About Stained Glass
Stained glass is often used in churches as well as in cathedrals. To find out more about stained glass one must look at its origins and also how it has developed over time. In the traditional sense, stained glass involves colouring of glass and it also meant creating exciting tapestries from a number of pieces in order to display something that was holy or which was significant in some way. The modern examples of stained glass show a transformation in that these items can now be made in different ways including as 3D sculptures as well as in other artistic ways.
Stained glass-a look at the history of stained glass
To find out more about stained glass, it is also important to take a closer look at its history. It was always a common practice for ancient civilizations to make use of coloured glass and the Egyptians and Romans excelled in this. They were able to create many wonderful pieces of stained glass and their skills and artistry reached their zenith during the medieval times.
Showed biblical and literary portraits
During that period, stained glass was used in order to show biblical as well as literary portraits and the glass windows were primarily used in churches and in cathedrals. However, during the Reformation a large number of such windows were destroyed though stained glass was still being made but not on a big scale.
Modern era
When learning about stained glass in the modern era, one must look at how these are made. In most cases, modern artists and crafts-persons continue to use traditional concepts but the pictures that they are now creating are much more complex. A few artists are also following new directions and are creating sculptures as well as pieces that are not directly related to any religion.
What functions can stained glass perform?
When it comes to understanding more about stained glass, it is also important to learn about what functions stained glass performs. In fact, there are two methods of creating such glass with one method involving the colouration of glass while the glass is being produced. During the glass manufacturing process, different kinds of metallic salts are used to create variety of colours. Next, the glass needs to be hardened and then set.
The second method of creating stained glass involves painting or even applying colour on the glass surface – but after the glass has been made. In this method, the glass will be used in order to create art by putting small pieces together into a single frame that is heavy and made of iron. This helps in setting everything in place.
To learn more about stained glass, it is also important to know how to identify this kind of glass. The good news is that it is very simple to identify such glass. Remember that virtually all kinds of artistic windows or sculptures that involve coloured glass will have to be made from stained glass. It is also important to know that stained glass has a lot of religious significance and though modern examples of such glass show a different trend, the traditional style of stained glass is almost exclusively devoted to depicting religious people, beliefs or concepts.