Justin Postlethwaite reveals some breathtaking stained-glass masterpieces, whose gentle, historical past and artistry illuminate mighty cathedrals and charming chapels…
The French Institute for Savoir-Faire is the group which promotes and preserves French excellence in craftsmanship by passing on expertise and offering lifelong coaching for professionals. Among these professionals are stained-glass window makers and restorers, who, given the nation’s huge quantity of stained glass, have loads of work on their super-skilled palms.
“France, the country of cathedrals, has the largest area of stained-glass windows in the world, covering 90,000m²,” it says. Whether you’re in search of religious perception or a historical past lesson, stained-glass home windows present a multicolored step again in time. These ornamental or figurative compositions are items of glass (white or coloured, utilizing metallic oxides added when the glass continues to be being fused) of all sizes, assembled in sections and glued in frames fashioned by lead strips.
Found in Christian spiritual buildings (though trendy works at the moment are put in in folks’s houses too), they characterize biblical scenes providing theological schooling in narrative kind, with native legends, vital figures and life additionally depicted. Above all, these home windows inform tales: grey, uninteresting and inconceivable to tell apart from the skin, the ‘gentle of God’ illuminates the tales for worshipers gathered inside.
From the imposingly huge to the small but beautiful, there’s a huge array of stained-glass wonders to discover in France, from works by pioneering artisans of the early Middle Ages proper by way of to modern artists akin to Matisse and Soulages. Early Gothic marvels embody the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and Chartres Cathedral, whereas examples of Early Flamboyant fashion from the 14th century embody the cathedrals of Tours and Troyes.
Here is France Today’s subjectively chosen cross-section of home windows from the massive hitters to lesser-known gems – to make you go ‘wow’. If you could have a favourite and want to ship us photographs, e mail us at [email protected]
1. NOTRE-DAME DE CHARTRES CATHEDRAL, EURE-ET-LOIR
Completed in 1252, this imposing UNESCO World Heritage Site is without doubt one of the most admired and vital examples of High Gothic and Classic Gothic structure. But it’s the distinctive quantity and high quality of its stained-glass home windows that set it aside -at round 2,500m³, it homes the most important advanced of coloured home windows remaining from the Middle Ages.
“Chartres Cathedral has almost totally preserved its homogeneous decor of stained-glass windows executed between approximately 1210 and 1250,” says UNESCO. “To this must be added the three stained-glass windows of the 12th century above the Royal Portal and the large roses of the 13th century on the three facades: on the west, the Last Judgment; on the north, the Glorification of the Virgin, on the south, the Glorification of Christ.”
www.cathedrale-chartres.org/en
2. LA SAINTE-CHAPELLE, PARIS
Today managed by the Center des monuments nationaux, Sainte-Chapelle was accomplished in 1248. It was constructed by Louis IX to obtain essentially the most prestigious relic of the Passion of Christ: the Crown of Thorns and a fraction of the True Cross. “Built in less than seven years, a record time, the Sainte-Chapelle was conceived as a piece of goldsmith’s art, whose walls of light exalt the Capetian monarchy and the kingdom of France,” says the church’s web site. The most staggering achievement is the 1,113 scenes – throughout 15 vertiginous stained-glass home windows – that inform, in an enormous illustration, the story of the Passion of Christ and humanity, from Genesis to the Resurrection. A later addition is the rose window on the west of the higher chapel, accomplished within the late fifteenth century within the Flamboyant Gothic fashion and depicting scenes of the Apocalypse in 89 panels.
www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en
3. CHRIST DEWISSEMBOURG, STRASBOURG, BAS-RHIN
From the epic proportions of Chartres and Sainte-Chapelle we flip to a small however completely fashioned figurative stained-glass window – and the oldest preserved in France. Made from a single sheet of glass, the 25cm-wide ‘Christ de Wissembourg’ – probably the stays of a monumental determine of Christ standing or seated on a throne – dates from the second half of the twelfth century, although it was restored in round 1950.
Displayed on the Œuvre Notre-Dame Museum in Strasbourg, it’s a fragment of a stained-glass window from the Romanesque Saint Peter and Saint Paul Abbey within the fortified city of Wissembourg, Alsace, which at the moment homes a replica of the work. It additionally comprises the most important full-length fresco in Francean 11m excessive Saint Christopher from the 14th century painted on one of many partitions of the transept. You can simply go to each websites in a single journey they’re solely an hour aside by automotive.
www.visitstrasbourg.fr/en; www.alsace-verte.com/en
4. ABBEY CHURCH OF SAINTE-FOY, CONQUES, AVEYRON
Conques, a Plus Beau Village within the Aveyron division, is a picture-perfect pilgrimage stop-off for these on the Saint-Jacques path to Compostela. Among the treasures within the Romanesque abbey are the relics of Sainte-Foy, a 12-year-old Agen lady martyred through the 4th century after being tortured and killed by the Romans, in addition to the wonderful, epic Last Judgment tympanum above the western entrance. As for its stained-glass home windows, they’ve a recent, summary look due to the artist Pierre Soulages, who lived not far-off in Rodez, and fell in love with the church as a baby. He was invited by the Culture Ministry to brighten 95 home windows and 9 loopholes, and set about researching a brand new translucent glass materials to be constituted of reconstituted crushed white glass, to retain concord with the traditional stone and let the incoming gentle specific itself. “What guided me was the will to bring the light to life, while modulating it, and to create a surface appearing like the source of light while respecting the architectural identity and its own artistic or sacred emotional power,” he stated.
www.tourisme-conques.fr/en
Guided-Tours-Conques©S.MURAT-OTCM-june2021
5. SAINTE-MARIE CATHEDRAL, AUCH, GERS
Located within the coronary heart of Gascony, the imposing stature of Auch’s epic UNESCO-listed Sainte-Marie cathedral – one other vital waymarker on the Saint-Jacques path to Compostela – impresses earlier than you even set foot inside to discover its treasures.
A mix of Renaissance and Flamboyant Gothic types, it was accomplished in 1680 after two centuries of labor, with the good organ (1694) and the distinctive woodwork of its choir stalls (1,500 characters carved in oak) important viewing.
The piece de resistance, although, is the dazzlingly shiny Sixteenth-century stained-glass work by Arnaud de Moles, with 18 home windows filled with detailed, compelling storytelling. Spot biblical characters from prophets to apostles, in addition to figures from Greco-Roman mythology; and do not miss the Temptation of Adam and Eve, or the window depicting the Resurrection, with a notice of the set up date -June 25, 1513-along with the grasp glassmaker’s signature.
www.auch-tourisme.com/en
From France Today Magazine
Lead picture credit score: Photo: shutterstock
Your e mail deal with is not going to be revealed. Required fields are marked *