Evening star., 1937-06-12
By Leila Mechhn.
NEW stained glass window has

~ Transept Of the Washington
4 Cathedral on Mount ST. Alban
another work Of art added to those
finding permanent placement here at
the Nations Capital. A Boston firm
Of workers in stained glass, Reynolds,
Francis & Rohnstock were the de-
signers under whom 1t was executed.
It WAS the gift Of Emily Kingsbury
Rowland as a memorial to her hus-
band, the late Harvey Rowland, jr.
From the standpoint both of color
and design this window is out OF the
ordinary new departure in ecclesi-
astical work in this media. 1t is
practically in three colors, red, blue
and yellow, the first two held in
broad, fiat masses, and the style is
essentially archaic, from the nations
east Of Palestine 800 years before the
Christian era.
Daniel as Statesman,
Subject OF the Window.
THE subject Of the window is Daniel,
the prophet, whose name is still a
synonym for wisdom, one Of the states
men Of the Old Testament-to him this
transept Is dedicated He is shown
In youth, maturity and old age, in
the three lancets, serving under three
kings. NebuchadneZzar, the Babylonian
who took him captive and educated
him for his service; Belshazzar, the
Assyrian, and Darius, the Persian
These figures are full-length and fol-
low the convention Of the art of the
Near East made familiar through
works OF great antiquity. Below each
Is pictorial representation OF three
events in the life Of Daniel, indicative
OF vision, courage and profound re-
ligious conviction. In the first he
Is seen interpreting Nebuchadnezzar'
dream; in the second he is repre-
sented as translating for Belshazzar
the fateful writing on the wall; in
the third we see him undergoing
that severe test OF faith in the den
Of lions where he was cast by order
Of Darius.
The fact that Daniel is represented
as living through three successive
kingdoms gave opportunity for the
employment by the designers Of a
wealth Of detail, but 50 skillfully has
1t been handled that the effect is
simple rather than involved. In the
tracery openings and in the canopies
above the large figures one notes the
tree OF life motif in the design, as
well Is winged figures, prototypes OF
Christian angels, as found in As
syrian art. Obviously, the shape OF
the window opening was fixed by the
style Of the architecture of the build
Ing. which Is Gothic: but to it this
archaic design has been cleverly
adapted. But, after all, rs the de-
sieners have reminded us, what is to
3orbid9 Did not Gothic art stem
back through the Romanesque, By
Antine and Greek to the earlier basic
forms?
In the color scheme also the art of
the Near East, before the Christian
era, has been followed closely and
Intentionally; but here another in
duence has crept in-that OF the
colored glass At the Cathedral OF
Leon In Spain, which the builders Of
our Washington Cathedral have
agreed upon as their ideal. Warmer
In effect than the glass OF Chartres
or other French cathedrals. the glass
at Leon has . splendor quite Its own.
Brilliant Color
OF the Glass Used.
THE glass in this Daniel window was
made aboard and is very strong a.
well ~ rich in color. The blue Is Of the
heavenly shade employed by the early
italian painters for the cloak or robe
Of the Virgin Mary; the red is that
Of the ancient glass Of Venice-lit-
orally sApphires matched with rubies-
while the yellow, sparingly intro
duced, lends richness to the flame and
binds the scheme together. The only
weakness in the design Is found in
the canopy over the middle lancet,
which overemphasizes horizontal
cross-lines too numerous and insig-
nificant. But this is no great matter.
The light from without falling from
. different angle may remedy it. For,
after all, this window and its COM
panions in the uncompleted cathedral
structure, Is at present seen to the
utmost disadvantage-a disadvantage
% well recognized by the builders
that all stained glass produced to
order is accepted Professionally. sub
ject to later revision, for which a
sum representing proportionate
amount Of the cost Is set aside.
Artists who use stained glass as .
medium, work, it should be remem-
bered, not merely with a color palette,
but lght-light which does not fall
upon their finished work. but through
1t, and thus becomes literally part Of
It. In visiting the cathedrals Of the
old world to study their matchless
glass one must, or WILL If sufficiently
knowing. select the right time of day
to see them at the best advantage
Early in the morning or late in the
afternoon, when the suns rays are
slanting they literally liquefy the color
until it becomes a dream OF almost
unimaginable splendor. And how
much there is to learn from them
how much Of the essence Of all art they
possessl
Works BY Tueltth Century
Writers Still Supreme.
ITO KNOW the best we must 60 back
to the twelfth century. An out
standing example OF the glass Of this
early period, when the makers were ex-
perimenters and 1ealots, is the Tree
Of Jesse" window in Chartres, which
Violet lie Due declared to be ''the
most splendid color decoration the
world ever saw, since no other ma
terial. neither silk nor gold, and no
opaque color laid on with brush,
can compare with translucent glass,
and even the Ravenna mosaics or Chi
nese porcelains are darkness beside
them"
This same writer, dealing with the
$A~hptr,,A aire6 glaze DESIGN