Incredible Antique Monastery Stained Glass Window
There are four windows in this set of stained glass that were taken out of a monastery in Stambrugge, Belgium. We are offering each of them for sale separately, so this is for only one of the windows, but you know that there are four in the complete set. There couldn’t be any more fantastic windows in the world. They were made sometime in the late 1700’s and part of a very secluded monastery in this very small town in northwestern Belgium, which fell into such disrepair that a few years ago it was torn down, and a friend of mine was able to recover the windows. Actually there were six windows, but we used all the parts and pieces to put together the four as you see them now. When we took them to the stained glass shop for repair, all of the workers there gathered together to admire the work that was done with these windows, and who could better appreciate the value of such art work than the people who are now doing stained glass work? They are in awe and admiration because this is such an incredible work of art that it can no longer be done. The owner of the repair shop is very knowledgeable about the processes that went in to making these doors and has given us the following description: A number of different processes were used here with glazing enamels that had to be fired between 1225 and 1350 degrees. Here is a description of each of the processes: Transfer Cartooning: The thick lines were painted by hand following a pattern over which the glass was set. Looking closely at the detail work, you can see in some areas the individual brush strokes of the artist. Grisaille: The larger color fields were applied by mixing the toxic glass paints with water or oil and a medium such as honey. After mixing to a viscous consistency, the artist would lay a fine, completely smooth field of color using a very softly bristled brush. If the field isn’t consistent, the whole area has to be cleaned off and repainted. Detail Stipling: In areas of shading, most often after Grisaille application of the color, the paint is allowed to dry and is carefully brushed off. Regular brushing will remove too much pigment too quickly, and will show obvious brush marks. So the artist uses the tip and softly taps it against the glass. Instead of shading to make things darker, the artist removes pigment to make details lighter. At any mistake whatsoever, the entire piece has to be cleaned and the entire process started over. Because of the labor-intensive techniques used here most of these processes are now replaced with silk-screen application of the paints. So now you can appreciate a little more the work that went into creating these windows. They framed in the gothic style arch with the center circle in a medieval style cloverleaf. Underneath are two long arches with three medallions running straight down between diamond shapes, and trimmed with an intricate pattern of contrasting colors. The top medallions are done in a design of either fleurs de lys or a four leafed flower pattern. The center medallions each feature a scene in the life of Jesus, and the bottom medallion features the name of someone who contributed in some way to the building. In the middle medallions this particular window features: The Savior blessing the little children. And mary feeding the hungry. The bottom medallions say “Au monier de cette maison 1889, and Baron A. de Tuck, de Keersbeek.” I was unable to translate the word “monier” because it is no longer in the French dictionary, so I don’t know exactly what it means. I was surprised to see a date of 1889, and when we asked the owner of the stained glass shop, he told us that he believes that this particular medallion was a later addition, because he is certain that these windows date at least in the 1700’s. OC1104CD623
Incredible Antique Monastery Stained Glass Window
Incredible Antique Monastery Stained Glass Window
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