| Stained glass has a long history. It started out in the | | | | heavily painted, and lead lines were camouflaged. |
| homes of wealthy Roman people, its popularity soared | | | | Artists were patronized by the wealthy, and stained |
| with Gothic churches, it fell into disrepute during the | | | | glass began to be seen in more private homes and |
| Reformation, and now it has resurfaced in our homes | | | | public buildings. |
| and businesses, in addition to our churches. Now it is a | | | | During the Reformation of the 16th century, there was |
| rewarding and affordable hobby for people | | | | widespread destruction of stained glass windows, |
| everywhere. | | | | because religious imagery was not tolerated. For about |
| Before recorded history, people discovered that they | | | | 200 years, stained glass was not popular. |
| could add metallic salts and oxides to glass and that | | | | In England, in the 19th century, there was a revival of |
| would make colors; gold made a cranberry color, | | | | interest in Gothic church design, and stained glass |
| cobalt made blue, silver made yellow and golds, and | | | | windows with it. Gothic Revival churches of the |
| copper made greens. It seems that wealthy Romans | | | | Anglican and Episcopalian churches in America |
| in their villas and palaces in Pompeii and Herculaneum | | | | required stained glass windows, and this led to their |
| were using stained glass in the first century AD. It was | | | | development in America. |
| when Christians were beginning to build churches, | | | | John LaFarge was an American painter who, in 1879, |
| based on Byzantine ones, in 313 AD that stained glass | | | | developed and copyrightedopalescent glass; and |
| began to be considered as an art form. The earliest | | | | another American painter, Louis Comfort Tiffany made |
| surviving piece of a stained glass picture was a "Head | | | | it popular. Opalescent glass was semi opaque with a |
| of Christ" from the 10th century. The popularity and | | | | milky opalescent effect and was usually a mixture of |
| growth of stained glass were very much tied in with | | | | colors with streaks and swirls. Tiffany worked with the |
| the popularity and growth of churches. | | | | Art Nouveau style and created magnificent pieces. |
| In the Romanesque period, stained glass was | | | | Tiffany used the new technology of thin strips of |
| influenced by the Byzantine style developed by Arabs. | | | | copper as a substitute for lead and adapted this in |
| The windows on these churches were relatively small | | | | order to construct lampshades. The opalescent glass |
| and used mainly red and blue images surrounded by | | | | stayed popular into the beginning of the 20th century, |
| white glass in order to allow as much light as possible. | | | | but today few glassmakers make it because of the |
| About 1100 AD, Theophilus, a monk, described how to | | | | toxic chemicals required. |
| make stained glass windows and his methods have | | | | After W.W. 1, people were more interested in |
| hardly changed since. | | | | windows for neo-Gothic churches, and stained glass |
| It was in the Gothic period, starting in the 13th century, | | | | fell in popularity until painting became more abstract |
| that stained glass windows in churches really began to | | | | and expressionist after W.W. 2 which influenced many |
| blossom. Suger, the abbot of the Abbey of St Denis, | | | | artists to explore stained glass. |
| was the first to build his church in the Gothic design. | | | | During the last 30 years there has been an explosion |
| Gothic churches allowed for larger windows and these | | | | of interest of interest in stained glass. It's gone far |
| were made out of stained glass; Abbot Suger believed | | | | beyond its religious beginnings. You often see beautiful |
| that beautiful objects would lift men's souls closer to | | | | stained glass windows in homes, even less expensive |
| God. In the 15th century, stained glass began to be | | | | ones, and businesses; in addition to church windows. |
| viewed more as a picture (with paler colors and larger | | | | Most craft shows have stained glass nightlights, lamps, |
| figures) and less of an experience of (God's | | | | and/or other stained glass art objects. Although the |
| greatness) | | | | materials needed to make stained glass are |
| During the Renaissance, there was a new emphasis | | | | expensive, it is a very rewarding hobby. There's one |
| on three-dimensional perspective. People considered | | | | thing about stained glass that hasn't changed. Creating |
| medieval stained glass barbaric. Stained glass | | | | beautiful stained glass still brings us closer to God. |
| windows became made of white glass which was | | | | |