Stained glass (from Latin vitrum - glass) is a type of monumental and decorative art. In purely technical terms, it can be considered a painting assembled from colored glass fragments. Natural light makes the elements glow, creating stunning visual effects within the building. For thousands of years, the technique has been actively used to decorate residential premises and religious buildings. With the help of stained glass, the architects managed to fill the room with light and create the right atmosphere. Most of the works that have survived to this day look as beautiful as they did hundreds of years ago.
History of stained glass
We find the first mention of stained glass in the 4th century. BC e. In countries in what is now Egypt and Syria, fragments of colored glass were fixed onto glass without impurities. Such works decorated places of worship and the homes of wealthy people. A new stage in the development of glass paintings began after the proclamation of Christianity as the state religion in a number of states of medieval Europe. Church leaders used stained-glass windows to preach and popularize religious themes and values. Interesting lighting effects became an allusion to the radiant nature of celestial forces. An increase in interest in this type of art began after the emergence of the Gothic architectural style. New approaches to organizing the internal space of religious buildings required a revision of the classical Romanesque tradition with its massive walls, small windows and thick buttresses. In Gothic cathedrals, the walls literally dissolved in colored translucent glass, made up of fragments of different shapes.
At the same time, stained glass was actively developing in the Byzantine Empire. There it was made from pieces of glass, framed in lead and painted with colored enamels (blue, purple, green, yellow). In medieval France, stained glass windows with metal lintels were additionally coated with layers of paint and fired. Specialists in stained glass at that time were called vitrists. During the Renaissance, the bridges between the fragments of the composition became thinner, and the palette of colors used became wider. At the same time, glass paintings increasingly decorate the window openings of castle walls, offices and living quarters. Between the end of the 16th century and the mid-19th century, the popularity of stained glass declined sharply. It was believed that as a type of monumental and decorative art it had exhausted itself. The revival of stained glass occurred in connection with interest in the art of the past and the experiments of modernists.
Types of stained glass
Over the course of several millennia, various techniques for glass processing and painting arrangement have been improved. Most of them are actively used in modern monumental art. Based on this criterion, in our time there are 8 main types of stained glass:
- Classic. Paintings of this type can be typesetting or mosaic. To make them, transparent glass fragments are used, fastened together with metal strips. Most often, stained glass windows are made on lead profiles and on copper tape.
- Painted. Unlike the classics, this technique does not involve assembling fragments on metal plates. Paint is first applied to the surface of the glass and then fired.
- Combined. A general name for works made using various techniques.
- Sandblasting. A sandblasting machine is used to process glass. Using the unit, a flow of sand under high pressure is directed to the surface. After processing, the exposed parts become matte, while the surfaces covered with mastic remain transparent. To obtain complex compositions, manipulations with glass are carried out several times.
- Sinter (fusing). To work in this technique, melting furnaces are needed. In them, the fragments are fused together. Another option for sintered stained glass is to bake pieces of a material of a different color or metal elements into a single layer of glass.
- Etched. In purely technical terms, it resembles sandblasted stained glass. Instead of a high-pressure jet of sand, acid is used to etch the surface. Areas covered with mastic are cleaned after treatment.
- Cast. One of the most complex types of stained glass. Each piece is made individually by casting or blowing. Thanks to processing, the picture turns out textured and relief.
- Erklez. Fragments of crushed glass are installed into the base.
The most famous stained glass windows
Stained glass art developed in parallel with architecture, absorbing the mores of the era, its aesthetic views and attitude. The list of the most famous works includes "glass paintings" from the period between the early Middle Ages and modern times.
- Western rose over the portal of Notre Dame Cathedral. The project was implemented at the beginning of the 13th century. The shape of the stained glass window resembles a flower (hence the name). The theme of the images on 12 petals, arranged radially around the center, refers the viewer to the problem of confrontation between vices and virtues. In parallel, here you can see motifs from everyday life (stages of seasonal work). The stained glass window has a diameter of 9.6 m. It was not damaged during the devastating fire in April 2019.
- Stained glass window in the Rosary Chapel. The glass painting, along with other interior elements, was created based on the sketches of the famous artist Henri Matisse for the chapel of a convent in the French city of Vence. The artist wanted to present in this project the idea of infinity in local space. The main theme of the works is vegetation. The images were made using glass of 3 colors (ultramarine blue, lemon yellow, bottle green).
- "Holy City". The plot of the 58-panel stained glass window in the Brooklyn church is dedicated to the plot described in the Bible (the vision of the Apostle John on the island of Patmos). The project was implemented by Tiffany Studio. The masters managed to create a unique technology, later called “opal glass”. Its essence lies in mixing colors at the stage of thermal treatment of glass to obtain new shades (opal or “milky”). The studio's achievements largely influenced the revival of stained glass as a form of monumental art in the second half of the twentieth century.
- "King Arthur and Lancelot." The stained glass window was created by a fan of medieval art, William Morris, using ancient technology. One of the motives of his work was a rebellion against progress for the sake of the idea of progress. The master founded his own company, which produces decorative and applied items using techniques from past eras.
- Department store Galleries Lafayette. The first branch of the Galleries Lafayette department store chain opened its doors in 1893. This beautiful building with a stained glass dome was built in the Art Nouveau style. The interior of the department store was designed by glass artist Jacques Gruber. Galleries Lafayette has completely retained its former splendor.
- Stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia. The famous temple of Antoni Gaudi was designed at the beginning of the 19th century, but its construction is still ongoing. The work on the stained glass windows was entrusted to the master Joan Vila-Grau. The finished works were released only at the end of the twentieth century, after an almost 70-year break. Original stained glass mosaics, made up of glass fragments of different colors and shades, perfectly complement the amazing architecture of the religious building.
- Gran Hotel Ciudad De Mexico. A popular hotel in Mexico City was renovated in 1968 to a design by Jacques Gruber and was equipped with a glass ceiling. It became one of the largest stained glass windows of the second half of the twentieth century. The central hall is literally flooded with light passing through translucent glass fragments.
- Stained glass windows in the Sainte-Chapelle church. The beautiful stained glass windows of the temple give the viewer an idea of the skill of the artists of the late Middle Ages. Glass windows literally rise from the floor and reach the top level of the walls. Continuous glazing made it possible to fill the church with light and turn it into a place where a person can feel the presence of higher powers. The Sainte-Chapelle is located on the Ile de la Cité, Paris.
- Stained glass windows of Augsburg Cathedral. A group of full-length images of the prophets in the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in the German city of Augsburg was made using a painted technique. The work is considered the oldest surviving stained glass window in Europe. The approximate time of creation of glass paintings is the 11th century.
- Stained glass windows of the Nasir al-Mulk mosque. The religious building in Iran was built relatively recently (in the 80s of the 19th century). The stained glass windows, as well as other elements of the interior and exterior of the building, are dominated by pink color, for which the mosque received the nickname “pink”. Due to religious restrictions on the depiction of people and animals, geometric patterns predominate in glass paintings.
KyivGallery art critic