Evening star., 1920-01-04


long halls of the Petit Palais. on a
level with the eyes. so close that you
can touch them. the great stained
glass windows of five famous old
Paris churches have been inserted.
continuous. into walls which are all
windows. SO the sunlight plays
through them in one glory burst of
color.
Beneath one, which is extraordinary
it represents Christ at the Helm"
by an unknown sixteenth century ar
tist-these words burnt into its an
cient decorative border will form part
of it henceforth forever as present
explanation and future memorial of
the exhibition:
The present windows. belonging to
the churches of St SEVERN, ST. Ger
main rAuxerrois, st. Merri. ST. Etienne
du Mont and st. Grevais. put in safety
during the period of bombardments.
were restored by the care of the city
of Paris
No need of dates. The dates will
never be forgotten Thousands of
Americans were in Paris on Good
Friday. 1918. when. in particular, st.
Gervais being struck by a high ex
plosive Bertha shell, an entire section
of it's massive stone roof came crash
ing down on the worshipers killed
sixty-fve and wounded ESQ. of whom
six were American women and two
men.
Here, happily, are the splendid old
windows of ST. Gervais along with the
others. all now photographed efec-
lively for the first time in history.
Their floods of inimitable color dld
not mingle with the blood of victims.
Their gentle Scenes From the Life of
The Virgin did not come splinterlng
down in the tragedy of German fright
fulness on the most solemn day of the
Christian year when churches are
crowded. The stained glass treasures
of Paris, belonging principally to the
five churches named, had been taken
down and salvaged in another city. III
was an enormous and difficult work,
worthy. of the Paris municipality, be-
cause these windows. so great in size.
so delicate in composition irregular
chunks of colored glass held together
by leads), so heavy in weight Carved
stone tracery divides them). are reg
ularly set high in the ancient walls.
Their height of setting in the old
churches twhere. of course, they have
always been) makes the present exhl-
bition unique-an unprecedented sight.
Such stained glass is not made at
present. The secrets of certain rlch
or delicate tints have been lost. And
the expense. art. taste and labor OF
other days are not usually expended
in this form of honoring God. Pa
risians of five centuries beheld the jew
eled pictures high up, cranlng
their neckS and reduced in size and
distinctness by distance. When each
window was new Cat varying dates
between 1850 and $500 the king,
prince, family, confraternity or trades
union which ordered and paid for it
gave public vanishing day or pri-
vate view of it's glory on the ground
floor. SO to speak, set in some window
for the purpose at the height of the
eye. prepared in the master glaciers
studios. =
Yes. in those old days. each time
they saw one or two new windows at
close range-an art event. But what
no king. prince, cardinal. archbishop,
religious order or the people of Paris
ever ever had an opportunity to see was
church windows all together in one
blaze of heauty-within touch of the
hand-and all Zrand-new at the same
moment. spattering their splendor.
New? Exactly.
Today? Precisely. Here is a great
thing. Glass is almost immortal 1t
is equally ever youthful on the sole
conditlon-alas. proud flower of fem
ininity. alas.-of being washed. These
stained glass windows have been
Washed for the first time in 500
years.
There's window washing for you.
How could it be otherwise? So long
as they remained in place. high up.
immense. and SO delicate. so precious,
what pious woman. the best of house
keepers, could be intrusted with
bucket and long-handled mop at the
top of a forty-foot ladder. risking to
come down like Bertha's own while
punching holes in immortal beauty
From which it follows that these
rainbow scenes tart galleries of old
ages) yet not seen in their bright
ness. thus. for centuries, had even
more surely never been adequately
photographed. Many of them were
out of place for photography, and
practically all out of proper light
ing. But-you answer-they are
light. all light Yes; but when dust
collects and rain transmutes to mud
it's myriad layers through the CEN
turies, you obtain those effects which
John Milton, writing in the year 1910
fwhen most of this glass was less
than century old. observed melo-
diously and generally of
Stored windows richly disht
casting dim religious light.
\ X X
The Petit Palais (Which is very
large) was built new for the world fair
of 1900 1t is rich, graceful, spread
ing one-story and basement reminis-
cenee of some imperial villa of Italy
or elsewhere. with f1ower-bedS and
lily pools in an interior patio. around
which curve pillared porticos.
The halls circling its exterior walls
are pierced with windows everywhere
for the light needed by exhibitions.
IL was a great idea to set up the
stained glass masterpieces of five
IarIs churches all together. in them.
At once one asks: why five only?"
Where is the glass of Notre Dame?
Its gigantic roses, sixty yards in di-.
ameter. are so high up in the walls
that they escaped with ease relig-
ious wars and revolution. Few tour
lists dream of attempting to pick out
their details, yet they cOntain-all
thirteenth century glass-the proph-
cts, patriarchs and kings of the Old
Testament. the apostles, martyrs and
angels of the New. the signs of the
zodiac. the labors of the months and
the arms of rather presumptuous
prince ca rdinal
a They stood the gaf of Berthas and
Gothas. They were too vast and
complicated in their massive stone
traceries to be removed for safety.
They were packed on either side with
thirty feet of sandbags-against kul-
tur
What of the cotemporary glass of
the Sainte Chapelle? house of God
all scintillating precious stones. Its
entire walls are binding colored
lights. II is the jewel box built by an
old French king (saint and crusader
in his person. to contain the pieces
of the true cross and crown of thorns