Stained glass (French vitrage - glazing, from Latin vitrum - glass) is a work of decorative art of a fine or ornamental nature made of colored glass, designed for through lighting and intended to fill an opening, most often a window, in any architectural structure.
The product is made from clear glass, colored glass, either with or without glass painting with special paints. There are many options, as well as many techniques for creating stained glass.
Why do you need stained glass? This is a lovely decoration and an artistic bright solution for any interior; it is an original substitute for glass and at the same time an opportunity not to miss out on sunlight, while remaining hidden from other people's attention.
The history of stained glass begins deep in antiquity, and, as it were, by accident. But its further development showed that this original find is fraught with an abyss of potential discoveries and applications. At first, stained glass art was used in churches, temples, and palace buildings. But later, secular society also showed interest in stained glass.
Initially, glass was inserted into openings, then the first mosaic paintings appeared. Pieces of colored glass were cut out, inserted into a metal frame, and the frame itself was installed in place of the proposed stained glass window. The frame was a kind of pattern, as a rule, it was a geometric pattern or images of plants. For large windows or openings, paints of darker and more saturated colors were chosen than for small windows.
When stained glass became popular, artists began experimenting with paints, during which it became clear that glass could be colored more intensely. In the period of the 9th-10th centuries, a new method of coloring glass by firing was found, which in turn marked the beginning of glass painting.
The beauty of stained glass and mosaic panels lies not only in the fact that it is made of glass, but also in the fact that a picture created in this way will never change its bright colors and outlines. And the play of pouring or fading light and glare in such a picture will always excite the imagination.
Stained glass arose during the era of Christian temple construction. Before this, the ancient Romans and Greeks laid mosaics of walls and floors from opaque glass. The basis of the Christian temple was the basilica - a type of public building, the temple had window openings, this made it different from the ancient one, they were covered with stained glass windows.
In the second half of the fifteenth century, the technology for creating transparent glass was invented in Venice. Since then, stained glass has become a full-fledged part of interiors. The stained glass windows depicted scenes from the Bible, and it began to personify Christian mythology.
Important steps in the development of stained glass art were the color palette, and each new color, shade and experiment, which ended successfully, became another small achievement of stained glass masters and mosaicists. All this happened against the backdrop of relatively small successes in glassmaking, which had been achieving success for a long time and did not reach its intended goals.
The palette, which was used by masters since the Middle Ages, was striking in its richness and variety. Six primary colors and their shades: blue, yellow, red, white, green and purple. In addition to the six main ones mentioned above, there were many shades of each of them. The most popular color loved by artists was purple. Most often, shades of purple were used to convey the color of bodies in subject drawings - this is a dim purple shade. The glass itself, in its colorless state, contained some tint. For example, a not too bright, but noticeable yellow tint, giving off a blue, “sea” tint, pearlescent and slightly greenish.
Stained glass and the history of its development are very closely related to the Gothic style, developed in the Middle Ages in many countries. Gothic mainly affected temple architecture and palace buildings. Gothic is a strict religious temple with spiers extending like an arrow into the blue sky, with elongated and ascetic forms. Then aristocratic and knightly Gothic became widespread. It was in the Gothic style that the art of stained glass developed: the strict style was in perfect harmony with the bright and glowing stained glass windows against the sandstone background, which reached enormous sizes.
Glass painting became more complex, and the development of “colors” for stained glass gave excellent results and made it possible to refine and detail the drawings. Large, and sometimes simply huge, window spaces made it possible not to use lead fittings. The leading role is given to the chief architect, who, together with the stained glass master or painter, had to coordinate the combination of styles down to the details so that the entire composition of the stained glass window matches and fits organically into the ensemble. This was one of the best periods in the “life” of stained glass.
A little later, a moment of rivalry between wall painting and glass painting appears. Some of the most outstanding works of great master artists, executed on canvas, are specially transferred and duplicated on glass.
Glass painting has developed from the first, completely arbitrary, plot-based planar drawings and simple ornaments to much more complex paintings improved using various methods. During the heyday of this art, they began to create not just stained glass windows painted with plots, but entire cycles. Ornament and plot painting intersect: ornamental patterns complement and continue the plot. The drawings became as complex as possible, and the richness of shades in the rendered paintings became evident.
Another popular use of stained glass art that existed was so-called cabinet painting. Poor people could not afford to install stained glass in their house or in a tiny window, but aristocrats could. Colorless glass was made in the offices, against which colored stained glass was inserted for decoration. Thus, the furnishings were decorated and an emphasis was placed on the office interior. The Renaissance changed the attitude towards stained glass; they experienced a surge in history and faded into the background.
The Renaissance brought with it new rules and patterns in architecture, one of which was the increase in light in the temple, which meant a decrease in popularity for the art of stained glass and mosaics. But this did not mean the end or attenuation of skill.
Developments in the fields of science, in particular in chemistry, allowed us to reach new heights in the science of glass melting and dyeing substances. In addition, the achievements common to painting in the quality of depicting the human body and proportional figures provided the necessary knowledge for glass painters.
So, what happens to stained glass during the Renaissance? Firstly, a new step in glassmaking - large-sized glasses, colorless glasses of good quality are created. Priorities change a little: stained glass and mosaics themselves are not as popular as painted glass. Secondly, the grisaille style continues to be used. Thirdly, to increase the range of possible shades, artists are beginning to use the effect of overlaying colored glass.
Renaissance artists created very complex multi-component images with pronounced volume and perspective. Round medallions, decorated with figural ensembles, inserted into stained glass, give their place to landscapes depicting Gothic architecture with canopies, drawn draperies, brightly painted figures, historical subjects on the entire stained glass canvas.
Stained glass windows of the Middle Ages
Medieval stained glass played a special role in religious rituals, symbolizing divine mercy and creation. That is why stained glass windows were widely used in the decoration of Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals. According to the thinking of that time, the light pouring from the sky meant the radiance coming from God. The role of the earthly embodiment of such divine light was played by the stained glass windows of medieval cathedrals. Large-scale color canvases depicting scenes from the Bible best reflected the solemnity, mysticism, and sublimity of religious culture.
The active use of stained glass in the early Middle Ages is also explained by the fact that as the frame system was established, the walls of cathedrals became more openwork. Therefore, traditional wall paintings increasingly replaced stained glass windows. They fit better into the decoration of church premises, were brighter, more durable and consistent with the goals of the Christian religion. The parishioners, being present during the rituals, felt a great involvement in what was happening; the rudeness and meagerness of everyday life seemed to fade into the background, giving them the opportunity to plunge into the aesthetic pleasure of contemplating beautiful glass paintings.
The peculiarity of medieval stained glass windows is that when viewed from the outside of the building, they appear completely dull and inexpressive. They are almost impossible to notice, since the dark glass almost merges with the walls. But as soon as you go inside, all the beauty and spiritual power of the art of colored glazing of medieval churches opens up before you. Under the rays of bright sunlight, the stained glass windows begin to glow, filling the space of the cathedral with skillfully selected colorful tints, that is, a kind of presentation of divine light occurs.
History of the development of medieval stained glass
What we call stained glass today was born in the era of Christianity. Some literary sources and historical reports suggest that the prototype of medieval stained glass from the early Christian era was a set of multi-colored pieces of glass that were fastened together using putty in the slots of stone or wooden boards inserted into window openings. In the 5th-6th centuries AD, temples in the cities of Gaul were decorated with such stained glass windows, and later they appeared in England and Germany.
It should be noted that in the Middle Ages, stained glass was perceived as an element of mediation between the divine and earthly spheres, since the magical play of sunlight on multi-colored pieces of glass was interpreted as a metaphorical expression of divine love and power. What now seems naive and implausible, nevertheless, has a justification, since the modern worldview differs significantly from the mysticism that prevailed in the society of that era. Beautiful color paintings were original prototypes of heavenly splendor.
In the 11th century, the appearance of sacred temples radically changed, which allowed stained glass to become an outstanding visual medium. During this period, the famous medieval stained glass windows acquired their classical form, and narrative stained glass paintings on biblical themes appeared.
This was facilitated by the emergence of a method for making thin sheet glass, the division of craftsmen into those who made stained glass and glassmakers, as well as the use of lead profiles when creating canvases.
Believers viewed medieval stained glass windows as paintings by artists, which, in general, they were. Colored glass paintings fascinated with their beauty and unusualness, becoming another attribute of holiness and faith.
In addition to its purely religious significance, the appearance of stained glass in church interiors was due to their high cost. Only temples, rich townspeople and nobles could afford such luxury as stained glass paintings. But if in churches these masterpieces were available to everyone, then stained glass windows that were in personal use could only be admired by their owners.
The evolution of stained glass in medieval Europe was mainly associated with cathedrals, which were the center of daily public life in the 11th and 12th centuries. If you look at photos of medieval stained glass, you can see that the main colors were red (copper-based) and blue (cobalt). These colors made it possible to significantly reduce the intensity of the sun's rays and create a special, mysterious atmosphere of contact with higher divine forces inside the temple. Later, they learned to add oxides of various metals to the glass mass, which made it possible to obtain green (based on copper oxides), yellow (a mixture of iron and manganese), and brown glasses.
Medieval stained glass - monuments
Not many real medieval stained glass windows have survived to this day. All the more amazing is the Chartres Cathedral, in which stained glass windows from the 12th and 13th centuries have been preserved in almost original form. Within the walls of this cathedral, the construction of which began in the 10th century, there are 146 stained glass windows with a total area of 2,600 square meters. A distinctive feature is 
amazing saturation and purity of colors, the secret of which has been lost. The most famous stained glass compositions are the stained glass window “Virgin of Beautiful Glass” (1150), and the composition “The Tree of Jesus”.
The stained glass windows in Chartres Cathedral represent about 1,400 scenes on various biblical themes. In addition, they depict about 100 scenes from the lives of those people who donated their funds for the maintenance of this cathedral.
No less beautiful is the medieval Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris), in which all the originality of stained glass art was manifested. Unfortunately, among the stained glass windows of this cathedral there are very few authentic ones, since they are all later works that replaced stained glass windows that had been damaged during the long history of the cathedral.
Only the rose window has reached us completely intact. However, this 13-meter window, which includes about eighty different scenes from the Old Testament, allows us to imagine all the past grandeur.
It is the stained glass window with a pattern of roses that is described in the famous novel by Victor Hugo “Notre Dame Cathedral”
Medieval stained glass and Russia
In medieval Russia, stained glass was practically not used for glazing and decoration of churches and temples, due to special climatic conditions and Orthodox traditions that prohibited painting icons on glass. Only a few facts that scientists were able to discover suggest that stained glass art still did not bypass the construction of the Russian nobility. But, unfortunately, not a single example of colored decorative glazing has survived to this day. The first independent attempts in this area of glassmaking in Russia were made only in the 1820s. And the first resulting stained glass windows became the decoration not of religious buildings, but of secular mansions and castles.
The fashion for stained glass came to the Russian Empire from Western Europe, and this was associated with a certain worldview of the romantic era. Stained glass windows penetrated into Orthodox religious architecture thanks to the orientation of Russian temple construction towards classicist European monuments.
The stained glass window of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg is a striking example, a key monument in the history of Russian stained glass art. Its installation in the main Orthodox church in Russia established stained glass glazing in the design system of Russian Orthodox churches.
However, some innovations also appeared that made it possible to significantly expand the possibilities of using stained glass and the artistic possibilities of stained glass compositions in general. For example, if medieval stained glass was limited to the color palette of glass, modern paintings amaze with the variety of not only bright and saturated colors, but also soft, pastel halftones.
The innovations also touched upon the material for fastening stained glass windows. If the art of stained glass of the Middle Ages involved the use of only lead profiles, then modern products in the style of the Middle Ages can be made using brass, copper or lead profiles, as well as thin metal foil. All these innovations allow masters to create more flexible compositions, without limiting their imagination and talent to the means of their implementation, and make it possible to reveal to us all the beauty and unusualness of stained glass in the spirit of the traditions of the Middle Ages.
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So what type of art was presented?
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stained glass
Stained glass (from Latin vitrum and French vitre - glass) is a unique type of artistic and decorative creativity in terms of the strength of its artistic impact on the viewer and the variety of effects.
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Lesson Plan
1.History of stained glass.
2.The art of creating stained glass.
3. Practical lesson: making stained glass.
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History of stained glass
The history of stained glass is lost in hoary antiquity. Archaeological research indicates that attempts to make stained glass were made in ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome.
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Glass fragments were found on the territory of ancient Carthage, indicating that the art of stained glass took its first steps there more than five thousand years ago. The history of the emergence of stained glass owes its history to the Hellenistic world at the turn of the old and new eras to the technique of colored rolled glass like the millefiore of the Florentine Renaissance.
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Around the 1st century. B.C. glassblowing technology arose in Syria, which revolutionized glass production. The glass blowing tube made it possible to produce a hollow glass ball (jar), which could then be pierced to create a relatively flat plate. A similar technique for making sheet glass was also used in the art of stained glass in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
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The history of the appearance of stained glass in the sense that we give to this word today is connected, first of all, with the spread of Christianity. It is believed that the first full-fledged stained glass windows were created in Byzantium during the construction of the Church of St. Sophia of Constantinople in the 6th century. According to contemporaries, the stained glass art of that era was limited to the use of pieces of glass of various shapes and diameters, smeared into slots on the board that lined the window opening.
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In Europe at that time, which did not yet know glass, thin plates of stone were used - alabaster, or selenite. However, it was in European temple architecture in the 11th century that the early art of stained glass reached hitherto unprecedented heights. The first treatise on stained glass art also dates back to the beginning of the next century.
The technology for creating stained glass, described in 1100 by the German monk Theophilus, is still used in stained glass art as a classical one. Classic stained glass was formed from hundreds of pieces of colored glass connected to each other by N-shaped lead bindings, which were then soldered at the joints. The method of producing glass of different colors by adding colorful pigments to the molten glass mass came to Europe from the East. To work on small details, such as faces, when creating figurative compositions, a special glazing composition based on glass powder was used - grisaille. A stained glass plate painted with grisaille was fired, as a result of which the glaze was firmly fused into the glass.
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History of stained glass
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The development of stained glass art in church architecture of the early Middle Ages is inseparable from the general concept of Christian worship, from the meaning of the liturgical action. The temple is a place where the earthly and heavenly merge in an inextricable metaphysical unity. The stained glass windows, filling it with a mysterious flicker, throwing colored reflections everywhere, symbolize the radiance of the heavenly world, the divine light. In the darkness of Romanesque basilicas, the glow of stained glass panels was supposed to evoke a feeling of something transcendental, cosmic, and plunge devout parishioners into sacred awe...
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One of the most ancient examples of stained glass art of the early Middle Ages is the head of Christ from Alsace. The most significant monuments of the history of stained glass art of that era are the French cathedrals in Chartres and Poitiers.
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At the end of the 12th century, the Romanesque - Byzantine style was replaced in Europe by its own, Gothic style, which began with Abbot Suger, who supervised the construction of the apse of the royal church of the Abbey of Saint-Denis in 1144. New architectural principles of Gothic temple architecture made it possible to maximize the space occupied by windows, and, consequently, stained glass windows. The Gothic art of stained glass of the Middle Ages becomes more monumental in comparison with the Romanesque. Production technologies are being improved, previously unknown architectural elements appear, successfully decorated with stained glass - for example, round Gothic rose windows. The art of stained glass of the Middle Ages flourishes brightly in France, England and other countries. Along with traditional iconographic themes and scenes of Sacred history, Gothic stained glass art turns to subjects of secular history: the deeds of kings, etc.
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The most significant monuments of stained glass art of the Middle Ages are Notre Damme in Paris and Canterberry, the cathedrals in Bourges, Chartres, Sens, Amiens, etc. The secular history of stained glass art of this period is marked by the emergence of the French radiant style - ornamental grisaille painting on white glass.
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During the Renaissance, the country where the history of the development of stained glass reached its greatest flowering was Italy. The history of the emergence of a fundamentally new type of stained glass in Italy of the 14th-15th centuries is connected, firstly, with new realistic techniques of fine art, based on the use of perspective and light and shadow modeling, and secondly, with new techniques for the production of stained glass. The principles of the revived illusionistic painting of antiquity, theoretically substantiated by Giotto, Botticcelli, Michelangelo and other artists, opened up new visual means for stained glass art.
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The use of silver mordant and other chemicals improved the technology of stained glass production, making it possible not to add colorful pigment to the molten mass, but to reliably paint ready-made white glass plates in shades of yellow or red. These and similar technology innovations gave artists the opportunity to make stained glass more visual and picturesque, by reducing the number of lead bindings between glass plates.
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Also, during the Renaissance, sandblasting techniques began to be used in the manufacture of stained glass, which made it possible to achieve different textures on the glass surface. The history of stained glass in the 15th-16th centuries is marked by a huge variety of techniques, visual means, and techniques. Coming from Italy, Renaissance stained glass soon spread throughout Europe. The largest glass-making centers arose in England, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc.
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Such stained glass masters as the Dutch Dirk and WouterKrabets complemented the broad, free style of the southern Italian Renaissance with northern restraint and decorativeness. Remarkable monuments of stained glass art of the Renaissance are the Milan and Brussels Cathedrals, the Cathedral of St. Etienne in Beauvais, Church of St. John in Gowda and others.
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The 16th-17th centuries is an era when the history of the development of stained glass begins to decline. The technique of setting pieces of colored glass is gradually being completely replaced by painting, including opaque enamels. The secrets of the old masters are being lost, the largest glass-making centers in most countries of Western Europe are falling into disrepair; Stained glass art experienced a complete decline, which lasted until the beginning of the 19th century.
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The art of creating stained glass
What does a craftsman need to create stained glass?
1.drawing, which was drawn with black paint along the contours of the cut;
2.small nippers to “bite off” pieces of glass;
3.lead wire for attaching pieces of multi-colored glass.
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The technique of creating an image from colored glass was already knownin Ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome. But this art reached its true flowering only in the Middle Ages. Admit it, which of you, having found yourself inside a Gothic cathedral, did not freeze in admiration, looking at the beautiful stained glass windows that seemed to float in the sunlight?
What is unique about stained glass art?
Why did the art of stained glass (from the Latin vitrum and French vitre - glass, a monumental work of decorative art made of colored glass) reach incredible heights in the Gothic era? Note that it has never seen such a scale either before or since.
Probably one of the main reasons for the flourishing of stained glass is associated with architectural innovations: in the Gothic era, new designs for ceilings and external supports allowed the temple to grow tall and lighten the previously heavy walls.
This created space for huge stained glass windows, which almost completely replaced the wall paintings that were popular in Romanesque times.
Source: pixabay.com
There are other reasons for this. In the Middle Ages, stained glass, part of the architectural and artistic association of arts, which was fully embodied in the space of the cathedral, acquired cult significance. Thus, stained glass ceased to be simply a utilitarian and decorative object, but rose to the level of a symbol, denoting the divine light flowing from the abode of the Lord. In the Middle Ages, stained glass windows were compared to jewelry and it was believed that they would save one from monstrous misfortunes - for example, it was believed that with the help of stained glass windows one could protect oneself from the deadly gaze of a basilisk.
Where to look for masterpiece stained glass windows?
The Gothic style historically originated in France, and the basilica of the Abbey of Saint Denis is considered the first building in the new style. The first Gothic stained glass windows also appeared there. The images placed in medallions lacked the monumentality of the Romanesque style and quickly gained popularity among contemporaries. From France, the Gothic style spread to England and Germany. Cathedrals were erected everywhere: Notre Dame de Paris, Canterbury and Bourges, the cathedral in Sens and Reims, Salisbury, York and Lincoln.
Saint Chapelle (Paris), a two-story chapel consisting entirely of colored glass, with no walls visible between them, is rightfully considered a true pearl of stained glass art.
Oddly enough, in the windows of Gothic cathedrals you can see not only religious scenes, but also historical events or everyday activities of people: the work of artisans and farmers, hunting, feasts, knightly battles. There are also images of completely fantastic creatures - dragons and unicorns.
Source: pixabay.com
Did you know that Gothic stained glass, along with book miniatures, represents the painting of an era? You might be thinking, what kind of painting is this? The stained glass window was made up of pieces of colored glass and looked more like a mosaic. And yet it is so. Let us turn to the technique of its creation, which has been considered classic since the time of the monk Theophilus, who wrote the first manual for stained glass artists in the 12th century.
How was stained glass created in the Gothic era?
The basis for making stained glass is a preliminary sketch written on a wooden board, first with zinc or tin, and then with red or black paint. It was transferred to colorless glass, and then the image itself was composed of cut pieces of colored glass, which were fastened with lead bridges and soldered at the edges. The glass was colored using colorful powders - pigments, which were added to the molten mass. And even though in the 12th and 13th centuries there were not so many colors (red, green, blue, purple), they could be combined and layered on top of each other, obtaining unique shades.
For example, it is known that in Chartres Cathedral some stained glass windows were obtained by superimposing up to twenty-seven glasses, both colored and colorless. The drawing, however, was not only made by adding colored glass pieces, but also painted with a brush in those places where it was necessary to depict small details.
When you have drawn lines on the clothes with paint, scatter them wider with a brush, so that the glass is transparent where you are used to seeing light in painting. Let the same line be first bold, then thinner and, finally, very thin. The tones change as if they were three different colors 