Stained Glass through the Ages|跨时代的彩绘玻璃

Stained Glass through the Ages

by Brian Foden

The making of stained glass windows has evolved over the centuries.

　　Even for people with little interest in religion, visiting a medieval church can be a wonderful experience. The awe-inspiring architecture and ornate stained glass windows are truly a treat to see. It was during the Middle Ages that the art of stained glass reached its apex. Churches used the intricate artwork of the special windows to depict biblical stories. This not only decorated the interior of buildings with colorful pictures illuminated by sunlight, it also served to effectively portray religious tales to congregations whose majority could not read or write. In addition to their widespread use in Christian houses of worship, stained glass has also been a part of Jewish synagogues for hundreds of years. During the Victorian era, stained glass windows also found their way into some individual homes as well.

　　The making of stained glass requires artistic skill and special craftsmanship. The colors are created by adding metallic powders while the glass is molten. Cobalt has often been used to turn glass deep blue, and gold was traditionally incorporated to make glass red. However, due to the high cost of gold, mixing copper with the glass eventually became a more popular choice for red. To make the windows, various pieces of colored glass are arranged and then held together with strips of lead and a strong frame. A different type of stained glass is produced by painting glass and then putting it into a kiln, where the colors fuse to the glass. Over the years, the technology and techniques used for making stained glass have evolved.

 

跨时代的彩绘玻璃

彩绘玻璃窗的制作已经发展了数百年之久。

 

　　即使对那些在宗教上没什么兴趣的人来说，造访中世纪的教堂也可能是很棒的经验。令人敬畏的建筑和华丽的彩绘玻璃窗相当难得一见。彩绘玻璃艺术在中世纪期间达到颠峰。教堂运用特殊玻璃窗上的精致艺术品来描述圣经故事。这些多采多姿的图片受到日光的照射，不仅装饰了建筑物的内部，也足以有效地描绘出宗教故事，让大多数都不会读写的信徒们可以了解。除了广泛使用在基督教的宗教场所之外，数百年来彩绘玻璃也是犹太教堂的一部份。在维多利亚时代，彩绘玻璃窗也在某些家庭里占有一席之地。

　　彩绘玻璃的制作需要艺术技巧与特殊的手工艺。玻璃的颜色是在玻璃熔化时透过添加金属粉末而成。钴经常被用来让玻璃呈现深蓝色，而黄金按传统会被掺入好让玻璃呈现红色。然而，由于黄金的成本相当高，在制作红色玻璃时加入铜最终成为比较受欢迎的选择。为了制作窗户，各式各样的彩绘玻璃会先排列好，然后用铅条和坚固的框架固定在一起。不同类型彩绘玻璃的制作流程是先在玻璃上绘画，然后放进窑里让颜色熔合到玻璃上。多年来，制作彩绘玻璃的科技与技术已进化了不少。