I went to Getty Center during the Thanksgiving break. There was an exhibition called “Canterbury and St. Albans: Treasures from Church and Cloister” appealed me most. The exhibition had two main parts, stained glass from Canterbury Cathedral and pages from the St. Albans Psalter. The interesting part that I want to explore more is Canterbury Stained Glass. To be more specific, Stained glass is a monumental art which corporates enterprise dependent on a patron with whom artists blend their voices. Combining the fields now labeled decorative arts, architecture, and painting, the window transforms our experience of space. Windows of colored glass were essential features of medieval and Renaissance buildings. Interestingly, I found there are over twenty steps for making stained glass, and designers need to focus on both artistic and structural parts. The technology for making glass dates back at least 5,000 years, and some form of stained glass was used in European Christian churches by the 3rd or 4th century. The art of stained glass flowered in the 12th century with the rise of the Gothic cathedral. Stained glasses are made of colored glass, with the details of the faces and costumes painted on the surface. The ancestors of Christ windows illuminated the liturgical areas during all but the earliest services in the depths of winter, glowing pale blue at dawn and yellow and red at noon. I was moved not only by those exquisite masterpieces, but also by the great efforts that people live to us. Sainted glasses now made as same as it was made in Middle Ages. The surviving windows from 12th century in Getty center are he oldest panels of stained glass in England. They are significant examples of what was at the time a relatively new composition of art and technology, and Art thus connects echnique and concept. When beautiful glass is involved, good techniques are indispensable, too.
- sources:http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=TAl3F9n-I8s#t=29 - pic: Canterbury Stained Glass: http://www.getty.edu/art/
exhibitions/canterbury/ stainedglass.html
- Morris, Elizabeth. "Stained and Decorative Glass." Quintet Publishing Ltd. 2000.10/18/2008
- The Stained Glass Museum. "A Brief History of Stained Glass." Undated. 10/15/08http://www.
stainedglassmuseum.com/ briefhis.shtml
