Stained Glass Art

For the longest time, I've been fascinated by stained glass windows. The intricate designs of them and the their symbolism intrigue me and whenever I find myself around them I tend to become lost in their design, in their intricacy. One of my favourite uses of stained glass windows is in the Disney classic 'Beauty and the Beast' whereby the initial narrative of the story is developed through stained glass art. I was initially scared of these works as a child because of their bold design and harsh colours (and also because the enchantress looked a little scary at the beginning) but as I have grown up I realised how stunning the opening of this film truly was. The image above is a stained glass window shown at the end of the film showing all of our favourite characters and their happy ending.

A year or so ago I purchased this beauty and the beast shirt from a site called Redbubble. I initially purchased the shirt both because the 'Beauty and the beast ' nostalgia but also because of the detailed stain glass style the artist has applied to the artwork. Now looking at the design of the shirt in greater detail, the coloured used are rather muted in comparison to the imagery used in the movie, I feel that this was a good design decision as it meant that the colours didn't detract from the detailed line work. The detail, especially on the beast's face, is the main focus of the design for me, this level of detail helping to clearly convey the mood of the image.

Overall, I think that the reason I'm so attracted to stained glass windows is because they can tell a detailed narrative through either one or a few images. Each colour and line having a greater importance in the story being told through the window.