Stained Glass banner image

Featured Window

Window of the Month
Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

Click any image to enlarge.




Window

Building Name: St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 5 (gothic arched, 2 vertical sections)

Subject/Title of Window: Boy Christ in Temple

Brief Description of Subject: This is the third of 10 aisle windows depicting scenes in the life of Christ. With one exception, they are arranged in chronological order starting on the Epistle side.
 
The canopy features a five pointed star on a cross. The five pointed star is the "Star of Bethlehem." The five points symbolize the five wounds of Christ.
 
The story of "Boy Christ in the Temple" is found in Luke 2:46 - 47. Jesus had gone missing and his parents went searching for him. "After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers."
 
The design of this window is based on Heinrich Hofmann's 1881 oil on canvas painting of this scene. The portrait of the boy Jesus from this painting took on a life of its own and has become, beyond doubt, the most famous image of the boy Jesus.
 
In using an already existing artwork for the design of a two lancet  window, a maker is confronted with the problem of the mullion dividing the space in two. This will necessitate design changes from the original. 
 
In the predella was inscribed the name of the donor, however it is no longer visible. In a photo taken years ago, the right pane had the word "Bractwo" indicating it was confraternity or sodality that had donated this window, however the name of the organization was not legible.
 
The stained glass windows in the Church were restored in 2002.

Inscriptions: Bractwo??


Height: 12'

Width: 4' 6"

Type of Glass and Technique: Opalescent Glass

Boy Christ in Temple
Boy Christ in Temple
Boy Christ in Temple close-up
Boy Christ in Temple close-up
Heinrich Hofmann's 1881 oil on canvas painting
Heinrich Hofmann's 1881 oil on canvas painting

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