Commercialart - witraże i usługi graficzne

A traditional stained-glass technique – using lead.

Origin

The first decorative stained-glass appeared in Carolingian Era in the 8th century together with the development of Christianity in Europe. Over time the classic lead stained-glass grew into ecclesiastical architecture, and reached its climax in the Gothic Era. Never before and never since was it that organically put into the structure of a building. Its lightness, coloring, were a perfect completion to the essence of the spire, sublime sky-reaching architecture of the 13th and 14th centuries. At that time a possibility to paint glass appeared together with coated layered glass. The most remarkable stained glass windows were created in the Notre-Dame in Paris, Leon in Spain or Louis IX chapels. Stained glass has remained in unchanged form since the end of 18th century, though with time and change of art movements it has lost some of its original significance. A great rediscovery of stained glass started came in the 19th century with the arrival of Romanticism and later Art Novueau. Thanks to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s work, the world became enchanted with the beauty of glass again… but that is a completely different story….

Characteristic of the traditional technique:

In the traditional technique, the separate pieces of glass are joint together with “H” shaped lead came. All the came are soldered together forming a constructional channel of the stained glass. All the slits between the lead frame and the glass are filled with putty. Stained-glass with area larger than ½ square meter requires additional reinforcement. The reinforcement, depending on the stained-glass purpose, might be made with wire, metal bars, steel net or Plexiglas plate. A traditional stained-glass window, that is properly designed and meticulously filled with putty, is characterized with great flexibility, far bigger than that created using Tiffany’s technique. The individual pieces of glass do not press on each other; therefore no deformations of the stained glass occur. Each piece of glass is separated by a minimum of 1 millimeter of soft lead. This technique is not recommended for projects with small detailed graphic themes, since each piece of glass is limited by the shape and size of the lead came/frame.

Traditional technique usage

Thanks to its flexibility this technique is perfect for creating elements that are under constant effects of wind, trembling or tension. Stained glass made using this technique can be used for windows and doors. It is also recommended for filling partition and recessed walls.