Stained Glass

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Stained Glass- The History

The history of stained glass is an uncertain one. Rumor has it that the first stained glass was created when the Roman's were on an inventive high, yet the concrete origins are lost in the mists of time.

Certainly, stained glass wasn't used for anything much bigger than jewelry or individual mosaic blocks until around the 10 th century when stained glass windows as we know them were first used in churches. These were merely decorative, or depicted pictures of Christ and the saints or scenes from the Bible. Around this time the demand for churches was growing considerably and with the increase in church building came an increase in the use of stained glass windows. Many holy men believed that the presence of beautiful things would bring men's souls closer to God so encouraged the installation of stained glass. In these early years, stained glass was produced in small sections and held together with leaded beams.

During the 13 th century, churches became larger and taller; their walls became thinner and had greater space for windows so the amount of stained glass within them increased. The stained glass was now used almost solely for the telling of stories, and decoration left to the boarders.

By the 15 th century, enamel was regularly painted on glass to create the impression of stained glass. In this way artists could create detailed, intricate pictures using a variety of colors on the same piece of glass, thus also reducing the need for so much leading. Figures were more important than scenes and these often took up the whole window.

The Renaissance period saw enamel-painted glass overtake true stained glass to such an extent that much of it was removed from many windows and replaced with heavily painted glass. Stained glass was out of favor for over 200 years, little was produced and much replaced. Interest in stained glass was renewed during the Gothic Revival of the 1800's and stained glass again became popular, though this was restricted mainly to church windows.

The world of stained glass remained pretty constant until after WWII when abstract and expressionist artists including Matisse and Chagall began using stained glass as a new medium for expression. Stained glass grew once again in popularity and is now the territory of both the artist and the architect.

 

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