Religious Stained Glass Windows

Stained glasses can be defined as the colored glass material, that is used in various craft works. The glass has various paintings engraved on it, within the context of the location. The traditional use of the stain glass has been of plain flat panels but now the modern technicians have discovered many other ways to enhance the beauty of the stained glass in the form of three dimensional structures. Stained glass has been used exclusively in the form stained glass windows, in religious places like cathedrals, churches and other such religious buildings. One must learn the history of stained glass to know more about the religious stained glass windows.

Stained Glass Windows

Use of stained glass by mankind started as early as the first century. In those times it was mainly used for churches, cathedrals, castles and palaces. Stained glass was a symbol of royalty in ancient times. To be accurate, stained glass window hanging was first used in the Romanesque architecture. In this period, windows were first treated with slab glazing and were installed with a unique blowing technique. The Romans are also said to be the pioneers of the translucent cylindrical glass.

In the Gothic period also, stained glasses were first used in the religious buildings only. As religious places were highly visited, stained glasses easily came into notice of the people and made them curious about this beautiful art form. Initially the religious stained glass windows were small in size thus, providing ample amount of light along with the beauty. Hence, the churches of the medieval period are rightly said to be the patrons of the stained glass windows. So, we can safely say that the window treatments are being used since Gothic period. In this era the conventional designs were converted to more complex iconography.

In this period new religious orders were formed which required new religious buildings, resulting in new designs of religious stained glass windows. The Gothic artwork traveled from France to almost whole of the world, adding and combining the religious stained glass with artistic flavor of that particular region. The Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles stayed in Germany for far more time than in any other region. Many experts agree that the stained glass windows reached to a point of downfall sometime during the medieval age and the nineteenth century. At the time of Thirty Years War, Cardinal Richelieu ordered to demolish all the churches and religious buildings from the Lorraine region and hence, destroying the stained glass windows along with the buildings. during the year 1640, there was a scarcity of stained glass windows.

It was in the late Gothic period, that the use of stained glass windows started in the private homes and mansions of the rich and powerful. Certain skillful and stylish stained glass artists were accredited by the riches to decorate their windows. In 1880, Gothic architecture reached England and after that it came to United States. Finally, it was the time when the famous decorative artist Louis Comfort Tiffany egressed as a groundbreaking designer who was best known for his skilled stained glass artwork. His idea of stained glass windows with opalescent glasses was held up high. This glass was used for not only the windows but also the lamps, chandeliers and other such decorative goods. During the First World War, this art again came to the verge of extinction.

Today, stained glass experts have found stained glass window patterns across various religions, differing according to the regions they were found in and the creativity of the artists.

Religious Stained Glass Windows

Religious stained glass windows have been used to portray stories and also to portray the sacraments of the Trinity and the church. Some of these pictures are self-explanatory but some do require its viewers to research a bit. The delineations normally contain the following themes:

• Baptism
• Communion
• Confirmation
• Ordination
• Marriage
• Unction
• Reconciliation
• Trinity

Some portray abstract arts, some come along with a simple depiction of Jesus Christ, usually these pictures are painted in various bright colors like red, purple, yellow, orange and green. These religious stained glass windows provide certain touch of glory to the prayer service. The pictures on them always convey a religious message that keeps the believer of the church connected with the sayings of the Bible.

Nowadays one can find the religious stained glass windows only in preserved forms, in museums and in the remains of the ancient churches. The the style of the portraits across the globe, are not alike, but they never fail to explain the religious stories, in their own picturesque language.