Identifier: cu31924024837159 (find matches)
Title: A stained glass tour in Italy
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Sherrill, Charles Hitchock, 1867-
Subjects: Glass painting and staining
Publisher: London, John Lane New York, The John Lane Company (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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the imperishablereproduction at St. Peters of the genius of Raphaeland a score of Italys greatest painters. From thisvery art of mosaic there branched forth at an earlydate the decoration of window spaces in colour.All that was needed to emulate the success of themosaicist was to do for a window what the mosaicisthad done for his wall—adorn it with a picture madeup of bits of parti-coloured glass. It was EmperorConstantine that brought this craft to Rome fromConstantinople, where it had long been practisedin Santa Sofia and other churches. From his timedown all the ages the records of Rome show thatthe coloured glazing of windows was understood,and was steadily developing as an art. In thecatacombs there have been found fragments ofpainted glass showing the Good Shepherd and othersymbols so dear to the primitive Christians. Severalearly Christian writers speak of stained glass picturesas not uncommon at the end of the 5th century.When the capital of the Empire was transferred to 40
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MOSAICS AT ST. PAULS, ROMEThe quaint drawing of the figures bears striking testimony to how much the mosaicperiod of glass owed to the designers of mosaic. Rome Byzantium, art languished in Italy, and the greatchurch of Santa Sofia became the worlds magnet forartists, and the glories of its glass have been toldby many writers. Then came the fall of theEmpire and the inrush of the barbarians. UnderLeo III, at the beginning of the 9th century, theart of the glazier greatly advanced. In the middleof that century we read that Benedict III decoratedwith coloured glass the apse of the • church acrossthe Tiber. An important step was taken when, in 1058,Abbot Desiderio summoned glaziers from Con-stantinople to decorate (among others) the churchof Monte Cassino. It would seem, however, thatno roots were struck in Italian soil by theseByzantines. We read that they remained in thatneighbourhood, but neither they nor their craftventured to branch out. Now came the momentwhen the painting of wal

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