Digital Commons Network^™

Heterochrony In The Interpretation Of Stained Glass Windows: A Case Study On Light In The Church Of Orsanmichele, R.J. Maupin

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In the last decade, scholars of medieval art have examined how the materiality of religious objects was seen to increase the sacredness of the rituals in which they were used. Christians in the Middle Ages understood that objects had the potential to move from the material (such as glass or gems) to the immaterial (the divine presence of God). While stained glass is a medium that is defined by the mutability of its material, scholars have focused primarily on the iconography of glass windows and the workshop practices of glaziers rather than phenomenological meanings. There is recognition of the visual …