30 July 2020

Stained glass in the cathedral at Amiens

Much of the stained glass in the cathedral at Amiens was lost during World War I. The church was bombarded by the German army. After the war many of the surviving windows were taken down and sent to Paris for restoration work. There, an accidental fire in the building where they were stored destroyed most of them. However, there are still a few original stained-glass windows in the cathedral. And there are some impressive ones that were designed, fabricated, and installed in the 1930s and later in the 20th century. Here are some examples. It's hard to find detailed information about them.







Speaking of glass, I'm getting my new eyeglasses this morning. I'll go pick them up at the optical shop. I ended up deciding to buy a new frame (une monture) for the second pair of lenses. I had the first pair put into a frame that I already had and liked. Now I'll have to see which one, old or new, I like better. It has taken me several days to get used to the new lenses, but my eyes seem to have adapted now and I'm pretty satisfied.

8 comments:

  1. I like the new stylized stain glass. In the penultimate photo, some of the stained glass seems to me to be original. The colors are great. This series on Amiens is really stunning. Thank you.

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    1. The 1930s windows were done by Jean Gaudin, maître-verrier. That next-to-last window, as you point out, is didtinctly different.

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    2. Merci de ces précisions. It seems that Gaudin made numerous stained glass windows and mosaics for many churches in Northern France.

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  2. Great news on the glasses! I applaud your choice to get new frames for one of the pairs, so that you don't have to worry about that part of the glasses breaking down. I hope you'll have Walt take photos of yourself in each of the new pairs. I'm very curious!

    What a horrendous thing to have had the stored stained glass ruined in a fire, after the bombings ruined the rest!

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  3. I like the new stained glass also. I've not seen any quite like it. The long windows are a wonder! Glad you decided to get a new pair of glasses so that you'll have a good back up. I'm thinking about a new pair of glasses. Medicare will give me $100 because I had cataract surgery. When it's safe I'll go back to my shop in Anniston owned by a friend. His parents were lens grinders and he still does his own work.

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  4. The first picture with the soaring windows is remarkable. Too bad these wars didn't spare heritage buildings like this.

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  5. It is all so beautiful. I am glad to be able to see it through your photographs....And I am happy to hear about your new glasses.

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  6. Lovely pictures and accompanying story/information, Ken. Thank you!

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