St. George’s has three Tiffany windows though one is a double window with two distinct scenes, one below the gallery level and the other at gallery level. All were installed in the Church during the years 1912-1917. Louis Tiffany’s significance in art (1848-1933) was that he was the creator of American glass.
What makes Tiffany windows Tiffanies? Much of the success of Tiffany lay in his use of glass and special techniques and his ability to attract designers. All designs were personally reviewed by him. In addition, he helped to introduce landscape and floral panels into Churches.
Tiffany experimented with novel types of materials, achieving a more varied palette with richer hues and greater density. Tiffany and his rival John LaFarge working independently explored the pictorial, coloristic, and textural qualities of stained glass in new and daring ways that completely changed the look of the medium. By 1881, each artist had patented an opalescent glass, which has a milky opaque, and sometimes rainbow-hued appearance when light shines through it.
Tiffany called his brand Favrile Glass and was a key part of his stained glass windows since the color was embedded or ingrained in the glass. It was a uniquely American phenomenon that proved to be among the most important advances in decorative windows.
In 1885, he created his own company, Tiffany Glass Company to assemble the windows, using glass purchased from various manufacturers. He gathered a competent set of designers, many of whom worked for him for a lifetime. By the end of the 1880s, it was the largest stained glass studio in the nation. Eight years later, he started his own glasshouse in Corona, Queens, New York. Tiffany hired Arthur Nash, an experienced English glassblower, to run the Corona factory. Originally called the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company, it became Tiffany Furnaces in 1902. (Tiffany Studios was the related company producing stained glass windows). It was Nash who developed the formulas for creating the glass. In addition to fabricating the glass for Tiffany’s stained glass windows, this company produced blown glass vessels.
Tiffany received the recognition he sought after the 1893 Columbian Exposition. His exhibit, mostly a lavishly gilded and ornate Byzantine chapel drew hoards of visitors and brought accolades from critics.
10 Tiffany’s techniques present in St. George’s windows
1. Opalescent Glass – a fusing of colors
From “Angel of Victory”
Opalescent glass is a generalized term for clear and semi-opaque pressed glass, cloudy, marbled, and sometimes accented with subtle coloring all combining to form a milky opalescence in the glass.
This opalescence is also created in the glassmaking by alternating heating and cooling of the glass and with the addition of chemical additives to create the desired effect.
John LaFarge, a Tiffany rival, created this technique, but Tiffany furthered and popularized its use.
2. Drapery Glass – folds
Glass while molten thrown onto an iron table and rolled into a disk. The glassmaker armed with tongs manipulated the mass and by taking hold of it from both ends like dough and pulling and twisting till it fell into folds.
The resulting texture gave volume to the robes of figures or the petals of a flower and increased the modulation of light. We see it here in the folds of the clothing.
From “Road to Emmaus”
3. Plated – a layering of glass by soldering one or more pieces of glass over another
There are several advantages. It allows you to modify glass colors and textures and superimpose images. It helps to create a 3 dimension effect for depth.
4. Mottled or Spotted Glass
It resulted from a crystallization created by the addition of fluorine in the firing process of glass, and the rolling process carried out on the molten glass, which produced variations in the density and size of the spots.
From “Road to Emmaus”
5. Fractured or confetti glass
From “Angel of the Resurrection”
Fractured glass is embedded glass with tiny paper-thin flakes in different colors. It was made by breaking vessels blown thin, spreading the shards on a marver and embedding them into the molten glass. These multicolored, irregularly shaped fragments produced visually complex effects, which were perfect for representing foliage. Typically this glass was used for landscapes.
6. Marbleized Glass
From “Road to Emmaus”
This technique was commonly used in inscriptions as shown above.
7. Ripple Glass
From “Angel of the Resurrection”
Ripple glass refers to a sheet of textured glass with marked surface waves. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, water or leaf veins.
The texture is created during the glass sheet-forming process. A sheet is formed from the molten glass with a roller that spins on it while traveling forward. Normally the roller spins at the same speed as its own forward motion, and the resulting sheet has a smooth surface. In the manufacture of rippled glass, the roller spins faster than its own forward motion. The rippled effect is retained as the glass cools.
8. Enamel Paint over the glass
It was common to use enamel paint on the faces and arms for a realistic view.
Enamels are soft powdered colored glass that is mixed with a medium and painted onto the glass with a brush. When the medium is dry, the glass is placed in a kiln for firing.
This was one of 4 ways to color glass. Other methods include:
- Pot Metal –
It was heated in a large crucible and metallic oxides were added for color. - Flashing-
made by dipping a ball of semi-molten white colorless glass into the molten colored glass which, when blown and flattened, results in a less intense color because it will be white on one side and colored on the other. - Staining – coloring
silver sulfide or silver chloride was applied to the surface of the glass which is then fired at a relatively low temperature.
From “Road to Emmaus”
9. Copper foil method
The use of copper foil tapes instead of lead came to hold glass panes together and enabled three-dimensional objects, such as stained glass lights.
Steps
A. The edges of all the glass pieces are wrapped in the foil. The foil is then burnished or put onto all three sides. Instead of putty, flux is applied very sparingly to all of the visible copper.
B. The pieces are then soldered together. Solder is put across every visible spot of foil.
C. A patina is then put on to finish the piece by darkening the solder. This also allows for the black edging look to occur, which would normally take quite a bit of time with the lead.
From “Angels with Trumpet and Incense”
10. Jewels
These are pieces of hot glass that are press-molded into a jewel-like shape. Note the middle of the flowers From “Angel of the Resurrection”
The Tiffany Windows – Lower Level
1. Angel of the Resurrection, 1912
Inscription: “Whosoever Liveth and Believeth In Me, Shall Never Die”
Dedication: In memory of Alexander Keene Phillips, 1805-1892 and Annie Douglas Phillips, 1835-1913, Given by children of Alexander Keene Phillips in memory of parents. The window was dedicated on July 6, 1914.
Maker/Date: Tiffany Studios, New York, 1914
Description – The inscription is from John 11:26. Jesus is speaking with Martha in Bethany, consoling her and is trying to connect the resurrection with the present.
Background – Alexander K. Phillips became the first president of the National Bank of Fredericksburg in 1865 and had been previously involved in many businesses, including grain and mercantile. He owned the Commission House in Fredericksburg which was built for him in 1875 and still stands.
Techniques – The angel announced Jesus’ resurrection in the Gospels. In this window, the angel is sitting in a field of snow-white lilies, clad in robes of pink. The windows show Tiffany’s work in drapery glass for the angel’s robes that are close to fabric folds. Tiffany’s use of glass plays well with the sun which strikes the window in the morning hours. It accentuates the paint and enamel to the face and hands. The yellow-streaked, sun-dappled clouds are a dawn-sky, a common metaphor for rebirth
Another use of glass is fractured glass in the flowers. Fractured glass is embedded glass with tiny paper-thin flakes in different colors. It was made by breaking vessels blown thin, spreading the shards on a marver and embedding them into the molten glass. These multicolored, irregularly shaped fragments produced visually complex effects, which were perfect for representing foliage. Typically this glass was used for landscapes.
A final technique is the use of jewel-like objects in the flowers. These are pieces of hot glass that are press-molded into a jewel-like shape.
2. Angel of Victory or Guardian of Medical Science, 1917
Lower Subject: Angel of Victory or Guardian of Medical Science
Inscription: none
Dedication: In memory of Lawrence Ashton, M.D.
Description: Dr. Ashton was one of the most prominent doctors of his day, born in King George in 1845 and received his medical education at the University of Washington, DC with further studies at the University of New York. He practiced in Fredericksburg for 15 years. In 1887, he married Miss Nannie Green, daughter of Capt. Duff Green.
Duff Green was a prominent inspector of flour in Falmouth. In 1836, he constructed a cotton factory on the lot. It became the Elm Factory and powered by Steam and employed at least 40 people and continued even after his death
As vice-president of the Virginia Medical Society for 8 years and president for one, Dr. Ashton was the originator of the law to regulate the practice of medicine in Virginia. The window was dedicated by his wife on September 27, 1917
Maker/Date: Tiffany Studios, New York, 1917
Description – The window depicts a triumphant angel in a rich gold robe with iridescent wings.
The angel is wearing a breastplate over armor and holding a sword and buckler which symbolize the victory of the triumphant march into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The angel holds a gold staff with a palm, possibly representing the guardian angel of medical science, a suitable tribute to a doctor.
Techniques The folds in the robe is another use of drapery glass. The flowers encircling the angel demonstrate Tiffany’s use of many textures and shapes of glass to envelop the angel which will cause of a variety of colors throughout the day. This glass is called opalescent glass, glass with more than one color being fused at manufacture.
This window may have been designed by Tiffany’s Frederick Wilson. A portraitist and cartoonist armed with an inexhaustible knowledge of Old and New Testament iconography, Wilson emerged as the firm’s most prolific and talented designer of figural windows and mosaic friezes from 1894 to 1923, producing the bulk of its church memorials until his departure in 1923.
3. Road to Emmaus, 1912
Subject: The Road to Emmaus
Inscription: none
Dedication: In memory of Rawleigh W. Downman, 1860-1881 and James H. Downman, 1862-1911, sons of William Yates and Mary Ann Downman. This was the first Tiffany installed at St. George’s in 1912.
Donor: Mary Ann Downman was 90 years old in 1923, living in the same home that she was married and was the oldest person in Fredericksburg at the time.
She had six children, three that predeceased her. One child Rev John Yates Downman (1858-1949) became rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Richmond. The window was dedicated to two of her sons who had predeceased her. Rawleigh Downman died at age 21 visiting an uncle in Baltimore when he died. James Downman was a successful New York businessman who had suffered a stroke and returned to his sister Nannie’s home. There he was the victim of a hunting accident.
Tiffany Studios produced three windows for Saint George’s Episcopal Church between 1912 and 1917. Each was intended as a memorial to specific members of the congregation, the earliest being the double window installed in 1912 on the left side of the nave.
Donor: Mary Ann Downman was 90 years old in 1923, living in the same home that she was married and was the oldest person in Fredericksburg at the time.
She had six children, three that predeceased her. One child Rev John Yates Downman (1858-1949) became rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Richmond. The window was dedicated to two of her sons who had predeceased her. Rawleigh Downman died at age 21 visiting an uncle in Baltimore when he died. James Downman was a successful New York businessman who had suffered a stroke and returned to his sister Nannie’s home. There he was the victim of a hunting accident.
Maker/Date: Tiffany Studios, New York, 1912
Description: This window is located over the north side of the Church and receives the afternoon sun.
The story of this window is from Luke, chapter 24, verses 13 to 35. Two disciples encounter Jesus shortly after his resurrection. The look of incredulity and awe on the faces of the men stands in contrast to the dignity and still expression of Christ.
In the image, Cleopas and an unnamed companion encounter the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem. The men are shocked that anyone could have been in Jerusalem and not known about the events that have happened there. “Abide with us,” they ask the unrecognized stranger, “for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” It was not until they offered Him hospitality and He blessed and broke the bread that they recognized Him. He soon disappeared. They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
Techniques: Christ faces toward us, but the men are turned inward, a compositional device that gives the illusion of depth. As in most figural windows by Tiffany Studios, the faces and arms are painted with enamel. Drapery glass creates ripples of undulating fabric, as well as areas of shading, realistically depicting the figures’ forms. Plated, spotted, and confetti glass are used to portray the dappled leaves on the trees in the background. To make confetti glass, small, irregularly shaped pieces of glass are embedded to the reverse of a sheet of glass.
In the Biblical passage, the two disciples do not recognize Christ when they meet him. To convey this mystical aspect of Christ, the artist took into account the window’s placement in the church in relation to the composition of the window. Without illumination from the sun, the features of Christ’s face are unrecognizable. But in daylight, Christ’s identity is apparent to the men and the viewer alike.
The faces of the two companions show apprehension as they study the unknown man. The dark brown and green clothing contrasts with the lighter shades used in Christ’s robe.
The Tiffany Windows – Upper Level
Note – The upper-level gallery is normally not open to the public except for special tours
4. Heavenly Jerusalem or Angels with Trumpets and Incense, 1912
Upper Subject: Angels with Trumpet and Incense
Inscription: none
Dedication: In memory of Rawleigh W. Downman, 1860-1881 and James H. Downman, 1862-1911, sons of William Yates and Mary Ann Downman.
Maker/Date: Tiffany Studios, New York, 1912. This was the first Tiffany installed at St. George’s in 1912.
Description: Tiffany Studios produced three windows for Saint George’s Episcopal Church between 1912 and 1917. Each was intended as a memorial to specific members of the congregation, the earliest being the double window installed in 1912 on the left side of the nave.
Unlike the other Tiffany windows at St. George’s where only the lower portion of the window was created by Tiffany, this window has two separate Tiffany windows.
Donor: Mary Ann Downman was 90 years old in 1923, living in the same home that she was married and was the oldest person in Fredericksburg at the time.
She had six children, three that predeceased her. One child Rev John Yates Downman (1858-1949) became rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Richmond. The window was dedicated to two of her sons who had predeceased her. Rawleigh Downman died at age 21 visiting an uncle in Baltimore when he died. James Downman was a successful New York businessman who had suffered a stroke and returned to his sister Nannie’s home. There he was the victim of a hunting accident.
Description – The subject of this window is from the Book of Revelation 9:13 – “The sixth angel blew his trumpet; and I heard a single voice speaking from among the horns of the golden incense altar which is in the presence of God.”
There are seven trumpets in Revelation, each signaling the issuing of God’s judgment on earth. Angels bring God’s judgment on earth in Revelation. The blowing of these trumpets may correspond to the New Moon (or New Month) festivals in the Old Testament. Each new moon trumpet blowing was understood as a day of judgment in miniature, which warned people to prepare for the final judgment ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets and to call people back to a covenant relationship with God. When the seventh trumpet blew, it was to announce the Day of Atonement was at hand.
Before the seventh angel blew his trumpet in Revelation 11, John was asked by a mighty angel (with right foot on the sea and left foot on the land) to eat the scroll telling of the things to happen (first tasting like honey, then souring his stomach) and yet to continue to prophesy further. John was told that the “holy city” (Jerusalem) would be trampled for “42 months,” during which two prophets/witnesses would tell about God. They would be killed and would rise to heaven after 3 1/2 days — with an earthquake collapsing a tenth of the city.
This image captures the calm before the storm— the angel on the left is the seventh trumpeter, and the angel on the right bears incense. Behind the kneeling angels, billowing cloud rises up, parting at the top to reveal a glistening vision of Jerusalem. The hair and faces are painted with reddish hair that is particularly noticeable.
Techniques – The upper window shows the city of Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, emerging from a backdrop of the opalescent glass of blues, browns, and greens. The Jerusalem image fades into the background. The city shows buildings with columns and onion skin domes.
The city was painted onto a sheet of colored glass with enamel. A sheet of spotted glass was then laid or plated on top, creating a sense of sunlit distance. The spotted glass was made by adding fluorine during the firing process— the fluorine crystallized and caused the spots. Drapery glass is used to produce ripples of varying hues and tints in the angels’ gowns. This type of glass has been bent and folded to produce ripples that create an illusion of depth. The solemn pose of the angels contrasts with the iridescent glimmer of the city that hovers above, instilling the design with surreal grandeur and a sense of what is to come.