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A Brief History of Stained Glass
Irene Burgo
Stained glass is a Christian art. Dates for its origin are uncertain because
as an art form, stained glass was inspired by the ancient glittering mosaics
which lined the walls and domes of early Christian churches. (These mosaics
were made up of many pieces of colored glass.)
Stained glass, a term used for glass that was stained and painted, as
it was referred to during the Gothic revival period, is defined as a composition
executed in translucent glasses. These included windows made during the
early development of the medium, dated between 1100 and the end of the
15th century. The majority of stained glass windows made at the time were
created for places of Christian worship.
The translucency of glass makes it the ideal and only material that has
been used extensively as a venue for paintings. The medieval text that
chronicles the technical phases involved in the production of stained
glass is De Diversis Artibus. It is attributed to have been written by
a monk in Germany about 1125 A.D. He used the pseudonym, “Theophilus.”
Textual and archaeological information suggest earlier tracts regarding
the manufacture of colored glasses, but they do not discuss colored glasses
themselves. Slightly more information on colorants can be found in the
12th- or 13th century additions to a 10th-century text by Heraculis. Medieval
Italian works dated later offer discussion on the use of silver stain
and of “cartoons.” Theophilus’ treatise focuses on the
most precious arts of the church. The second of his three books is the
one devoted entirely to glass. (The others focus on manuscript painting
and metalwork.)
Twelfth and 13th-century writers considered stained glass to be a mystical,
solemn and sacred material. The glass’s transparency and color were
regarded as a mediating channel between the Creator and the opaque material
world. The clergy believed that viewers who meditated on the windows could
be transported in mind to a region close to heaven. The fact behind the
rationale was that if the physical matter of light could pass through
the physical matter of glass while leaving it intact, this constituted
a miracle. A high spiritual value was therefore placed upon images in
glass throughout the Middle Ages. Apparently, despite statements made
about the beauty of the House of God (churches), there was no art for
art’s sake in the Middle Ages. Nor was art practically ever made
as a commodity for the collector. Art functioned to improve the mind and
soul of the donor and viewer.
An Augustinian Connection
A center for the production of early English illuminated manuscripts,
the abbey founded by St. Augustine in 597 at Canterbury, is said to be
the site where the eighth-century Psalter originated (early illuminated
manuscript). Illuminated manuscripts were an important means of spreading
artistic ideas as well as for influencing the development of stained glass.
In one particular illustration (now located in the British Museum) (Reference:
shown in text, “Stained Glass” by Lee, Seddon and Stephens—p.
24), the stiff figure of King David and his acolytes are reminiscent of
stained glass images. Much later stained glass images such as this one,
which is enclosed with a massive Romanesque arch decorated with geometric
and curvilinear motifs, were used in the wide borders of Romanesque stained
glass windows.
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