FYI: People Winter 2012 What Constitutes a Good Window? The following is reprinted from the Spring/Summer 1935 and following issue of this magazine. It is an extremely interesting account of what goes into a successful window according to the standards of industry leaders at that time. Though times and tastes certainly change, certain factors remain constant. Besides, it is always interesting to look into another time and hear the stories of it told in the words of the people who lived it, and, so, in that spirit, I am delighted to present this article for your consideration. RG During the past few years, much interest in stained glass has been aroused by Mr. James Sheldon among those in charge of the building of Washington Cathedral. Mr. Sheldon, a member of the Cathedral Council, is widely traveled, well informed on stained glass, and familiar with the best windows in Europe and America. He has held before the Cathedral Chapter, the Building Committee, and Architects, the very colorful example of Leon Cathedral in Northern Spain as an ideal toward which the policy of Washington Cathedral should be directed. Through his powers of persuasion, four stained glass artists, one member of the Chapter, and two of the Cathedral architects have visited Leon. They are unanimous in their praise of its colorful interior. Consequently the Cathedral has adopted as its goal, at least in those windows where splendor is desirable, a standard of color as brilliant as Leon. These ideals are expressed in a Stained Glass Statute adopted by the Chapter, in six Yardsticks, or chief requisites of a good window, and in much correspondence on this interesting and highly controversial subject. Believing that much can be gained and nothing lost by a free discussion of these points in the pages of Stained Glass, we present the Yardsticks with the invited comments of Wilbur Herbert Burnham. In a later issue, Joseph G. Reynolds will continue the discussion. The Editor will welcome further comment on the Yardsticks. The Six Essentials of a Good Window 1. Luminosity No good window goes dead when the sun withdraws; it has high luminosity at every hour of the day, like the West Lancets of Chartres. 2. Gleam or Glare No good window gleams or glares with the sun upon it; it glows all day long, even in cloud or rain, like the West Lancets of Chartres or the Choir of Le Mans, i.e., No good window contains portions which jump out of their place, being too bright for their surroundings. 3. Unity Unity is as important as Color, but Unity is impossible without a definite policy. Riverside Church was produced by nine independent studios on two sides of the Atlantic and with 248
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no controlling policy; the Synagogue had six studios; St. John the Divine has already tried seven from both sides of the Atlantic; Princeton has used six or seven studios without a Stained Glass policy. A museum of good windows without unity is necessarily a failure. Too many cooks spoil the broth. 4. All the Primary Colors The greatest results have been everywhere secured by featuring all the primary colors, beautifully balanced. But St. John the Divine and St. Thomas show disaster and defeat attending the featuring of secondary colors like green. 5. The Dean s Formula The world s great masterpieces show the truth of the Chairman s formula that Ample color and adequate light have been, and can be, secured together as in Leon and Le Mans. 6. Variety The Leon reports of Messrs. Saint, Sanborn, Robb, Little, and Stokes all stress not only the wealth of color but its variety. Modern glass-painters, unlike the old Masters, feature the blue sky and forget the sunset. Mr. Burnham s Comments: 1. Luminosity Any good window should have high luminosity at every hour of the day like the West Lances of Chartres. We modern craftsmen, however, like the craftsmen of any age, are confronted with that difficult problem of combating full sunlight. This leads me to a question concerning mediaeval glass. Were those masterpieces of the Middle Ages too brilliant and glaring in the sunlight when they were first made, and has the patina which centuries has given to old glass made it possible for them to stand the sunlight, and yet at the same time not lose any of their luminosity when the sun is not shining through them? I believe they were hard on the eyes when they were new. We, today, unfortunately, have for many years been using paint with which to tone down windows to make them stand the strong sun. If any of these windows have been successful with the sun shining upon them, all of their glory has been lost when the strong light has faded. I therefore wonder if we, today, should not consider what time would do to our windows and not try too hard to make them look their best immediately after their 250
installation. I think this matter of paint on Stained Glass should be discussed at great length in our Stained Glass Bulletin. 2. Gleam or Glare This question is dovetailed with the consideration of luminosity, and is dependent, I believe, upon the depth of color and the amount of pigment used. Surely, no good window, in any event, should contain portions which are too bright for their surroundings and seem to give the impression of jumping out of their place. 3. Unity Unity, very definitely, is as important as color and is utterly impossible without a definite policy at the very beginning. A very definite policy has been outlined for the Nave of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, and I am of the opinion that the windows now being made for the Cathedral will give a unified result and will show conclusively that a definite policy was laid down for the Glass Makers. Unity is more apparent at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh than in any other church that I have seen in this country, although the windows do vary, and the individuality of each artist is apparent. This, I believe, should not be a criticism of the glass there, for I feel very definitely that individuality and variety are necessary. 4. All the Primary Colors I believe that every good glass man in America today and especially those who have been privileged to see and study the glass of the Middle Ages will agree that all of the primary colors are essential, but the great problem is to balance these primary colors appropriately. Every artist is not endowed with the Mayco The Industry Source for Lead Products 65 Years of Service Manufacturers of: Lead Came Sheet Lead Specialty Extrusions Lead Solder Lead Free Solder same ability to balance colors in stained glass windows, and they see stained glass with different eyes and attack the problem with different viewpoints. This difference in color sense might easily be corrected through the laying out of a definite color scheme for many windows at one time or before a series of windows have been made. A Subsidiary of Metalico Inc. 18 West Oxmoor Road PO Box 19397 Birmingham, AL 35219 sales@maycoindustries.com www.maycoindustries.com Photographs Courtesy of A&H Art & Stained Glass Company, Inc. 5. The Dean s Formula Ample color and adequate light are of paramount importance in any Stained Glass window and can, I believe, be secured. 6. Variety The very word stained glass suggests a wealth of color and, too, a variety of color, but with reds and blues predominating. During the past few years, 251
Mr. Burnham commented upon them, emphasizing some of the difficulties which beset the glassman, and especially those involved in making a window that will look equally well in strong sunlight and in shadow. Here, Joseph G. Reynolds continues the discussion with his reactions to each Yardstick. many blue windows have been featured by modern glass painters. This, in part, I believe, is due to the fact that there has been a demand for blue windows, and this demand has resulted in making some glass men in this country forget for the moment that reds, yellows, greens, and whites are essential. How many red windows have been made in this country during the past few years? To my knowledge, the only one is that in the Synagogue. Architects, clergy, and laymen have been afraid of red, and I might add that many glass men have shared this fear. To my knowledge, American artists in stained glass have always been handicapped by being forced to design and fabricate windows in accordance with the ideas of laymen, clergy, and architects, most of whom have never seen the great masterpieces in Europe and who do not even know the basic principles essential to the making of a window. The craft of stained glass needs friends, and we must do everything possible to make friends for the craft by striving consistently to bring people to an appreciation of the beauty inherent in stained glass windows. While we are not perhaps in the midst of the Renaissance, I do thoroughly believe that, with the right kind of cooperation, and with definite policies to follow in every church or cathedral, we can look forward hopefully to the time when modern stained glass may rival the stained glass of the Middle Ages. Toward the Ideal Window In the last issue was presented the six Yardsticks or essentials of a good window as set forth in a Stained Glass Statute of the Washington Cathedral. 1. Luminosity No good window goes dead when the sun withdraws; it has high luminosity at every hour of the day, like the West Lancets of Chartres. I assume that throughout this letter you are speaking of the ideal window. The ideal window would not go dead when the sun withdraws, and it would have high luminosity at every hour of the day. But it is possible that a really good window would have such adverse lighting conditions that it could not hold its luminosity at all times. I refer to the possibility of buildings or trees which interfere with the view of the window against clear sky. Such a window may function perfectly at certain hours of the day and go dead at other times. If trees interfere with the light it is conceivable that the window would always be beautiful in the winter time but when the trees are in full leaf the light would be interfered with to such an extent that the window would lose its real luminosity. My point is that, as long as you are discussing the ideal window, you are on safe ground, but as soon as you bring into the question certain specific windows such as the aisle windows in the Riverside Church, New York City, you must take into consideration the peculiar lighting conditions that exist there. 252
2. Gleam or Glare No good window gleams or glares with the sun upon it; it glows all day long, even in cloud or rain, like the West Lancets of Chartres, or the Choir of Le Mans, i.e., No good window contains portions which jump out of their place, being too bright for their surroundings. Here, again, for the words No good window gleams or glares with the sun upon it, I would substitute The ideal window does not gleam or glare with the sun upon it. The ideal window does not contain portions that jump out of place, being too bright for their surroundings. 3. Unity Unity is as important as Color, but Unity is impossible without a definite policy. Riverside Church was produced by nine independent studios on two sides of the Atlantic and with no controlling policy; the Synagogue had six studios; St. John the Divine has already tried seven from both sides of the Atlantic; Princeton has used six or seven studios without a Stained Glass policy. A museum of good windows without unity is necessarily a failure. Too many cooks spoil the broth. I wholly agree with the first sentence in this paragraph and with the next to the last. I do not agree, however, that the Riverside Church glass was produced with no controlling policy. The architects and the chairman of the building committee did dictate the policy for this glass and personally supervised it all. I should perhaps except the French windows that were not supervised. I do not know about the Synagogue on Fifth Avenue, New York City, but I do know that, at Princeton, there was a stained glass policy and the glass was supervised by the architects. The glass in the new nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is being designed and made under the direct supervision of the architects, Cram and Ferguson. Various craftsmen there are five at the present time are working cooperatively. They are using a planned palette, and, as their work progresses, they are comparing in one studio and under identical lighting conditions various portions of their completed work. They may not have a written policy, but, being all trained craftsmen, they surely have a practical working policy. I wish to stress the point that I disagree with an offhand statement that the glass in the buildings just mentioned was produced haphazardly, without any thought of a controlling policy. Such was not the case. A critic may well disagree with the value of these policies Continued on Page 310. 253
FYI People: What Constitutes a Good Window Continued from Page 253. and may criticize the abilities of those who had supervision of the work. A critic may also dislike the results achieved. My own answer to this is that the ideal window has never yet been made and cannot be made, but every serious artist and craftsman constantly endeavors to achieve it. That he muddles along and blunders on this way must be admitted. But I believe that great progress toward the ideal has been made in the past twenty-five years and that this progress is continuing. 4. All the Primary Colors The greatest results have been everywhere secured by featuring all the primary colors. beautifully balanced. But St. John the Divine and St. Thomas show disaster and defeat attending the featuring of secondary colors like green. I thoroughly endorse the statement that the greatest results have been everywhere secured by featuring all the primary colors beautifully balanced. Whereas the secondary colors have, so far as I know, always been used in great windows, I agree that they have not been used as the dominating colors. 5. The Dean s Formula The world s great masterpieces show the truth of the Chairman s formula that Ample Color and adequate light have been, and can be, secured together as in Leon and Le Mans. I agree with the paragraph without qualification. 6. Variety The Leon reports of Messrs. Saint, Sanborn, Robb, Little, and Stokes all stress not only the wealth of color but its variety. Modern glass painters, unlike the old Masters, feature the blue sky and forget the sunset. It may be that modern glass painters very often feature the blue sky and forget the sunset, but many windows are so situated that the sunset could not be well featured in them. It is quite possible that many modern glass workers have featured the blue sky rather than the warmer colors for the reason that they have found that blue is safer and easier to use as a dominating color. Quite possibly, this is a weakness which should be pointed out. We all know that human nature is prone to get into a rut. There is one point that I believe should be kept always in mind when comparing modern windows with ancient ones. Every lover of old glass has noted its indescribable richness and charm of color. As has been pointed out, the ancient windows do not glare they glow. I have studied these windows carefully both at a distance and close at hand, and I am convinced that much of their lovely quality of color is due to the natural corrosion and weathering. This effect the hand of man cannot produce. Centuries of exposure to the natural elements is the only means by which it can be legitimately achieved. A new window can have a charm all is own, but it will not and cannot have that soft glow that is produced by the light filtering through the crystalline deposit found on ancient windows. It isn t the pitting of the glass that does it it is that crystalline deposit which is really the result of corroded glass. When ancient windows are taken down and cleaned of this patina, they are much brighter, far less glowing in effect. Now as to my formula for producing the ideal window: Give an honest stained glass artist and craftsman a commission to design and make a window in a building architecturally beautiful. Do not put too narrow limits on his time, and allow him unlimited funds for necessary experimental work. Let him work at or near the building. He will then go to work to solve all the problems involved. He will test in place portions of his work as it progresses. If, when completed any part does not function according to the principles set forth in your letter he will make changes until the whole window is as nearly perfect and as beautiful as human inspiration and skill can make it. That window will be a close approach to the ideal. Of course, I am assuming that the stained glass worker has creative ability, that he is all the word artist implies, and that he has had the necessary long years of training and experience in the craft. The greatest handicap under which we glassmen work is the inability to experiment and make changes after the window is completed and in place. An allowance of funds is seldom, if ever, made for it. The best that we can do is to test a small section at the building and, with our experience as a background, make a shrewd guess for the rest of it. Stained glass is preeminently the greatest medium for the expression of beauty in terms of translucent color. A stained glass window is decorated light a design in colored light. The essentials of a great window are: Beauty, unity, harmony and effectiveness of color, values, and design, not only in a single window but in the individual window in relation to companion windows and all in relation to the build- 310
ing itself of which the windows are integral parts. The essentials of a great window may be summed up in these words Design, Values, and Color. These three are inter-related and inseparable. Broadly speaking, all really great windows that have ever been made embody the following principles: 1. Emphasis on rhythmical line and the silhouette. 2. The isolation of massing of light or dark areas against a contrasting background the counter-changing of color. 3. Stiff angular forms in contrast with flowing or circular ones. 4. Conventional, decorative, abstract types of faces rather than individual portraits of real people with faces defining emotions. 5. Simple color schemes with the primary colors featured and the secondary colors used subordinately. 6. The absolute lack of true perspective, both linear and aerial, so that all the elements of the design are in one plane. 7. Ideas expressed symbolically. When a figure subject is represented, it is always treated from the standpoint of pure design never from the standpoint of realism or pictorialism. Nevertheless, every great window has a marvelous sense of reality. It has a vital quality. The figures, the ornament, whatever features it contains really seem to exist. They live. When the principles as above outlined are applied, not mechanically but purposefully, by an inspired artist and master of the craft of stained glass, the greatest possibilities for beauty inherent in the material are developed. Joseph G. Reynolds, Jr. Just as the Editor in 1935 invited comment, so do I. If you would like to express your opinions on what constitutes an ideal window and how the ideal has changed in the almost 80 years since this article was first published, please send your comments to: Richard H. Gross 9313 East 63rd Street Raytown, MO 64133 Or: stainedglassquarterly@gmail.com. e 311