If I tell you Jacques Gruber, Louis Barillet, Jean Gaudin, or the Atelier Champigneulle? These names are probably not very familiar to you, and yet they embody the revival of the art of stained glass in France. Exceptionally, France is the country with the largest surface of stained glass in the world. This article offers a look back at a craft tradition elevated to the rank of art: from the revival of stained glass as a living art towards the end of the 18th century-beginning of the 19th century, to contemporary stained glass that associates master glassmakers and contemporary artists/designers...
Art Deco stained glass window designed by Louis Barillet for "Les établissements balnéaires d'Auteuil" built in 1929 by architect Lucien Pollet in a liner style.
A glass composition formed with pieces of glass assembled by lead rods, stained glass first appeared in the Middle Ages as a technique to beautify religious buildings. Unfortunately, many medieval stained glass windows were destroyed during the Age of Enlightenment and the Revolutionary period. It was with the great architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc and the Romantic movement, around the middle of the 18th century, that stained glass regained its color, before becoming very popular again at the turn of the 20th century, under the impetus of Art Nouveau.
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, stained glass windows. The great architect and restorer Viollet-le-Duc is credited with restoring most of the stained glass windows in the chapels of the "Old Lady."
Stained-glass windows in the Gallery of the Prophets, in the south arm of the transept of Notre Dame Cathedral, Created by the Alfred Gérente workshop, 19th century.
In fact, the Art Nouveau movement restored stained glass to its former glory. And we come back from far: think, for example, that before the Revolution, there were only 4 glass painters left in Paris!!! The time is the floral or symbolist inspired. What is changing? Stained glass was no longer confined to churches and cathedrals of light: it burst into department stores, banks, restaurants and industrial offices. The term stained glass is being replaced by the name stained glass.
"Roses In An Art Nouveau/Art Deco" stained glass window, executed in the early 20th century. Stained glass made with glass of different colors and textures.
"Roses In An Art Nouveau/Art Deco" stained glass window, executed in the early 20th century, detail.
"Roses In An Art Nouveau / Art Deco Setting" stained glass window, executed in the early 20th century, detail.
The artisans of this revival are named Louis Majorelle, Emile Gallé, Eugène Grasset, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Jacques Gruber, Louis Barillet... The first mentioned are well known, representatives of the Nancy School, they embody the excellence of the technical gesture of the great master glassmakers. Let's not forget that Lorraine is the historical land of glass art in France: Baccarat, Daum, Saint-Louis, ...
Art Nouveau glass roof in the lobby of the Crédit Lyonnais bank in Nancy, designed by Jacques Gruber (1870-1936). Considered one of the masterpieces of this master glassmaker, cabinetmaker and decorator
"Reading" stained glass by designer and porcelain painter Henri Bergé (1870-1937), Musée de l'École de Nancy. Trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, Henri Bergé took over from Jacques Gruber as chief decorator of the Daum crystal factory.
3 stained-glass windows for the Church of Notre Dame des Eaux in Aix les bains. The stained glass windows were composed by Eugène Grasset and made by the Lyon master glass artist Lucien Bégule, 1894.
3 stained glass windows for the Church of Notre Dame des Eaux in Aix les bains, central stained glass window, composition Eugène Grasset, realization Lucien Bégule, 1894.
3 stained glass windows for the Church of Notre Dame des Eaux in Aix les Bains, right-hand window, composition Eugène Grasset, realization Lucien Bégule, 1894.
Stained-glass windows from the Church of St. Medard in Grandpré (Ardennes).
One of the stained glass windows in the church of Saint-Pierre de Bouvines, designed by Pierre Fritel ( 1853-1942), and made from 1889 onwards by the master glass artist Emmanuel-Marie-Joseph Champigneulle (1860- 1942).
A vintage photograph of the Champigneulle Family. The Champigneulle family is a line of painters and master glassmakers renowned in Lorraine. Settled in Metz, then in Bar-le-Duc, and finally in Paris (Ateliers Champigneulle, the Paris branch of the family glass painting business).
The stained glass technique underwent major developments during the interwar period. Jules Albertini, a glassmaker in Montigny-lès-Cormeilles (Val-d'Oise), worked on the development of the first glass slabs with the mosaic artist Jean Gaudin. The stained glass becomes clearer and lets bloom more monochrome tones. The master glass and mosaic French Auguste Labouret invented and registered in 1933 a new process: the stained glass slab partitioned in cement. To the floral arabesques of Art
nouveau that illuminated stained glass windows, succeeded the geometric and more abstract compositions of Art Deco, of which Louis Barillet was an illustrious representative. In the 1920s, with Jacques Le Chevallier and Theo Hansen, he renewed the aesthetic language of stained glass.
"Scenes from the Life of the Virgin" stained glass window by Jean Gaudin in the Notre-Dame-Drapière axial chapel of Amiens Cathedral, 1933.
Jean Gaudin's stained-glass window in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Amiens Cathedral, 1933.
Stained-glass window made by Louis Barillet, Chapel of Remembrance in Flers, 1928. Building classified as a Historical Monument in 2006 for its facades, decorations, stained glass windows and frescoes
Double-leaf stained glass doors with geometric decoration in shades of purple, green, gray, white and black. Made by Louis Barillet, circa 1930.
In the aftermath of World War II, many bombed-out religious buildings had to be rebuilt: restoring and renovating damaged stained glass windows became a priority for the Church, which was anxious to maintain its historical heritage. To this fact is added a change in doctrine. Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council in 1962. He wished to modify the relationship of believers to religion. Consequently, the interior architecture of churches evolved: stained glass became an element that contributed to spirituality. With powerful colors and large surfaces, it becomes a field of experimentation.
Interior of the Ronchamp Chapel in the Haute-Saône region of France, architecture and interior design: Le Corbusier. Inaugurated in 1955, the Chapel of Ronchamp is a typical example of the architectural modernization of churches. Stained glass becomes an important element.
Detail of a stained glass window in the Chapel of Ronchamp painted by Le Corbusier.
Detail of a stained glass window in the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Toute-Grâce (Haute-Savoie). For the 1st time, the church commissions stained glass windows from non-Christian artists. The building is classified as a Historical Monument.
Stained glass window painted by artist Jean Bazaine, "Saint Gregory and Gregorian Chant," Church of Our Lady of All Grace. Symbolizing the church's entry into architectural modernity, the greatest artists of the time came to sign stained glass windows, paintings, sculptures, tapestry, etc.
Stained-glass window painted by artist Jean Bazaine, "David, the Musician King," Church of Our Lady of All Grace.
Stained-glass window painted by artist Jean Bazaine, "Saint Cecilia, Patroness of Musicians."
So, the Catholic Church was opening its churches to modernity, no longer hesitating to commission stained-glass windows to non-Christian artists. The public authorities of the time also got involved. And so Robert-Charles Renard, Chief Architect of Historic Monuments (1946-1974), proposed to the painters Georges Braque and Fernand Léger to work on the design of new stained glass windows for the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne in Metz, nicknamed "God's lantern" (6,500 m2 of glass surface). The two refused, but Renard convinced the painters Jacques Villon (Marcel Duchamp's brother), Marc Chagall and Roger Bissière to design and create the windows. Some consider these interventions to be a 1st in the history of stained glass, as it is the 1st commission of avant-garde stained glass for a Historical Monument.
3 of the 5 stained glass windows Jacques Villon made cartonnage for in the late 1950s, for the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne in Metz.
Detail of the stained glass window "The Last Supper," the cartonnage of which was made by Jacques Villon (1875-1963, whose real name was Gaston Émile Duchamp), for the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral of St. Etienne in Metz.
Marc Chagall's series of stained-glass windows for the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Metz, "Lancette de la baie No. 11," 1962. Chagall deploys incredible bright colors, his biblical figures approaching the abstract, which is unusual for Romanesque or Gothic churches.
Detail of a stained glass window designed by Marc Chagall for the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne in Metz. The artist will have worked for nearly a decade (1958-1968) for the cathedral.
Glass of the south tympanum, Cathedral of Saint-Etienne in Metz, design by René Bissière, 1960. René Bissière, a painter of the New School of Paris, created the 2 majestic glass windows of the north and south tympanums of the cathedral. Bissière is clearly a non-figurative artist. Some experts believe that this is the 1st non-figurative work installed in a cathedral in France.
Following the example of Metz Cathedral, which brings contemporary art into a sacred place, the state commissioned the restoration of stained glass windows for the Cathedral of Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte in Nevers, which had been damaged by World War II bombings. The choices were made for contemporary artists who generally worked in tandem with a glass painter. Among the artists chosen: Raoul Ubac, Jean-Michel Alberola, Claude Viallat, François Rouan, Gottfried Honneger, ... These choices definitely turn their backs on the past: abstraction replaces the figurative...
Stained-glass windows of the Romanesque choir, Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte Cathedral in Nevers, created by photographer, painter, engraver and sculptor Raoul Ubac, with master glassmakers Charles Marq and Atelier Simon, from 1978 to 1983.
Lower windows of the nave, Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte Cathedral of Nevers, François Rouan with the Master glassmakers Benoît Marc and Atelier Simon.
Far from being perceived as an outdated artistic practice, the art of stained glass continues to fascinate contemporary artists who work in concert with specialized workshops, as is the case with designers who sign models for major crystal works. Examples include the artistic collaborations between the Verrerie de Saint-Just (Loire) and designers Peter Marino and Philippe Starck or those between the Ateliers Duchemin and contemporary artists Anne and Patrick Poirier, Carole Benzaken, Robert Morris or Sarkis...
Artist Carole Benzaken's beautiful tulips for Saint Sulpice Church in Varennes-Jarcy (Essonne).
Artist Carole Benzaken's beautiful tulips for Saint Sulpice Church in Varennes-Jarcy (Essonne).
For the Priory of Saint-Jean-du-Grais in Azay-sur-Cher, the artist Sarkis made 39 monochrome stained glass windows with exceptional colors to filter the light!
Prieuré de Saint-Jean-du-Grais in Azay-sur-Cher, monochrome stained glass windows by Sarkis
Prieuré de Saint-Jean-du-Grais in Azay-sur-Cher, monochrome stained glass windows by Sarkis
