Saint Jean Baptiste Catholic Church Stained Glass Windows

From the Saint Jean Baptiste website, number 4:

"Saint Jean Baptiste features several sets of stained glass windows. The most important and visually dominant are the windows of the nave (including the apsidal chapels) and clerestory (second level). These beautiful windows were designed and crafted by the Chartres, France, atelier of Charles Lorin between 1914 and 1919. Due to the danger of shipping during World War I, they were kept in France and, therefore, not installed until 1920. Along with the Lorin windows in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, these are the only examples in New York of the superb craftsmanship of this workshop.

Like most of the church’s decorative elements, the windows reflect the Eucharistic focus of Saint Jean Baptiste and the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. The nave windows depict events in the life of Christ (mostly on the north wall) and subsequent Eucharistic events or doctrines in the life of the Catholic Church (south wall). The clerestory windows depict Old Testament scenes that are pre-figurations of the events in the lower windows, once again with an emphasis on those that pre-figure the Eucharist. The forms and compositions of the designs may be traced to the great tradition of French classicizing history painting, from Poussin in the seventeenth century to nineteenth-century masters such as Ingres and his followers."

From the website of Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin:

“The “Lorin de Chartres” Studio or Atelier Lorin was founded by Nicolas Lorin (1815 – 1882), a master of painted and stained French art glass, in 1863. His wife, Madame Veuve Lorin and his son Charles Lorin (1874 – 1940) took over the studio upon Nicolas’ death. The Lorin Studio restored medieval glass and created many stained glass windows around the world including windows in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, the Cathedral Notre Dame de Chartres in France, the Miracle of St. Nicolas in the Monaco Cathedral, and the Eglise Saint Jean Baptiste in New York. Today the Lorin Company is the oldest stained glass workshop in Chartres. Chartres is noted for its stained glass designs and is the home of Centre International du Vitrail Museum dedicated to stained glass technology.

Jacques-Louis David and Jean-August Ingres, two important French neo-classical painters who weren’t known for their religious works, influenced Nicolas and Charles Lorin but the inspiration might have come from their style. Charles Alexandre Crauk, a painter of religious and historical paintings and head of the Lorin drawing studio, was also influenced by the neoclassical style. The neoclassical artists were known for an artistic style that emphasized symmetry, austerity, clean lines, a revival of the classical themes of history and mythology, attention to detail, bold figures in sharp vibrant colors, and a quest for beauty. The neoclassical paintings had clear, bold outlines against pastel or darker back grounds, enhancing the important figures or groups within the scene. The effects of light were not a mere accident, in most cases, light signaled vitality, darkness represented death.”

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