carpet new trends: stained glass

Showing posts with label stained glass. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Stained Glass Work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Illustration: Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The Fight Between Sir Tristram and Sir Marhaus, 1862.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti produced artwork for these two stained glass window designs in 1862. They were part of a series produced by Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Ford Madox Brown, Valentine Princep, Arthur Hughes and Rossetti under the guidance of Morris in the form of his original company of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co that had been set up in the previous year.

The commission was to provide a stained glass sequence of the popular medieval romance of Tristram and Ysoude, for Harden Grange in Yorkshire. Although the Grange no longer exists, luckily the stained glass windows are still with us and are kept at the Bradford Art Galleries and Museum. Although superficially a sequence, the individual glass pieces have much to do with each artist's interpretation and approach to the story; this also includes different levels of ability, Rossetti being classed as a professional fine artist, with William Morris very much on an amateur level.

Although Rossetti was only commissioned to complete two of the stained glass designs, compared to Burne-Jones five, these two tend to be much more dynamic and intense than Burne-Jones pieces and say much about the character of the two differing artists as well as their own unique approach to both the story and its interpretation.

Much of the early work of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co was not in fact the textile and wallpaper design work that was to so much colour our perception of the much later reincarnation of the company as Morris & Co. This early period relied fairly heavily on stained glass commissions. The competition was rigorous and ecclesiastical commissions in particular were heavily fought over. Many traditional companies with long histories in the supply of stained glass work were having to compete against a number of new and innovative companies such as Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co who were often set up with the intention of diverting some of the expanded trade in ecclesiastical interiors and accessories, towards themselves. In this respect, Morris used contemporary fine artists in order to try to gain an edge on potential rivals.

Illustration: Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Sir Tristram and La Belle Ysoude, 1862.

Although not always successful ecclesiastically, Morris was adaptable enough to understand the growing market in domestic stained glass. The 1860s saw the architectural potential of the medievalist inspired Gothic Revival, which up to that point had been largely limited to the ecclesiastical; widen its horizons towards the civic and domestic market. In this respect, many public buildings and private estates started to take on the appearance of various forms of medieval inspiration. These buildings in turn, needed interior fittings and accessories. Many of the new companies such as the one Morris initially set up in 1861, soon found themselves supplying a wealth of different interior pieces in the guise of Victorian Gothic.

Stained glass, which had been classed as a needful necessity during the medieval period, was also to become the same for many a domestic home built or rebuilt during the mid-nineteenth century. No domestic home, particularly those that were built to reinforce newfound status, could be considered complete without at least some form of stained glass work. This was very often in the guise of family arms or crests, which were produced in order to copy those aristocratic and long-lived families that had maintained status for many more generations than the newly formed wealth of the nineteenth century.

Considering how mundane much of the domestic stained glass market must have been in the 1860s, it must have seemed a welcome relief to Morris and his clutch of artists, to be producing a series of work featuring such a contemporary theme as a medieval romance. It is sometimes difficult for us to realise that these Victorian medieval themes were very much part of the contemporary world. Just as our present day costume dramas do not in reality signify a true understanding of historical context, but reflect much more about aspects of our own contemporary culture through our continued reinterpretation of themes, so the same was true of the Victorian medieval romances.

Issues of selflessness, duty, fidelity, betrayal, jealousy and lust were all part of the Victorian interpretation of the medieval world and were much more powerful issues than forms of historical accuracy and truth regarding interpretation. In this respect, looking anew at the stained glass work interpretations conceived by Rossetti, although wearing a fine mist of medieval chivalry and romance, the work reflects both the individual beliefs and ideas of the artist, but also that of the culture he inhabited. The story of Tristram and Ysoude as interpreted in stained glass in 1862, is a reflection of the individual characters of six young men, but seen through the prism of the social setting as understood by those living in mid-nineteenth century Britain.

It is always important to see any creative individual within the context of their contemporary society. To interpret work purely from their creative individualism alone can never really give a full understanding of the work involved and indeed, of the creative.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Medieval English Stained Glass

Illustration: Stained glass design from St Nicholas church, Wilton, Wiltshire, 13th century.

Although stained glass design is often seen and appreciated in the great cathedrals that were scattered across England during the medieval period, these were clearly not the only examples that were produced. Many medium and small churches had examples of stained glass design, some of which have survived into our own period. Although perhaps not necessarily of the quality that could be found in the great cathedrals and abbeys, this does not negate both their importance and their creation within the communities that they served.

The five examples shown in this article portray stained glass design work from various and differing sized churches from the south of England to Staffordshire. They are by no means the best, or the worst, but a very small example of the standard of glass design and decoration that was available to varying parishes throughout England during the long medieval period.

Illustration: Stained glass design of Saint Bernius from Dorchester church, Oxfordshire, 13th century.

Stained and painted glass was both studied and analysed during the nineteenth century, with the Victorian period being a particularly keen consumer of this unique style of work. However, it was not only stained glass designers who used surviving windows and indeed fragments for both inspiration and guidance. Textile, wallpaper, embroidery, printing, wood and metal designers would have been equally intrigued, particularly by the decorative details that were nearly always present in medieval glass design. In fact, it seems difficult to think of many pieces of medieval architecture, sculpture, fine or craft work that did not have some implication and understanding of both pattern and decoration. It is perhaps this inclusion of intrinsic style, colour and pattern that so intrigued the Victorians, who studied, examined and then reconstituted the medieval, transforming it into a wholly contemporary feature of their own era. This became so much the case that today Victorian medieval is seen as a stand-alone decorative style period rather than one that was merely copied.

Illustration: Stained glass design from Stockbury church, Kent, 13th century.

The nineteenth century designer and decorator did not produce a new edition to the medieval, even though inspired by the original. The Gothic Revival explored the various craft systems that had been available during the medieval period, some of which had to be re-learnt from scratch. Interestingly there was a particular emphasis on the amount of colour and pattern that had been available during this early period. There was much talk and detailed discussion concerning the role and extensiveness of painted interior and external walls of churches, as well as the part played by the distinctive coloured areas of stained and painted glass within these interiors. A number of nineteenth century publications concentrated on this aspect of medieval decoration and it was thought important to understand the role that colour played in the medieval world.

Illustration: Stained glass design of the Arms of France from Froyle Church, Hampshire.

To many ordinary people in the medieval world, high saturated and rich colours would have been rarely, if ever seen, apart from those found in nature. The church on the other hand would have been a focus for colour in a number of areas, including stained glass. The sun shining through panels of saturated colour would no doubt have been appreciated by the local population of most small and medium sized churches. Red and blue seems to have been particularly popular choices for decoration, although other colours were also clearly available. This is a world now long gone, and many of the connections with that world have also been broken, leaving us with few remnants in which to fully appreciate the working parameters of the life that ordinary people lived in, as well as the colours and patterns that they would have been aware of, understood and enjoyed.

Illustration: Stained glass design from Bushbury church, Staffordshire.

That much of England's original medieval stained glass work was destroyed through religious zeal, civil war or deliberately removed for 'improvement' is a sad and irreplaceable loss. However, enough remained for the Victorians to reignite a passion for stained glass and to produce a whole range of new work that although perhaps not always at a level with the standard achieved by medieval craftsmen, still allows us to appreciate nineteenth century stained glass as a decorative era in its own right.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Stained Glass Design in the 1820's

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Antique Rosette for Quart Foil, 1828.

Stained glass design seems an age-old tradition, but is perhaps more associated in most peoples minds with the traditions of the medieval period in Europe. Although stained glass design work can be found outside of the continent, particularly in the Islamic world, the breadth and scope, both ecclesiastical and domestic, make European stained glass design one of the central themes of both the craft and decorative arts world.

In 1828, Nathaniel Whittock produced a practical book entitled The Decorative Painters' and Glaziers' Guide. It was published in London and detailed aspects of the world of decorative painters and glaziers. The book itself was split into two sections, one dealing with the imitation of woods and marbles through the use of paint effects, the other with the various aspects of the glaziers trade including both painted and stained glass design. Although much of the book dealt with the technical skills involved in the process of the different decorative effects needed, there was also room for an element of design, even if only shown purely as a practical guide to the vocabulary of stained glass pattern work and how to integrate it within the context of the glazier's craft.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Stained glass design, 1828.

It is perhaps somewhat misleading of Whittock to call much of the design work 'stained glass', as in fact most of it was clearly painted. He seemed to tread a particularly unclear path by suggesting that by painting decorative motifs and pattern work onto already stained glass work, this could then be classed as stained glass in its own right. The fact that most of us would now assume that stained glass was a specific medieval craft rather than part of a glazier's repertoire, perhaps says much about the era in which Whittocks book was originally published.

It must be remembered that the book was published in 1828 and the date does set a certain amount of definition to the parameters of the decorative work featured in the book, particularly that of the glass work. The 1820s was the period of the reign of George IV, rather than his regency, and was therefore part of the dying days of the Georgian period. Many during this period were well aware that the best days of the House of Hanover were long gone. It was considered by the later Victorians in particular as a tasteless episode where every whim and eccentricity was indulged. They were particularly scathing as far as the architectural and decorative arts were concerned. The irony that later generations would feel the same about the Victorian world was probably beyond their understanding, as it no doubt is when concerning our own contemporary world.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Stained glass design, 1828.

Although the Victorians indulged in their own fair share of paint effects and illusional qualities when imitating more expensive materials, there were elements within the era that were intensely critical of the previous Georgian period. One such element was the Gothic Revivalists who were deservedly aghast at the general piecemeal and casual approach that Georgian architects and interior decorators had taken to the decorative arts. Church interiors had a particularly bad reputation, with a number of individuals in the late Georgian era removing intrinsic and irreplaceable medieval aspects of many churches and cathedrals. Some of these individuals actually included members of the church themselves who found it enticing to both modernise interiors as well as affecting their own personal stamp on the buildings, hopefully for their own posterity.

Stained glass was a particular problem within the dying days of the Georgian era. A number of original medieval glass panels and windows which had survived the English Reformation, the Civil War and the rule of Cromwell, were removed either to be replaced by inferior workmanship or by plain glass. It was considered by a number of individuals who should have known better, that the removal of medieval stained glass windows was a practical consideration which would allow more light to filter into churches, abbeys and cathedrals. Unfortunately, painted glass of the type recommended by Whittock was part of the problem faced by later generations. The design work was often considered to have been highly inappropriately used within the medieval context of many of the ecclesiastical buildings from that era.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Rosettes for stained glass, 1828.

It was considered that the Georgian era was classically motivated and therefore intrinsically hostile to the medieval. While not strictly true, there were a number of critics, architects, designers and decorators who tried to blend their own interpretation into the medieval framework, it was noticeable how little genuine research had gone into the decorative work that was classed as medieval or gothic and how much of the ensuing medieval was still very much classically inspired, often having a disingenuous medieval veneer. That many of these additions had to be removed in the later nineteenth century perhaps says much about the workmanship. However, many Victorian restorers did much more damage than the late Georgians and fundamentally so, leaving many ecclesiastical buildings across England irreparably damaged and altered.

Stained glass itself was perhaps one of the success stories of English nineteenth century craft and the decorative arts. Although much of the work highlighted by Whittock was painted glass rather than stained, the Victorians set themselves the task of re-learning the original medieval stained glass craft much of which had been long forgotten. This included traditional forms of glass making, colouring and lead work, much of which Whittock's book reproduced through imitation and illusion. In this respect, ecclesiastical and domestic stained glass produced from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, had a much more traditional grounding and was linked directly to the medieval craft, rather than to that of the Georgian ideals of illusion and make believe.

However, it is also important to remember that Whittock was working within the tried and tested parameters of the Georgian decorative arts. He was particularly concerned with of the practical application of those arts as used by professionals within the trades that supplied the interiors market. It was not necessarily up to him to challenge the prevailing tastes and judgements of the day.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Rosettes for stained glass, 1828.

For anyone as interested as I am in the extraordinary length that some book titles reached in the nineteenth century, they might be interested in hearing the full title of Whittock's 1828 publication. While many referred to the book as The Decorative Painters' and Glaziers' Guide it was in fact titled The Decorative Painters' and Glaziers' Guide; Containing the Most Approved Methods of Imitating Oak, Mahogany, Maple, Rose, Cedar, Coral, and Every Other Kind of Fancy Wood; Verd Antique, Dove, Sienna, Porphyry, White Veined, and Other Marbles; in Oil or Distemper Colour: Designs for Decorating Apartments, in Accordance with the Various Styles of Architecture; With Directions for Stencilling, and Process for Destroying Damp in Walls; Also a Complete Body of Information on the Art of Staining and Painting on Glass; Plans for the Erection of Apparatus for Annealing it; and the Method of Joining Figures Together by Leading, With Examples from Ancient Windows.

Further reading links:
Basic Stained Glass Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (How To Basics)
Stained Glass Basics: Techniques * Tools * Projects
English Stained Glass
Medieval and Renaissance Stained Glass in the Victoria and Albert Museum
English and French Medieval Stained Glass in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Corpus Vitrearum)
Picturing the Celestial City: The Medieval Stained Glass of Beauvais Cathedral
Stained Glass From Medieval Times to Present: Treasures to be Seen in New York
The Medieval Stained Glass of Lancashire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: Great Britain)
The Medieval Stained Glass of Cheshire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi)
Medieval Stained Glass in Suffolk Churches: "Let the Stained Glass Speak"
The Medieval Stained Glass of Wells Cathedral (Corpus Vitraearum Medii Aevi)
Life, Death and Art: The Medieval Stained Glass of Fairford Parish Church A - A Multimedia Exploration
The Armor of Light: Stained Glass in Western France, 1250-1325 (California Studies in the History of Art)
Medieval and Renaissance Stained Glass 1200-1550 (Catalogue, 30)
A History of the Stained Glass of St. George's Chapel, Windsor (Historical Monographs Relating to St.George's Chapel, Windsor Castle)