Painted Stained Glass

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Stained Glass – What is Stained Glass?

Stained Glass is the assemblage of glass pieces of various colors into a single flat plane, held together by leads and fixed permanently in a frame. Glass paint and stains are added and stay there permanently without being erased because they are fired onto the surface before glazing. Stained glass is essentially two-dimensional and mostly monumental in scale, because it is usually incorporated into buildings and landmarks.

Stained glass has been an important form of art all over Europe for a long time. It began near the Carolingian Empire and developed first in Germany. From there, it spread to neighboring countries, to France, Italy, and Spain.

One of the most intriguing things about stained glass is that it has largely remained intact from its original form and location because most of the historical monuments could not be taken away to museums or private collections because of their size. Granted, that does not mean that all of them are in great condition - many are damaged, neglected, restored, or underwent radical re-planning – but because they are part of an entire building, they are usually fixed there permanently and at least safe from being lost. They are more or less in public buildings and artistic yet utilitarian, since they have the function of keeping out the weather yet letting in light. Hence more often than private art lovers, the state or the church were often sponsors of such projects.

Some people believe that the Christian nature of many European stained glass works are difficult to approach from a non-religious perspective  – however, seeing it as artwork, the subject matter seems to be of secondary importance to its aesthetic value (although of course what an artwork is trying to portray is also important). It is like looking at ancient statues of Greece and Rome; when you look at "Venus de Milo," you do not think of the believability of polytheism; you just appreciate the work as it is.

It is incorrect to assume that stained glass is more or less just a semi-transparent painting. Applying the standards of painting should be avoided, since the medium of glass is entirely different.

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