Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

Click any image to enlarge.

MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Cathedral of St. Paul

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 3 (arched)

Subject/Title of Window: Kneeling Donor with Patron Saint

Brief Description of Subject: In the Medieval time period this is a frequently used pose for a donor-patron window --- the donor praying on a kneeler, and the donor's patron saint standing behind with a hand on the donor's shoulder. Accompanying this would be personal objects and inscriptions relating to the donor --- especially the donor's status. For this window the donor is wearing the neck chain of the "Order of the Golden Fleece" (a Roman Catholic chivalrous Order), a princely crown, a coat-of-arms (2 stars on a red field separated by a silver band), and a banner inscribed with the year 1553 -- as noted the coat-of-arms and banner with date are not original to the window.

Possibly made in the Low Countries, mid-16th century. Canopies, borders and decorative bases modern; considerable replacements including inscription and shield.

A notable collection of ancient stained glass has been presented to Saint Paul's Cathedral of Detroit, Michigan. There will be sufficient glass to fill twenty windows. Six double panels in the sanctuary on either side of the altar have been installed, and eight in the choir clerestory are yet to be placed.

The glass, dating from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, is thought to be of French and Spanish origin. It has an intriguing history relating to looted Spanish churches, journeys through France, and a haven with Belgian art collectors.

The panels contain figures representing siginificant characters from the Old and New Testaments. Though varied in design and scale, they are arranged to balance and harmonize well. Each panel is about two and a half to three feet wide and twelve to fourteen feet high. In the bright sunshine their colors fairly dance and sing in their ancient blues, purples, crimson and gold rays that play on the altar, throwing their radiance of changing light on the flowers there.

The light from these windows has revealed new beauties in the stone and wood carving which previously, in the dim light, were lost. They emphasize the height and vastness of the chancel, and illuminate the detail of carving of the great reredos, which is one of the mastepieces of the great Kirchmayer.

They recall the wording of the ancient prophecy that the "Earth shall be filled with the Glory of God as the waters cover the sea."
--Stained Glass, Autumn 1973

Inscriptions: 1553


Height: 89.75"

Width: 23.75"

The MSGC is a constantly evolving database. Not all the data that has been collected by volunteers has been sorted and entered. Not every building has been completely documented.

All images in the Index are either born-digital photographs of windows or buildings or are scans of slides, prints, or other published sources. These images have been provided by volunteers and the quality of the material varies widely.

If you have any questions, additions or corrections, or think you can provide better images and are willing to share them, please contact donald20@msu.edu