The history of stained glass in Russia and the world. The art of making stained glass windows

The very word "stained glass" is translated from Latin as "glass". It is considered one of the most refined and special types of art, rich in its history and performance techniques. A brief history of the appearance of the stained glass window will be told to the reader in the article.

Preconditions for the emergence of stained glass

Teachers, telling the story of stained glass for children in the classroom, begin with the root causes of its occurrence. The emergence of the first civilizations is associated with many discoveries. It was then that they began to extract glass. Over time, we learned how to make it colored and used to decorate various objects. Each culture had its own peculiarities of using such glass:

• The Sumerians decorated the roofs of their churches.
• The Egyptians wound the glass with a spiral and made colored vessels from it.
• The Romans and Greeks were specialists in the manufacture of antique vases and cups with decorative carvings and many ornaments.

All these discoveries date from the beginning of the second millennium BC. Only after another thousand years the Syrians learned to blow glass, which gave rise to the history of the development of stained glass.

The appearance of the first stained glass windows

In the history of the appearance of stained glass is not marked by an exact date. But it is known that in the Christian era, for the first time, colored glass was used to make simple pictures. It with the help of putty fastened on boards or decorated windows. And with the advent of the first temples, Byzantine stained glass windows developed. Praise verses and descriptions of glass compositions were popular among poets of the fourth and fifth centuries. In those days, the stained-glass windows were given divine significance, and the light passing through them was compared with the holy spirit.

History of development

Unfortunately, before our era, stained glass windows that were older than the tenth century did not reach the state in general. About them you can judge by the remaining fragments and records of poets. But in the future this type of art has been widely developed and spread across all countries. Let us consider in more detail the history of the origin of stained glass, the change in styles and techniques in each era.

Romance stained glass

The history of the appearance of stained glass windows tells that the Romanesque originated in the eleventh century and were still valid for a whole century. They were the first classical stained-glass windows, in which the picture consisted of pieces of colored glass and a profile of metal.

Features of Romanesque stained glass:

• They could not afford everything because of the high cost, as the technique of melting and blowing glass was very complex and time-consuming;
• There were some masters in the procurement of thin sheets of glass and specialists in the direct composition of paintings, which increased the quality of Romanesque stained-glass windows;
• For the production of one panel, more than a hundred different pieces were taken, each of which had its own form and color;
• Stained glass windows of this era are characterized by such defects as the presence of bubbles, unevennesses, scuffs, but this does not spoil their appearance, but makes them special and in their own way charming.

The technique of making Roman stained glass windows:

• For the beginning the master took a wooden surface and on it planned a drawing of his future masterpiece;
• Then to each element of the picture were selected glass (in shape and size);
• The necessary fragments were applied to the painting with natural paint, after they were fired in an oven to fix the pattern;
• The composition of the mosaic in the whole image was done with the help of narrow bindings made of lead;
• Since the windows in those days were large (about six meters), then for greater strength and stability, one large composition consisted of several smaller panels.

Masterpieces of the Roman era:

• The head of Christ from the Weissembourg abbey of Alsace;
• A composition of the four Old Testament prophets at the Augsburg Cathedral;
• "The Ascension of Christ" at the Augsburg Cathedral;
• "Crucifixion and Resurrection" at the cathedral windows in Poitiers;
• Three stained glass windows of the Holy Trinity in the cathedral in Chartres.

Gothic stained glass windows

The history of the stained-glass windows (Gothic) dates back to 1144. Abbot Sergius, during the construction of the church in Saint-Denis, filled the windows with several vertical medallions. The main difference from the Romanesque style in this composition was that in each medallion an important moment of history was revealed.

Features of Gothic stained glass:

• In the cathedrals began to increase the number of windows for their decoration in the Gothic style;
• This architecture quickly gained popularity and was developed in England and France;
• The stained-glass windows of the past gave the temple a gloom associated with evil, and at the same time a great spirituality, enclosed in a lot of light; This ratio became ideal and had a mystical meaning;
• Over time, the saturated colors of red and blue gradually replaced with lighter ones, so that as many rays as possible pass through the interior;
• Changed and the types of window openings;
• In France, invented a new technique of clarification - grisaille, the essence of which was that light, radiant stained-glass windows were placed in dark bulky premises, lighting in them; Over time, the number of techniques of this style has become even greater.

The most famous stained-glass windows, made in the classical Gothic style, are in the cathedral in Chartres. It is easy to trace the harmony between the majestic windows, the gloomy architecture and the internal concept of the room. The flow of a large number of rays into the darkness and darkness gives a stunning and mesmerizing effect - this is the beauty of the Gothic style. Also in this cathedral appeared its own peculiarity, which later spread all over the world - these are windows according to the scheme of the Latin cross. They represent the life of the Virgin. And in the rosette windows Christ and the Virgin Mary are depicted.

Stained glass windows of the Renaissance

A new wave in the culture, including architectural, provoked such terrible events as the war and the plague epidemic. By the fifteenth century, people had stopped putting the church in the first place and moved on to a secular way of life. This greatly influenced the further development of stained glass.

Features of Renaissance stained-glass windows:

• There appeared a lot of more advanced techniques of working with glass;
• It was quite an invention of silver mordant, which greatly increased the level of the created paintings;
• The colors of the steel were applied directly to the glass, it allowed to get a lot of unusual shades;
• Images look more voluminous and bright;
• France and Italy are the main centers for the manufacture of stained glass;
• The fashion includes medallions, not more than thirty centimeters, they became symbols of this era.

Examples of Renaissance stained glass:

• Windows of the Florence Cathedral, created by Italian craftsmen;
• Windows of the monastery in Koenigsfelden;
• Stained glass in the chapel of Besserer in Ulm Minster.

Stained-glass windows of the High Renaissance

Until the sixteenth century, the masters made stained glass windows according to the classical scheme, until such masters as Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo appeared. They exerted a great influence on the world culture, including the history of the art of stained glass in Russia.

Features of the stained glass windows of the High Renaissance:

• Since most of the masters of the stained-glass windows were Italians, they became the authors of the new trends;
• The art of this era combined realism, elements of European decoration and cumbersome forms;
• The new glass processing technique was developed, made it more transparent and clean;
• Besides silver, they invented a red dressing;
• Masters began to give preference to the color solution, rather than distortion of the forms and sensuality of the image;
• The openings in the windows expanded even more and reached a gigantic size.

Example of the stained-glass windows of the High Renaissance:

• "The Tree of Jesse" in Beauvais;
• Huge windows of the Brussels Cathedral;
• "The Expulsion of Iliodor from the Temple" in the Cathedral in Gouda.

The sixteenth century is considered the last in the heyday of stained glass in the Middle Ages. Further, the technology of making glasses and drawing up pictures began to progress very quickly. The twentieth century had a great influence on the methods of stained glass design.

The history of the emergence of stained glass in Russia

Russian stained glass did not exist until the nineteenth century. Only wealthy people could enjoy masterpieces brought from abroad. The thing is that the domestic churches and cathedrals did not provide for stained-glass windows, and culture in general did not need this kind of art. They appeared and immediately gained popularity thanks to the works of European masters.

The history of stained glass in Russia:

• XVII century - the first appearance of stained glass;
• XVIII century - stagnation in development because of unprofitability;
• The beginning of the XIX century - the gradual penetration of paintings made from colored glass into Russian culture;
• The middle of the XIX century - the active use of stained glass; The emperor and other wealthy people adopted the European fashion and began to apply them to decorate their estates; Then the stained-glass windows appeared in the churches;
• The end of the XIX century - built a number of workshops for artistic skill, as well as painting and school classes;
• The first half of the XX century - stained glass art went into decline due to the extinction of Art Nouveau, and later because of the outbreak of World War II;
• Mid-twentieth century - the revival of stained glass by Soviet culture, there were unique works that differ from the previous paintings by their originality and ambiguity.

Famous Russian stained glass windows:

• Decoration with stained glass windows of the church of St. Alexander Nevsky;
• The chapel in Tsarskoye Selo;
• Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg;
• "The Ascension of Christ" in St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Stained glass: history and modernity

Having examined in detail the historical side of the development of stained glass windows in different epochs, I would like to turn to contemporary art. The stained-glass windows of our time exist to give the room a style and a special chic. A lot of glass making techniques, the development of design and fashion have become key moments in the emergence of new types of this art.

Modern types of stained glass:

• Sandblasting stained glass - a composition of glasses, made in sandblasting technology and connected by a common theme. It is made on the whole surface, most often in the same color.
• Mosaic stained glass - consists of particles of approximately the same size, resembling a mosaic. Can be the background or the main image.
• A stained-glass window is a drawing created from separate pieces of glass of the desired shape and color, usually without any additions.
• Fusing - glass, from which the composition is collected, are caked together in a conceived position. Another thing to do with this is the baking of individual foreign elements in the finished image.
• Pouring stained glass - consists of glass with a contour of the conceived image put on it. Each part is filled with special paints or varnish.
• Etched stained glass - a collection of glasses made with the help of etching techniques and linked together by a single meaning.
• Soldering stained glass - is made up of colored glasses fixed in a lead frame and sealed in joints. The most ancient technique, which came down from the Middle Ages.
• Faceted stained-glass windows - when they are assembled, they use glass, from which the facet was previously removed. Another option is the use of polished and polished glass.
• Combined stained glass - compositions, which simultaneously include several types of stained glass. This technique helps to achieve amazing results, to make truly original masterpieces.

Stained glass of Tiffany

Lewis Tiffany became the founder of his own style and technique of creating stained glass, which became popular all over the world. He worked for a long time on the selection of materials, and most importantly - on the ways of fixing the glass, because the medieval methods did not suit him at all. What happened on the basis of these works completely eclipsed the stained-glass window. So what is the difference between this technique and others and why in the history of Tiffany's stained glass windows are considered to be one of the most prestigious, let's consider in more detail.

Features of Tiffany style:

1. Colour. Brightness has always been a very important criterion for Lewis Tiffany when working with stained glass. He tried to achieve the highest possible saturation and originality in the used color scheme. Sometimes the master mixed the tone, and sometimes put one (or even several) glass on top of the other.
2. Material. Quality - that is what is a mandatory distinctive sign of these stained glass windows. Before the beginning of the stained-glass windows, the glasses were always strictly checked, they should be without the slightest defects and the same texture.
3. Realistic. Works of the master were so perfect, complex, full of details and colors that they were often compared to painting.
4. Technology. The connection between the glasses took place by means of a copper tape. Since it was wider than the glass itself, the ribbon was bent at the edge, at an angle of ninety degrees. The finished elements were connected with each other by tin and patinated.
5. High price. Such works are very expensive, and they can be found only in private collections, English and American cathedrals and museums.

Shortly before Lewis's death (1933), his firm was closed, but Tiffany's technique is still considered one of the best, and works are masterpieces of art.