The History Of Stained Glass Book

The History of Stained Glass

Stained glass, an art form that has developed over more than 1000 years, continues to compel art lovers, historians and devout believers in equal measure. The public has come to appreciate innovative new developments even as it is more keenly aware of obligations to study and protect historic sites and their essential decorative programmes. periods in which stained glass has emerged as a notable art form through examining the methods by which it was produced, and the origins, symbolism and contexts in which it is displayed.

Stained Glass

Stained Glass

Stained glass is a monumental art, a corporate enterprise dependent on a patron with whom artists blend their voices. Combining the fields now labeled decorative arts, architecture, and painting, the window transforms our experience of space. Windows of colored glass were essential features of medieval and Renaissance buildings. They provided not only light to illuminate the interior but also specific and permanent imagery that proclaimed the importance of place. Commissioned by monks, nuns, bishops, and kings, as well as by merchants, prosperous farmers, and a host of anonymous patrons, these windows vividly reflect the social, religious, civic, and aesthetic values of their eras. Beautifully illustrated with reproductions from the remarkable stained glass collection at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Stained Glass addresses the making of a stained glass window, its iconography and architectural context, the patrons and collectors, and the challenges of restoration and display. The selected works include examples from Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Subject matter ranges from monumental religious scenes for Gothic churches to lively heraldic panels made for houses and other secular settings. Integrating comparisons to works of art in other media, such as manuscripts, drawings, and panel paintings, this book encourages the general reader to see stained glass as an element of a broad artistic production.