Hi everyone and welcome back to Exploring Art with Alessandro. I usually talk about original works of art. However, I recently found out something unbelievable and extraordinary: a small-town art glass studio in northern Italy has faithfully replicated, in size, design, and materials, the three stained glass windows of the facade of the famous Chartres Cathedral. In nearly 900 years since the original windows were created, no one has ever been audacious enough to attempt even a single replica! These three brothers from the Fratelli Tomanin Art Glass Studio in San Bellino have actually created three!
Today, I want to share this incredible story and show you these stained glass windows in a detail that would have been impossible to appreciate and analyze without the undertaking of these three brothers. You’ll see them like never before.
In an earlier video, we explored one of the oldest and most renowned stained-glass windows in existence: the Belle-Verrière, or Blue Virgin, at the magnificent Chartres Cathedral, a prime example of Gothic architecture. Dating back to around 1150, this medieval masterpiece showcases the incredible communicative and artistic power of stained glass. Click here closer look!
The Importance of stained-glass windows
These stained-glass windows played a crucial role for several reasons:
- Visual Communication: In an era of limited literacy, stained glass windows were a powerful tool for visual communication. Through biblical images and stories of saints, the windows taught the faithful the principles of the Christian faith, making complex concepts accessible through a universal language.
- Light and Divinity: Light, considered a manifestation of the divine, penetrated the churches through the stained-glass windows, creating a mystical and joyful atmosphere. The colored glass filtered the natural light, casting plays of light and shadow on the nave and walls that evoked the divine presence.
- Symbolism and Theology: Every color and every figure in the stained-glass windows had a deep symbolic meaning, linked to Christian theology. Blue, for example, represented the sky and the Virgin Mary, while red symbolized the blood of Christ and the passion.
- Engineering and Craftsmanship: The creation of Gothic stained-glass windows required the highest level of craftsmanship and advanced knowledge of engineering. The creation of the colored glass panes, their assembly, and their fixing to the lead structures were complex operations that required years of apprenticeship.
- Beauty and Harmony: Gothic stained-glass windows were true works of art that contributed to creating a sacred environment of great beauty and harmony. The vibrant colors and elegant figures of the windows captured the gaze of the faithful and invited them to contemplation.
Talent vs AI
Even without being experts, it’s easy to see that creating these works of art is extremely complex. That’s why, since the Middle Ages, no one has ever attempted to replicate this type of work. But I invite you to do an experiment yourself: ask the main AI softwares “why is it so difficult to create Gothic stained-glass windows like those in Chartres?”.
The answers you’ll get will be related to these main reasons:
- Ancient Craftsmanship Techniques: The techniques used in the Middle Ages to create these stained glass windows have been largely lost. Medieval artisans had specific knowledge and skills, often passed down orally and jealously guarded.
- Materials and Colors: The vivid and intense colors of Gothic stained glass, such as the famous Chartres blue, were obtained with secret formulas of pigments and glass. Reproducing these colors exactly today is very complex.
- Design and Planning: The creation of a Gothic stained glass window required careful design, which was often entrusted to master glassmakers and highly talented artists. The designs had to be divided into thousands of small pieces of glass, each of which had to be cut and shaped by hand.
- Assembly: The individual pieces of glass were assembled using thin strips of lead, which were soldered together to create a single structure. This operation required great precision and patience, as even the smallest mistake could compromise the entire window.
- Multiple Firings: To fix the colors and decorations on the stained glass, it was necessary to subject the individual pieces to several firings in the oven. Each firing required a precise temperature and exposure time, and any variation could alter the final result.
In other words, “these combined factors make the creation of Gothic stained glass an art that is almost impossible to replicate with modern techniques and knowledge”.
How the Tomanin Brothers did it?
You can now appreciate why what Sandro Tomanin and his brothers Franco and Fabrizio have achieved is so remarkable. But how did they manage to create exact replicas of not one, but three stained glass windows?
It all begins with their many years of experience as an art Glass Studio and an extremely in-depth knowledge of both modern and ancient techniques, combined with immense expertise in the world of glass and materials.
Using the drawings that Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus, a French architect and restorer specialized in medieval architecture, faithfully copied from the original stained glass windows, the Tomanin brothers then digitized the lead lines of the windows. This system allowed for an almost absolute fidelity of the stained glass cartoons and preparatory drawings.
The entire execution phase of the stained glass windows was carried out strictly by hand. The glass panes were leaded and painted using the ancient “grisaille” technique, faithfully respecting the dictates of medieval masters. They are committed to preserving this ancient craft, aware that respecting the traditional technical and constructive knowledge will allow for the production of artifacts that will always guarantee durability over time and an intrinsic beauty.
“Life of Jesus” Window
And this is the magnificent result. The central window, “Life of Jesus,” is the largest (7.5 meters or 24.6 feet high) and tells the story of Christ’s life in a series of scenes from his birth to some of the main events once he became a man. And every scene is rich in meaning and detail. Let’s look at the Nativity scene, for example, with Joseph, exhausted, sleeping, while Mary lies down blessing the newborn Jesus. Look at the incredible expressiveness of the faces, the chiaroscuro skillfully created with the grisaille technique that provides volume and color to the flesh, and the beautiful details present on the bed or the realism of the curtains.
“Passion of Christ” window
The “Passion of Christ” window, on the other hand, provides us with a narrative, in 16 scenes, of Christ’s sacrifice up to the moment of his resurrection. I would like to focus on one of the most important episodes: the Last Supper, where we see Christ seated at the center of the scene, surrounded by his disciples, each with a specific expression, facial features, details of hair, beard, and complexion. Not only that, we admire how every object on the table is richly decorated, even the scales of the fish! And let us remember that every element you see is a small piece of colored glass held together by strips of lead, as only a few master glassmakers are able to achieve.
“Tree of Jesse” window
The final window is dedicated to the “Tree of Jesse”. The Tree of Jesse is a biblical allegory that represents the genealogy of Jesus Christ. According to this representation, Jesus is the “shoot” of a genealogical tree that has its roots in Jesse, father of King David. In fact, at the base we see Jesse himself asleep, from whose womb rises the tree that sees David as its first descendant, and it continues up to Mary who will then give birth to Jesus, who is at the highest and last point of the genealogical tree. Each character is flanked by two prophets, each with a magnificent inscription in medieval characters that allows us to identify them.
Even here we can note how each character has unique facial features, drapery, and poses.
Conclusion
All these details are finally, today, admirable thanks to the work of the Tomanin brothers, without whom it would be extremely difficult to observe and contemplate them. In fact, the original windows, although still extraordinary, are nevertheless penalized and diminished in their full enjoyment due to their height and position, which makes it impossible to approach, but also by natural degradation and atmospheric pollution that have obscured and darkened their colors.
Speaking of colors, the blue of the stained glass windows at Chartres is so famous it’s literally called ‘Chartres Blue.’ This particular shade of blue is known for its depth and brilliance, and it has been admired for centuries. The Tomanin brothers wanted to make sure they used exactly the same colors, even though I’m sure it was very expensive.
The Tomanin brothers have pulled off something truly amazing. While many people have admired the stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral, no one else has tried to replicate them – until now.
You can find link to the Tomanin brothers’ project clicking here. Don’t forget to like, share, and comment the video to help spread the word about this incredible achievement, and subscribe to the channel for more fascinating stories about art and history. Thank you!
