Stained Glass

Inscription – AVE GRATIA PLE NA (Luke 1:28)

The composition creates an immediate value contrast because the floor is a silver stained tile pattern that has a bright red damask hanging in the background. Mary is the central figure in the piece, sharply contrasted by the figure of Gabriel kneeling in the foreground with silver hair and gray and green wings. He wears a deacon’s vestments and clutches an inscribed banderole in his right hand. His white alb is contrasted by the purple dalmatic trimmed in gold with colored jewels draped over it. Mary, whose prayed has been interrupted by the apparition, kneels on her priedieu in front of her open prayer book. Her bright blue cloak over her murrey grown adds continuity of color with the background. A silver dove completes the continuity, as the Virgin’s halo and hair are silver. The golden rays of the sun create a link between the dove and the Holy Spirit and direct the eye from the Heavens toward Earth.

On close inspection, the viewer can detect there have been restorations to this panel. The first restoration saw a replacement of most of the angel’s wings as well as a piece of the damask hanging. Another restoration was more significant, as a majority of the architectural canopy was placed in three sections. At the time of this second restoration there was also a replacement of another piece of the hanging as w

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some of them, such as working her spindle or loom, are depicted on the two lost panels from Berlin. However, another of the Virgin Mary’s tasks was reading Holy Writ and spending time in prayer. In this panel we see her devoting her time to both of these prescribed tasks. Like the two lost panels in Berlin, the Virgin is accompanied by an angel. Nonetheless, we can see in this panel the combination of traditional iconography symbolism interspersed with elements of the new disguised symbolism, the influence of the Flemish. Technique A very delicate technique was utilized by the creator of this panel on close observation. The use of modeling washes was employed to heighten this delicate affect. They were applied in a medium tone and then a scrub was used to erase any remaining highlights. Very fine hatchings and cross-hatchings were then used to add strength to the shadows in the panel. A very delicate touch was also used with the trace lines observable in the panel. They begin as sharply distinguished lines, but the use of feathering via toning hatches make them appear more as modeling where they end. If one studies the jaw line of the angel this becomes apparent. The lines are employed to define form, but they are
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Composition Color, Greenland Studio, Flemish Technique, Sainte-Chappelle Dijon, Iconography Flemish, God Heaven, Virgin Marys, Condition Annunciation, Earth Condition, Color Nativity, toning washes, panel similar, stained glass, flemish panel, dijon nativity, white glass painted, lost panels, disguised symbolism, fifteenth century, virgin marys, bright red, painted toning washes, panels berlin virgin, lost panels berlin, glass painted toning,
Approximate Word count = 1397
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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