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Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. Paul Catholic Church

Studio Name: Mayer (Franz) and Company

City: Grosse Point Farms

Window Shape: 6 (gothic arched, more than 2 vertical sections)

Date of Window: 1924

Subject/Title of Window: St. Paul

Brief Description of Subject: The south window transept depicts the scene described in the New Testament book of Acts of the Apostles in which St. Paul preaches to the Greeks who were curious about the “new religion.” Because St. Paul spoke of the resurrection of the dead, the Greeks lost interest, and Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. This window is mostly enameled glass painted in the fashion prevalent in the early twentieth century. The tracery, leading, and mullions are delicate and serve little purpose in delineating the figures or setting a frame for the picture. St. Paul, with arm raised in exhortation, gowned in deep purple robe, stands on the steps of a historically correct Doric building situated in the marketplace. On the acropolis in the background is seen the Parthenon, greatest of pagan temples. Among the people gathered to listen to Paul are Greeks, an Oriental potentate, and a Roman magistrate crowned with a laurel wreath, each evidenced by his costume and reflecting the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Athens then as it is today. The scene is realistic from the figure of St. Paul to the note-taking Greeks and the contemplative philosopher. Symbols of pagan and Christian beliefs are represented in the cypress trees (symbol of death), the doves (symbols of purity and peace), and the orange and lemon bearing trees (symbols of purity, chastity, generosity, and fidelity in love). The colors are purple, green, and yellow with the predominant colors being those of the blue sky and sepia Greek buildings. The fleur-de-lis in stained glass borders the window and is replicated in gold leaf on the walls of the apse, an appropriate emblem for a community that was mainly French.

From Stained Glass in Detroit by Nola Tutag, p107.

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