Corpus Vitrearum - Centre André Chastel

mercredi 5 juilletRésumés des communicationsJames BugslagThe Revival and Resurgence of Stained Glass« Treatises » in the 19th Century and their Implicationsfor the Study of Pre-Modern Stained GlassFig. 1 Ottawa, National Gallery of Art, Acq. no. 981 : Male Figure SetAgainst Grisaille, England, antiquarian based on a panel of grisailleglass from Salisbury Cathedral and a head piece from StantonHarcourt ; both of the mid-13th century.This paper will investigate the relationship betweenMedieval and Renaissance « treatises » involvingstained glass,which began to be published in the mid-19th century, and the new generations of treatisesthat began to appear from that time, as glaziersbecame more and more knowledgeable about Pre-Modern stained glass and glazing practice. Few ofthese treatises, Medieval or Modern, actually take atheoretical perspective but are rather directedtowards the practical,craft aspect of creating stainedglass.The new « treatises » of the 19th century wereused in essentially the same way as Medieval ones,but with an important shift in emphasis. Not onlywas the tradition of medieval modelbooks identifiedin important ways with the tradition of practicaltreatises, but this tradition of practical treatises wasconflated, in important ways, with the more theoreticaltrattato tradition. This circumstance impacteddirectly on the understanding of Pre-Modern glazingpractices,and on the restoration and manipulation ofPre-Modern panels of stained glass, as well as on the« recycling » of dislocated banks of Pre-Modernpieces.From the perspective of the experiences withPre-Modern stained glass of the Canadian CVMACommittee, I will demonstrate in three differentcase studies some of the implications of this impact.Each case study will pair 19th century treatises withworks of 19th century stained glass from Canadiancollections that attempted to recreate Pre-Moderntechnique and style. In each case study, it will beshown how the treatise was used to create panels ofstained glass that were subsequently considered asactual Pre-Modern works. A panel in the NationalGallery of Art, Ottawa, depicting a standing figure40