Monday, June 23, 2014

Stained Glass Masterpieces

I'm back in Christ Church Cathedral today, which had a wide variety of stained glass windows.


It seems rare to me to see this shade of red outside these kind of windows.


The front of the church has a massive stained glass window added in 1982 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the congregation. This view was from the balcony, taking in most of it. Any further back and I would have gone over the side, and, well, that would have just been messy.


I wanted some closeup details of the window, which not only incorporates Biblical figures and symbols of the faith, but also Canadian figures of history, symbols of the country, and elements of nature. There's a rich contrast between the figures in the foreground below and some just behind them, who have more of a 19th century bearing about them.


The Canadian elements of the window really manifest themselves here, with our first Prime Minister, Sir John  A. Macdonald, at the heart of the flags of our founding peoples and below Parliament Hill. Canadian symbols and animals can be made out close by.


Again, a mixture of Canadiana and of the faith itself goes into this window. This stained glass is a marvelous design, rich with detail. And as I've been here before, there's always something new to be found in it.

Yet more to come from Doors Open.



36 comments:

  1. These (and also yesterday's) stained glass windows are spectacular!

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  2. It's interesting to see stained glass with such modern themes.

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  3. The red is gorgeous. I agree with Stuart, it is interesting to see that the art of stained glass can still be used nowadays to commemorate and honour and remember recent events.

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  4. Great job in photographing the church windows. Perfect capture on the lighting and the colours.

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  5. Those stained glass windows always are so beautiful.

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  6. Is it my imagination, or are those T-squares in that last window?

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  7. Wonderful shots of the beautiful coloured stained glass.

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  8. @Linda: thank you!

    @Stuart: it is certainly a unique window.

    @Ciel: it makes me wonder how many people specialize in the art.

    @Andy: thanks.

    @Bieb: I love seeing these kind of windows.

    @Revrunner: they may be!

    @Jan: thanks!

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  9. I love stained glass...lived in a house once, a very old house, that had some stained glass.

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  10. no separation of church and state in that stained glass! i like it!

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  11. Those are very impressive windows.

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  12. You made me happy again with these!

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  13. Simply beautiful !
    I like stained glass windows.

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  14. Beautiful windows. the work and mastery gone into these are great. I do imagine that each time you see them you see more. Thanks for sharing these. MB

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  15. @Luis: I'm glad they turned out nicely.

    @Norma: I'd like to see stained glass in a house someday.

    @Tex: definitely not, but in this case it's the church doing the mixing!

    @Sharon: I like them very much.

    @VP: thank you!

    @Tanya: they are beautiful.

    @Karl: they're pleasing to the eye.

    @MB: you're welcome.

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  16. They are gorgeous windows. One of the best things about going to Europe is taking pictures of stained glass. Unfortunately I could never handle 35mm film and did a horrid job with most photos in the past. I'm just not a photographer and my hat is off to you. I love the way you capture the colors and center the photos with perfect light. Very talented.

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  17. Wow! What a display. They aren't easy to photograph - you did well!!

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  18. Glad you didn't go over the side!

    Can't get used to having themes other than religious in a church's stained glass! Beautiful pix though!

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  19. These are also really beautiful models!

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  20. what a wonderful set of stained glass windows

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  21. Important rule of photography: Never back up too far! These are gorgeous windows and it's very interesting to see that they mix both the religious and the secular. That's not something you'd find typical in the U.S.

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  22. @Eve: thanks!

    @Lauren: they can be a challenge.

    @Cheryl: I have something a bit unusual in an upcoming stained glass window.

    @RedPat: thanks!

    @Halcyon: thank you!

    @EG: the stained glass speaks to me.

    @Marleen: thanks!

    @Gerald: it's the grandest one here I can think of.

    @Kay: in this case, the mix works rather well.

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  23. Great pictures William. It's difficult to get really good shots of stained glass, but you did.

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  24. Those are some very special stained-glass windows. I don't much like the mixing of religion and country but it is common-place. There are too many people in this US who want to make it a "Christian" country, seemingly uncaring about the Constitution and the vision of our founders.

    I'm glad you didn't go over the railing; that would have been a lot of red on the floor, probably.

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  25. We have very few churches here that have the beauty of the churches you have highlighted, William. It seems Southern Baptists are not into architectural details, sadly.

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  26. I love the stain glass.. so beautiful!

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  27. WOW love the addition of Canadiana in these windows.

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  28. That window isn't just massive, it's magnificent! I'm glad you're here to explain the figures for us. I really appreciate things more with a guide.

    I'm also glad you didn't make a mess inside the church. :)

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  29. Gorgeous windows and gorgeous photos of them ! Very nice William...

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  30. @Mike: thank you.

    @Lowell: a lot!

    @Beatrice: we get a lot of Gothic architecture, especially in the older churches.

    @Beth: definitely.

    @Hilary: so do I.

    @Jackie: so do I.

    @Hilda: thank you!

    @Pat: thanks!

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