which contained
       finely ground lead or copper filings, ground glass, gum arabic and
       a medium such as wine, vinegar or urine. The art of painting
       details became increasingly elaborate and reached its height in the
       early 20th century.

     * Once the window was cut and painted, the pieces were assembled by
       slotting them into H-sectioned lead cames. The joints were then all
       soldered together and the glass pieces were stopped from rattling
       and the window made weatherproof by forcing a soft oily cement or
       mastic between the glass and the cames.

     * When the windows were inserted into the window spaces, iron rods
       were put across at various points, to support the weight of the
       window, which was tied to the rods by copper wire. 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.

     * From 1300 onwards, artists started using silver stain which was
       made with silver nitrate. 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 for green grass.

     * By about 1450 a stain known as Cousin's rose was used to enhance
       flesh tones.

     * In the 1500s a range of glass stains were introduced, most of them
       coloured by ground glass particles. They were a form of enamel.
       Painting on glass with these stains was initially used for small
       heraldic designs and other details. By the 1600s 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
       annealed to the glass and the pieces were assembled into metal
       frames.

     * In modern windows, copper foil is now sometimes used instead of
       lead. For further technical details, see Lead came and copper foil
       glasswork.

Technical details

   Large late 12th-c. window in Canterbury Cathedral with recently
   restored early 13th-c. glass showing details of metal supporting frame

   Detail of same window from Canterbury Cathedral, 13th c., showing
   Thomas Becket

   Window in Canterbury Cathedral showing the pot metal and painted glass,
   lead H-sectioned cames, modern steel rods and copper wire attachments

   European panel, 1564, with typical painted details, extensive silver
   stain, Cousin's rose on the face, and flashed ruby glass with abraded
   white motif

History

Origins

   Coloured glass has been produced since ancient times. Both the
   Egyptians and the Romans excelled at the manufacture of small coloured
   glass objects. The British Museum holds two of the finest Roman pieces,
   the Lycurgus Cup, which is a murky mustard colour but glows purple-red
   to transmitted light, and the Portland vase 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 set into wooden frames, giving a stained-glass
   like effect. Similar effects were achieved with greater elaboration
   using coloured glass rather than stone by Muslim designers in Western
   Asia.

   A perfume flask from 100 BCE-200 CE

   The Portland Vase, a rare example of Roman flashed glass

   Alabaster window from St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, 16th c.

   Stained glass in the Nasir al-Mulk mosque in Shiraz, Iran

Medieval glass

   Stained glass, as an art form, reached its height in the Middle Ages.
   In the Romanesque and Early Gothic period, from about 950 CE to 1240
   CE, 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 and at the eastern end of Canterbury Cathedral. As
   Gothic architecture 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. The
   elaboration of form reached its height of complexity in the Flamboyant
   style in Europe and windows grew still larger with the development of
   the Perpendicular style in England.

   Integrated with the lofty verticals of Gothic cathedrals and parish
   churches, the glass designs became more daring. The circular form, or
   rose window developed in France from relatively simple windows with
   pierced openings through slabs of thin stone to wheel windows, as
   exemplified by that in 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 Saint-Chapelle,
   Paris and the Bishop's Eye, Lincoln.

   Daniel from Augsburg Cathedral, early 12th c. One of the oldest
   examples in situ.

   Windows from Chartres Cathedral, 13th c.

   West window of Lincoln Cathedral, 13th c.

   The rose window from Sainte-Chapelle, 15th c.

Destruction and continuation

   At the Reformation, in England large numbers of these windows were
   smashed and replaced with plain glass. The Dissolution of the
   Monasteries under Henry VIII and the injunctions of Oliver Cromwell
   against 'abused images' (the object of veneration) resulted in the loss
   of thousands of windows. Few remain undamaged; of them the windows in
   the private chapel at Hengrave Hall in Suffolk are among the finest.
   With the latter wave of destruction the traditional methods of working
   with stained glass died and were not to be rediscovered in England
   until the early 19th century. For more details

   In Europe, however, stained glass continued to be produced in the
   Classical style widely represented in Germany, despite the rise of
   Protestantism in Belgium, in France, particularly at the Limoges
   factory, and at Murano, in Italy, where stained glass and faceted lead
   crystal are often coupled together in the same window. Ultimately, in
   France the French Revolution brought about the neglect or destruction
   of many windows.

   Post-Reformation window in Speyer Cathedral, Germany

   Les Andelys, Normandy, 16th century

   Ghent Cathedral, Belgium, 16th century

   Cologne Cathedral, window using painterly technique

Revival

   The Catholic revival in England, gaining force in the early 19th
   century, with its renewed interest in the mediaeval church brought a
   revival of church building in the Gothic style, claimed by John Ruskin
   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.

   Hardman of Birmingham

   Because of the technical requirements, stained glass making was
   generally on an industrial scale. Firms such as Hardman & Co. of
   Birmingham and Clayton and Bell of London employed artists who were
   never known outside their particular trade but who filled English
   churches with their glass. Initially most of Hardman's designs were by
   A.W.N. Pugin and were installed in buildings of which he was the
   architect, but on his death in 1852, his nephew John Hardman Powell
   (1828-1895) took over. A keen Catholic, Powell's work appealed to
   Anglo-Catholic tastes but he also had a commercial eye and exhibited
   his works at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1873. After that the firm
   did a good deal of work in the United States of America.

   Famous manufacturers of the mid-19th century

   St. Andrew's, Sydney, Hardman of Birmingham, 1861-67, typical in its
   elegance, the skillful arrangement of figures and the narrational
   quality.

   Peterborough Cathedral, Morris & Co. The asymmetry, the tertiary
   colours and idiosyncratic designs are typically William Morris.

   St Mary's Chilham, William Wailes. This window has the bright pastel
   colour, wealth of inventive ornament and stereotypical gestures of
   windows by this firm.

   Peterborough Cathedral, Clayton and Bell. A magnificent narrative
   window with elegant forms and colour which is both brilliant and subtle
   in its combinations.

   William Morris

   Among the foremost designers were the Pre-Raphaelites, William Morris
   (1834-1898) and Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898). While Burne-Jones was
   best known as a painter, William Morris's studios created designs for
   architectural and interior decorating of many sorts including
   paintings, furniture, tiles and textiles. As part of Morris's
   enterprise, he set up his own glass works, producing glass to his own
   and Burne-Jones designs.

   Clayton and Bell, and Kempe

   Clayton and Bell's output was considerable and it was said that most
   English churches had one of their windows and many had nothing else.
   Among their designers was Charles Eamer Kempe (1837–1907) who set up
   his own workshop in 1869. His designs were lighter than that of his
   former employers: it was he who designed all the windows for the chapel
   of Selwyn College, Cambridge. He is credited with having produced over
   3,000 windows. His cousin Walter Tower took over the business — adding
   a Tower to the Wheatsheaf emblem used by Kempe — and which continued
   until 1934.

   Gallery of 19th and early 20th century windows, displaying four very
   different styles.

   Alexander Gibbs' work is typified by the gentle-faced figures in gaudy
   clothes of somewhat discordant colour, with a wealth of ornate and
   colourful detail.

   Heaton, Butler and Bayne window, showing this firm's liking for
   tertiary colours, large areas of flashed glass and solid, naturalistic
   figures.

   Burlison and Grylls window. The pale elaborate canopies, detailed
   paintwork, dark robes and magnificent leading-up are characteristic.

   This 1918 panel epitomises the Edwardian obsession with technical
   virtuosity, displaying red and purple flashing, elaborate brocade,
   yellow stain and accomplished draughtsmanship.

   Ward and Hughes, William Wailes

   Another important firm was Ward and Hughes which, though it had begun
   by following the Gothic style changed direction in the 1870s towards a
   style influenced by the Aesthetic Movement. The firm remained
   operational until the late 1920s. Yet another was William Wailes
   (1808-1881) whose firm produced the West window of Gloucester
   cathedral. Wailes himself was a business man, not a designer but used
   designers such as Joseph Baguley (1834-1915) who eventually set up his
   own firm.

   Tiffany and La Farge

   Notable American practitioners include John La Farge (1835-1910) who
   invented opalescent glass and for which he received a US patent
   February 24, 1880, and Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), who received
   several patents for variations of the same opalescent process in
   November of the same year and is believed to have invented the copper
   foil method as an alternative to lead, and used it extensively in
   windows, lamps and other decorations.

   Window by Tiffany with distinctive opalescent glass, asymmetric design
   and casual combination of flashed, painted and pot metal glass within
   the formal framework of supporting bars

   St. Walburge, Lorraine designer Gabriel Loire, mid-20th c., combines
   traditional pot metal and leading with modern design, achieving an
   overall appearance that acknowledges the Medieval origins.

   The Good Shepherd window at Port Sunlight, 1949. A migrant from
   Hungary, Ervin Bossanyi became famous for two large windows in
   Canterbury Cathedral.

   Late 20th-c. window in the crypt of the Abbey of St Denis. The skilful
   adaptation of ancient tradition and modern style in a World Heritage
   Site. Fair use image

Twentieth century

   Many the 19th century firms failed in the twentieth century. The Gothic
   movement had been superseded by newer styles. A revival occurred
   because of the desire to restore the thousands of church windows
   throughout Europe, destroyed as a result of bombing during the World
   War II. German artists led the way. Notable artists include Ervin
   Bossanyi, Ludwig Schaffrath, Johannes Shreiter, Douglas Strachan and
   many others who transformed an ancient art form into a contemporary art
   form.

   Thus while there is a deal of often mundane representational work, much
   of which is not made by its designers but industrially produced, there
   have been notable examples of symbolic work of which the west windows
   of Manchester cathedral in England by Tony Hollaway are some of the
   finest.

   In France one may retain the work of Jean René Bazaine at Saint
   Séverin.

   Today there are a few academic establishments that teach the
   traditional skills. One of those establishments is Florida State
   University's Master Craftsman Program who recently completed the
   world's largest secular stained-glass windows installed in Bobby Bowden
   Field at Doak Campbell Stadium. More info at Master Craftsman Program

   St Joseph church, Le Havre, Normandy

   Buckfast Abbey, Devon, England. 8 metres (26 ft) wide. Designed by the
   monks. 20th C.

   Franciscan Church, Kraków, designer Stanisław Wyspiański

   Secular glass, Montreal metro, Canada, by Marcelle Ferron

Buildings incorporating stained glass windows

   Churches and Cathedrals

   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 information on
   the use of stained glass to depict religious subjects, see Poor Man's
   Bible
     * Churches
     * Cathedrals
     * Chapels

     * Important examples
          + Sainte-Chapelle, in Paris, France
          + Cathedral of Chartres, in Chartres, France
          + Canterbury Cathedral, in England

   Houses

   Stained glass windows in houses were particularly popular in Victorian
   era and many domestic examples survive. In their simplest form they
   typically depict birds and flowers in small panels, often surrounded
   with machine-made cathedral glass, which, despite what the name
   suggests, is pale-coloured and textured. Some large homes have splendid
   examples of secular pictorial glass.
     * See
          + Art glass
          + Beveled glass
          + Cathedral glass

     * Prairie style homes
     * The houses of Frank Lloyd Wright
     * Stained glass lamp / Lampshades
     * Tiffany lamp

   Public and commercial use of stained glass

   Town halls and other public buildings often incorporate stained glass
   or leadlighting.
     * Public houses — In Britain, traditional pubs make extensive use of
       stained glass and leaded lights to create a comfortable atmosphere
       and retain privacy.
     * Sculpture

Gallery

   The story of the Magi from Canterbury Cathedral, 13th c.

   Il Duomo, Florence, an ancient window

   Stained glass inside Saint Pierre ( Caen)

   Arezzo, Italy, a Renaissance window in the untraceried circular shape
   or ocula favoured in Italy

   Rose window in Strasbourg Cathedral, 13th c.

   Dramburg Church, a good example of heraldic glass

   St Germain des Pres, Paris, glass in a Renaissance church

   Altenberger, a colourless window in the style known as Grisaille with a
   small heraldic motif

   Alabaster window from Church of St. Johann Neopmuk, Munich, 18th c.

   Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, 19th century window

   Detail from The Worship of the Shepherds window at Trinity Church,
   Boston, designed by Edward Burne-Jones and executed by Morris & Co.,
   1882

   Yale University, the Education window by Tiffany

   Ins, Switzerland, modern figurative glass

   Abstract stained glass, Beth El Congregation near Washington, DC by
   David Ascalon

   Meiningen Catholic Church, 20th century glass

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