Take a journey through the centuries to explore one of the most beautiful of all art forms: stained glass. Author and expert glass craftsman Joe Porcelli shows us the most vibrant work in his field, from the time the Egyptians first made glass to today. Accompanied by stunning full-color illustrations, Stained Glass reveals a dazzling world where light and color combine to create a fantasyland in glass. Stained Glass begins with a history of early glass - from the excitement of its discovery to its uses both decorative and practical for everything from perfume jars to mosaics.
It was only a short step from mosaic glass to stained glass windows, which combined the colors of the glass and the light of the sun to create a magical, ethereal environment in the churches and cathedrals of the Middle Ages, including Abbot Suger's Abbey Church of Saint Denis and Notre Dame de Chartres.
The popularity of stained glass swelled again beginning in the late sixteenth century with the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany and John LaFarge. The creation of opalescent art glass lent new form and style to stained glass and inspired unique objects d'art. In the twentieth century, innovation and creativity in the medium burgeoned.
From the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and William Morris to that of modern stained glass artists, examines the provocative and beautiful works that the practitioners of the medium have created, ending with a unique catalog of the work of contemporary artists.
