Art Forms
Stained Glass
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Stained glass is coloured glass worked into art and architectural works, most often small pieces of glass arranged into patterns or pictures and held together with lead strips called cames. As an art form it reached its height in the Middle Ages, when it became a major pictorial medium for illustrating Bible narratives to a largely illiterate populace.
Facts
MediumColoured glass cut and arranged into patterns or pictures, traditionally held together with strips of lead called cames 1 Signature TechniqueCut and painted glass pieces are assembled by slotting them into H-sectioned lead cames. 1 Place of OriginMedieval Europe, where stained glass became a major pictorial form used to illustrate biblical narratives to a largely illiterate populace. 1 Notable ExampleThe windows of Chartres Cathedral, the greatest centre of medieval stained glass manufacture. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Architecture, Art Forms Stained glass became a defining, load-bearing element of Gothic cathedral design itself, not a decoration added afterward.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationStained glass, opening section and Medieval glass in Europe sectionQuote, Stained glass, opening section and Medieval glass in Europe section
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it...Stained glass, as an art form, reached its height in the Middle Ages when it became a major pictorial form used to illustrate the narratives of the Bible to a largely illiterate populace.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationStained glass, opening sectionQuote, Stained glass, opening section
The coloured glass may be crafted into a stained-glass window, in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead, called cames or calms.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationStained Glass, Medieval glass in Europe section, height of the formQuote, Stained Glass, Medieval glass in Europe section, height of the form
Stained glass, as an art form, reached its height in the Middle Ages when it became a major pictorial form used to illustrate the narratives of the Bible to a largely illiterate populace.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationStained Glass, Medieval glass in Europe section, ChartresQuote, Stained Glass, Medieval glass in Europe section, Chartres
While stained glass was widely manufactured, Chartres was the greatest centre of stained glass manufacture, producing glass of unrivalled quality.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationStained Glass, Assembly and mounting sectionQuote, Stained Glass, Assembly and mounting section
Once the glass is cut and painted, the pieces are assembled by slotting them into H-sectioned lead cames.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Architecture, Gothic architecture, Early Gothic sectionQuote, Associated With: Architecture, Gothic architecture, Early Gothic section
The walls were filled with stained glass, mainly depicting the story of the Virgin Mary but also, in a small corner of each window, illustrating the crafts of the guilds who donated those windows.
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