Reims, France, Cathedral, Marc Chagall Stained Glass windows

Chagall began by immersing himself in the atmosphere of the edifice and its medieval windows, from which he asked Charles Marq to reproduce the... more

by Curt Rush

Title

Reims, France, Cathedral, Marc Chagall Stained Glass windows

Artist

Curt Rush

Medium

Photograph

Description

Chagall began by immersing himself in the atmosphere of the edifice and its medieval windows, from which he asked Charles Marq to reproduce the colours. He then commenced work by gluing pieces of cloth on preliminary models, followed by working with gouache on larger and larger models.

The ensemble of these works, six lancet and three small rose windows, is ten metres high and covers an area of about 75m².

The central window evokes the history of Abraham and the last moments of the Earthly life of Christ (the Passion and the Resurrection), that is, the foundations of the Old and New Testaments: the sacrifice of Abraham heralding that of Christ. The rose window represents The Holy Spirit.

The window on the left expresses the prophesy of the Old Testament. It depicts the Tree of Jesse, linked to the genealogy of the Virgin, under whose patronage the Cathedral is placed. From the side of Jesse springs the branch giving birth to the kings of Judah, of which Chagall portrayed only Saul, David and Salomon. The rose window represents a certain number of prophets announcing the coming of the Messiah.

In this realisation, Marc Chagall succeeds in combining the modernity of drawing and of composition, with the hues of medieval stained glass, from which he borrowed the ancient blues in order to preserve the overall harmony of colours. The windows were inaugurated on June 14, 1974. (courtesy of http://www.reims-cathedral.culture.fr/windows-chagall.html)

Uploaded

May 2nd, 2017