Hey, Students of Stained Glass!
On this Blog, we like to zero in on some of the record setters and pioneers of sports, crafts, and other summer camp activities. Last week we went over the process of creating Stained Glass. Today, I thought it’d be in the spirit of the season to set our scopes on the awe-inspiring windows of many churches and cathedrals that use stained glass for the windows of their glorious architecture.
The record for the biggest stained glass window ever goes to a couple of master masons, Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil. These two were contracted in the construction of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris—the structure that boasts the biggest window in the world: the south rose window.
This stained glass panel measures in at more than forty feet in diameter and was first built about 800 years ago in 1220 AD!
The project of the south rose window was funded by the king, King St. Louis and the stained glass panel was installed in the Notre-Dame cathedral window within the next 40 years. An exceptional piece of artwork, the window complements the glorious architecture of the 12th Century cathedral.
The south rose window is comprised of 84 glass panes and it amazingly still has most of its original glass and tracery intact! In fact, it’s another record that this window holds as the superior survival of the initial glass. This window along with many of Notre-Dame's stained glass windows have become iconic and important work of Gothic art from the 13th Century.
Be sure to appreciate any beautiful stained glass windows you encounter! They may not all be the jaw-dropping works of cymatic pattern art as the Notre-Dame cathedral south rose window, but all stained glass has an impressive effect. And thanks for reading this Blog post! Till next time.
- John