St. Denis Windows
Professor Fricke
17 March 2014
Saint Denis Windows: Infancy of Christ
The window displayed within an arch on the North side of Saint Denis depicts scenes ranging from Jesus Christ’s nativity to the death of the virgin. Upon initial gaze of the window, a colorful array of glass is divided into 21 distinct sections with a total of 3 columns and 7 rows. The display of the scenes are systemized where the central column of the window contains the main sequence of Jesus that includes popular representations of Annunciation, Nativity, The Magi, Flight to Egypt, Boy Jesus in Temple, etc. The left and right columns of the glass serve as supplementary pieces that support the central story with images focused on Mary and Joseph as well as the Angel Gabriel—integral pieces that contribute to the main subject: birth, infancy, and boyhood of Christ. The intricate glasswork coupled with the sequential order of the scenes allow for the glass to deliver a comprehensive timeline that is able to capture even subtle details of the timeless stories. Consider the bottom row of the glass that displays Visitation, Annunciation, and Joseph and the Angel from left to right. All three scenes are prior to the actual birth of Jesus and foreshadow events to take place in the relative future. Again, the central column serves as the most profound image with the iconic Annunciation of Jesus’s incarnation from Gabriel to Mary. The Visitation with Elizabeth and Gabriel’s interaction with Joseph, two scenes that pair with the Annunciation, in fact, are result of the events of the center piece. From this arrangement, we see that the glass sections not only facilitate a chronological telling of Jesus’s nativity, the supporting pieces on either side of the central column play an integral part of ‘widening’ the scope of the tale and provide a short term timeline as opposed to the longer period flow of the central column itself. This way, visitors gazing upon the glass can easily digest the beauty
17 March 2014
Saint Denis Windows: Infancy of Christ
The window displayed within an arch on the North side of Saint Denis depicts scenes ranging from Jesus Christ’s nativity to the death of the virgin. Upon initial gaze of the window, a colorful array of glass is divided into 21 distinct sections with a total of 3 columns and 7 rows. The display of the scenes are systemized where the central column of the window contains the main sequence of Jesus that includes popular representations of Annunciation, Nativity, The Magi, Flight to Egypt, Boy Jesus in Temple, etc. The left and right columns of the glass serve as supplementary pieces that support the central story with images focused on Mary and Joseph as well as the Angel Gabriel—integral pieces that contribute to the main subject: birth, infancy, and boyhood of Christ. The intricate glasswork coupled with the sequential order of the scenes allow for the glass to deliver a comprehensive timeline that is able to capture even subtle details of the timeless stories. Consider the bottom row of the glass that displays Visitation, Annunciation, and Joseph and the Angel from left to right. All three scenes are prior to the actual birth of Jesus and foreshadow events to take place in the relative future. Again, the central column serves as the most profound image with the iconic Annunciation of Jesus’s incarnation from Gabriel to Mary. The Visitation with Elizabeth and Gabriel’s interaction with Joseph, two scenes that pair with the Annunciation, in fact, are result of the events of the center piece. From this arrangement, we see that the glass sections not only facilitate a chronological telling of Jesus’s nativity, the supporting pieces on either side of the central column play an integral part of ‘widening’ the scope of the tale and provide a short term timeline as opposed to the longer period flow of the central column itself. This way, visitors gazing upon the glass can easily digest the beauty