DECORATIVE ART IN AMERICA. 



243 



with it its own complementary color. This is 

 accomplished by the union of certain soluble 

 and insoluble particles with the glass, and arrest- 

 ing the fusion at a certain point. This secures 

 refracting powers in the glass that results in a 

 sense, more or less powerful, of the comple- 

 mentary color. The artistic advantage is, that 

 the glass carries with it its own harmony, and 

 in its combinations becomes much more amen- 

 able to the artist's purposes than is possible in 

 juxtapositions of positive tints. The ultimate 

 result is, that it allows for artistic possibilities, 

 without the use of paint, that were before im- 

 possible. This is still further emphasized by 

 the realization of "textures" in the glass. 

 These peculiarities make possible almost any 

 artistic scheme. 



Another important contribution to this new 

 work in stained glass is the use of " cracked 

 jewels." Glass "jewels " have long been in use, 

 and their name suggests their form and value. 

 These, when split and used with irregular facets, 

 are called "cracked jewels." They find place 

 now in almost every important work in stained 

 glass, but are seen to best advantage in archi- 

 tectural and purely ornamental forms. Some- 

 times they form the background for figures, 

 when their angles, throwing off the light in every 

 direction, present a brilliantly flashing surface. 

 This use of "cracked jewels" gives the glass a 

 value, by artificial light, before unknown, and 

 has led to the use of glass in mosaics a matter 

 deserving further attention. 



The more significant result of the manufact- 

 ure of opalescent glass is, that it allows for 

 picturesque as well as decorative effects. The 

 mingling of tints that the brush can compel 

 to blend colors and secure harmonies, here in- 

 heres in the glass. The best instance of this, 

 and that which best illustrates the various ar- 

 tistic resources in the American glass, is the 

 Black memorial window in Trinity Church, Bos- 

 ton. The subject of the window is the Apoca- 

 lyptic vision of the bride adorned for her hus- 

 band, symbolizing the Church. The treatment 

 is poetic and picturesque. At the base of the 

 window, leaning against a pillar, is St. John, 

 seated and looking up, as the angel standing 

 bids him, at the heavenly vision. With her 

 feet on the clouds stands the bride, with her 

 maids arranging her resplendent draperies. 

 Forming the arch of the window, and as it were 

 in the perspective of the background, is the 

 jeweled architecture of the New Jerusalem. 

 Here are all the conditions of a picture ex- 

 pressed entirely in glass, with the exception of 

 the faces and hands, which are painted, and at 

 the same time one of the most splendidly deco- 

 rative works. The window is most fortunate- 

 ly placed for comparison among windows from 

 Morris, Oudinot, and the most famous manu- 

 facturers of stained glass in England and France. 



What maybe accomplished by selecting glass 

 with reference to textures alone, is finely 

 shown in a large window made by L. C. Tiffa- 

 ny & Co. The design is a mermaid seated be- 



neath the waves, holding in her hand a string 

 of pearls, while her long amber hair drops 

 about her body. Around her, making the 

 decorative forms, are various species of sea- 

 fruit, shells, and other marine objects. In 

 this there is no paint whatever, even in the 

 face, the haunting expression of which shows 

 what can be done in this respect in the glass 

 alone. The wave-forms, the feeling of water, 

 the wrinkled texture of the sea-weeds, the iri- 

 descence of the shells, the gleam of the fish, 

 the corals, pearls, and draperies, are each sim- 

 ply from the advantage taken of happy acci- 

 dents in the glass taking their part in the gen- 

 eral scheme. It can be readily seen how such 

 material aid has extended the limits of decora- 

 tive effects. These are, in fact, bounded only 

 by mechanical difficulties. To escape from 

 these, Mr. La Farge was led to experiment in 

 fusing glass instead of leading. A small panel 

 in a window in the public library at Quincy, 

 Mass., furnishes a remarkable instance of what 

 can be accomplished in this way. The design 

 is a scholar reading, taken Irom an old Ro- 

 man diptych carved in ivory. This figure con- 

 tains two thousand pieces of glass, at least one 

 thousand of which are fused. Many of these 

 pieces are so small that they were handled with 

 pincers, as the jeweler handles stones. Seven 

 pieces make the ear, and their united size is 

 within the compass of the little finger nail. 

 The head is bald, and the sutures of the skull 

 are carefully observed. The union of these 

 pieces is all done by fusing, and the result pre- 

 serves the illusion of the brush. This is a cost- 

 ly process ; the glass returns to the kiln again 

 and again, some of the pieces being fired nine 

 times. But this panel is not made entirely by 

 fusing ; we find here also an instance of that 

 thread-like leading process, which is due also 

 to Mr. La Farge. A better instance of this, 

 however, is a hall- window for Mr. Frederick 

 Ames, of Boston. The design is a group of 

 hollyhocks in bloom against a slope of turf, be- 

 yond which stretches a field of brown stubble, 

 and in the distance a soft blue sky. With the 

 exception of the bank, in which the leads con- 

 tribute to the effect, there is no evidence of 

 their use. The curved outline and sense of 

 depth in the flowers produced with many sepa- 

 rate pieces of glass are unbroken to the eye. In 

 appearance the window might be the work of 

 the brush, and in delicacy of execution, color, 

 and transparence it has the quality of a water- 

 color painting, which it in fact resembles with- 

 out losing anything of its decorative character. 

 Such work as this finds no parallel in the 

 stained glass of any other country. 



The most conspicuous example of glass mo- 

 saics is that by L. C. Tiffany & Co., in the 

 panel behind the pulpit of the Church of the 

 Divine Paternity, New York. The center fig- 

 ure, that of Uriel, the angel of light, is done 

 partly in paint on plaster, but chiefly in glass. 

 Surrounding him are archaic forms supplying 

 the necessary symbolism, and by means of it 



