Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Cathedral of St. Paul

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 3 (arched)

Subject/Title of Window: Mary Magdalene

Brief Description of Subject: Mary Magdalene's principal attributes stem from the belief that she is the repentant sinner described in John 13:3 --- Jesus was attending a dinner in Bethany when "Mary took a pint of nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair". In this window she was identified by the unfastened hair extending over the shoulders, and the covered ointment jar held in her hands.

Possibly made in Rhineland, Germany c1500. Canopy and border are modern. Provenance, Raul Heilbronner, to 1921, Haussaire.

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

Height: 89.75"

Width: 23.75"

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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.

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