One reason why the inside of the Basilique Saint-Julien in Brioude is so colorful and luminous is that new, brightly colored stained-glass windows (vitraux) were put in place all around the church in 2008. They replaced plain clear glass windows, changing the church's look and feel completely, I'm sure.
The new windows were designed by a Korean priest named Kim En Joong, who was selected through a competition organized by the town of Brioude. The church's old stained glass hadn't survived the 1789 French Revolution.
Different colors dominate in windows in different parts of the church, so that the light and colors inside the building change from one part of the day to to the next as the sun moves across the sky.
I only photographed a very few of the windows, but there are 37 in all. Kim En Joong has designed stained glass for churches in Tours, Angoulême, Brioude, and other towns and cities, including the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres.
You can view dozens or even hundreds of Kim En Joong's creations here.
That stained glass is stunning!
ReplyDeleteI think so too.
DeleteWow, wow and wow! These stained glass windows are not only beautiful, they're amazing -- and stunning, as local alien said.
ReplyDeleteI'd say they are two different forms of expression : the informal and the minimalist, and I'm at a loss to tell which one I like best. I guess it depends on the mood you are in at the moment.
DeleteI think he must be the guy who did the windows at St Cosme just outside Tours. I thought it was a Chinese artist, but the similarities are striking so I would guess it's the same guy. I'm afraid at St Cosme most people who see the windows assume someone has vandalised them.
ReplyDeletewww.patrimoine-histoire.fr says the stained glass windows at the Prieuré Saint-Cosme are the work of the Chinese-French painter Zao Wou Ki.
DeleteThe chapel in Tours where Kim En Joong has a window (maybe more than one) seems to be the Oratoire de la Sainte-Face, near the cathedral.
DeleteThose windows are just beautiful; thanks so much for the special tour.
ReplyDelete: ^ )
DeleteThey're fantastic and unexpected in this church!
ReplyDeleteI had read about them before going to see the church, but I didn't realize how they would affect the light and color inside.
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