Reply To: Stained Glass

[Gabe]

The introduction of windows and light was the defining feature of Gothic churches and cathedrals that distinguishes them from their Romanesque counterparts. The goal to fill churches with light drove the architecture of the time to find techniques to relieve the heaviness of Romanesque thick stone walls and allow for more windows. Features like groin vaults and flying buttresses were used to accomplish this. The actual works of stained glass were however more than just a light source, they were actually a visual metaphor for how the ‘light’, that is the divinity and grace of God, entered the world through Christ, Mary, and the Saints and Prophets of scripture. Images of these figures were placed into the the patterns of color in Stained glass designs so that within the church, the light would literally enter the space through Christ, who was often at the center of a ‘rose’ stained glass piece.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by Gabe.