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Featured Window

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

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Window

Building Name: St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church

City: Detroit

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

Subject/Title of Window: Nativity

Brief Description of Subject: This is the second 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 Nativity scene pictured is based on the story of the birth of Jesus found in Luke 1:1 -7. As seen here, the Christ child, in the Virgin Mary's lap, is adored by angels. The young angels are up close and one is offering flowers. The older angels, in the back, are following the words found in Psalm 150, "Praise the Lord ... Praise him with the sound of the trumpet ... Praise him with the strings."
 
The design of this window is based on Heinrich Hofmann's pencil drawing of the Nativity included among his portfolios on the "Life of Christ." The one seen here is a colorized version of Hofmann's drawing.
 
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 are inscribed the names of the donors --- "Children of Mary" (literal translation of Dzieci Maryi), and the "Family of Anna and Joseph Chmielewski."
 
The stained glass windows in the Church were restored in 2002.

Inscriptions: Dzieci Maryi
Rodzina Anny I Jozefa Chmielewskich


Height: 12'

Width: 4' 6"

Type of Glass and Technique: Opalescent Glass

Nativity
Nativity
Nativity close-up
Nativity close-up
Heinrich Hofmann drawing (colorized as could not find the original which was done in pencil.)
Heinrich Hofmann drawing (colorized as could not find the original which was done in pencil.)

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.

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