Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Studio Name: Friederichs and Wolfram

City: Detroit

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

Subject/Title of Window: St. John the Evangelist and St. James the Greater

Brief Description of Subject: The roundel in the canopy of this nave window pictures a chalice with a snake crawling out of it (attribute of St. John the Evangelist), a book (attribute of a preacher of the word of God), a laurel branch (can be used as a symbol for victory over death or chastity), and a pilgrim's walking stick with a gourd water bottle (attribute of St. James the greater).
 
The left panel features St. John the Evangelist. John, as he is most commonly portrayed, appears as a young clean shaven man. He is seen giving a blessing, and holding a chalice with the head of a snake on fire crawling out of it. This stems from the legend that John was given a chalice filled with a poisoned drink, when he blessed it, the poison turned into a serpent  and crawled out of it.
 
The right panel pictures St. James the Greater. Tradition has him preaching on the Iberian Peninsula. Although he was martyred in Jerusalem, his body was brought back to what is now Spain. Eventually the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was built to house his remains. This soon became, and still is, a major pilgrimage site. Legends associated  St. James with a scallop shell. and it subsequently was used as markers to guide pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago. St James is portrayed here costumed as a pilgrim holding a staff with a gourd water bottle, a book in his other hand, and a scallop shell on his hat.
 
Above the scene is a floral and geometrical design using pastel colors.
 
In the predella is a banner designating the donor as Jacob Hansen.

Inscriptions: Jacob Hansen


Height: 20'

Width: 4'

Type of Glass and Technique: Opalescent Glass, Enamel Paint

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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