The Conclusion of "The Saga of the Unlit Stained Glass"

      If you've been keeping up with my blog you know that my family took a recent trip to the Toledo Museum of Art's Glass Pavilion.  There we saw many amazing works of art glass ranging from hand blown chandeliers to ancient painted mirrors.  

Two "venetian" vases handblown by Dale Chihuly.

      While I am always willing to gaze upon any type of glass art, my real enthusiasm is for works of stained glass.  After searching the entire Glass Pavilion, we finally located the 5 stained glass panels in the museum.

Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass at night.
Unlit. In a glass museum.  Where people come to view glass art.

      To my great dismay, we discovered that all the stained glass pieces were unlit. I am still asking myself why a glass museum would allow any of their treasures to be on display but un-viewable.  It would be a lie to say I "took this in stride."  In fact, there was a moment or two of what could be labeled an emotional breakdown.  Luckily the room was so DARK that no one noticed.  I don't think.  

      I tried to cheer myself with a Matisse...

Apollo

A Miro`...

Woman Haunted by the Passage of the Bird-Dragonfly Omen of Bad News,  1938

And a Picasso.

Woman in a Black Hat, 1909

     But is is only because I have the most wonderful, most understanding, most generous husband in the world, that I was able to rise from my depression.  He agreed that we would be able to make a return trip to the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion the following morning to view the stained glass in their daytime glory. What a guy! 

Jardin Sous la Pluie (Garden in the Rain), by Francis Chigot
I love how the glass pieces in the center area of this panel seem to glow brighter than the surrounding pieces.  The artist achieved this simply by choosing glass pieces with varying opacity and transparency. 

      The above Art Deco style window was created in 1928 by french artist, Francis Chigot.  Setting up his workshop in 1907, Chigot quickly became France's leading stained glass artist, rivaling America's Louis Comfort Tiffany.  Chigot is most well know for his work with France's national monuments and restorations of stained glass windows destroyed during World War I.

Detail of Francis Chigot's Garden In the Rain, 1928

      Garden in the Rain was inspired by Claude Debussy's 1903 piano piece Estampe No. III, "Jardins sous la pluie."  The colors and shapes of the window capture the tone of Dubussy's composition suggesting driving rain and dripping vegetation, but with a hint of blue sky to come.

Four windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany discovered in Mausoleums of the historic Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio

      What a difference a little light makes, don't you think?  The four Tiffany windows in the Glass Pavilion's collection were discovered in a local Toledo cemetery. What a find! 

Landscape Window with Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 1929
from the Snyder Mausoleum

      Today Louis Comfort Tiffany is widely recognized as one of America's leading glass designers around the 1900's, but during his lifetime he was best known primarily as a designer of religious art, particularly memorial windows. His windows were installed by the thousands, mostly in Protestant churches and cemetery mausoleums, and were the bulk of his business over four decades.   

Landscape Window with View of Lake and Distant Mountains, 1922
from the Fisk-Collins Mausoleum

      Tiffany's earliest windows generally depicted standard religious subjects and mimicked contemporary religious paintings. By the late 1890's Tiffany and his staff began producing a new type of religious window with nature as its subject.

"River of Life" Memorial Window: Eventide, 1914
from the Layng Mausoleum

      Some windows showed religious symbols nearly obscured by flowers and plants, while others featured landscapes including no religious symbols.  Using a range of new glass types and a variety of experimental methods, Tiffany produced vivid realistic trees and brooks, skies at dawn and dusk, and spring and autumn foliage.

"River of Life" Memorial Window: Daybreak, 1914
from the Layng Mausoleum

       I can look at Tiffany widows for hours on end.  It never ceases to amaze me how the artists at Tiffany studios can manipulate their glass selections in a way that may trick you into thinking you are viewing a painting rather than pieces of glass.  But alas, my family was parked at the curb. As I returned to them, camera full of photos, mind filled with inspiration, it was with a much lighter heart than the last time I left the Glass Pavilion. 

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion

Vitrana, by Dominick Labino
at the Glass Pavilion of the Toledo Museum of Art

      About three weeks ago my family and I played hooky from a half day of school and work, and took a road trip to the Glass Pavilion of the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio.  I had planned this trip as part of my Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship activities long ago, and have been anxiously awaiting our visit to this museum within a museum.  

Three people who probably should not set foot anywhere near a museum filled with g l a s s.
I had my reservations about taking the 3 Stooges inside the Glass Pavilion with me, but approaching the doors of the museum gave me my first glimpse of the glass treasures within - the Dale Chihuly blown glass chandelier hanging inside the front door.  I decided I couldn't keep them from enjoying these gorgeous glass masterpieces with me. 

      The Glass Pavilion was built in 2006 to house the Toledo Museum of Art's world-renowned glass collection.  The collection features more than 5,000 works of glass art from ancient to contemporary times. I could barely contain my delight at seeing so many beautiful glass creations.  But most of all, I was breathlessly anticipating the stained glass pieces I would find here. The search begins...

The Glass Pavilion has it's own glass blowing studio, so renowned glass blowing artists are featured prominently in this museum.  The above chandelier, Campiello Remer #2, was produced by Dale Chihuly. Even though it is colorless, it is breathtaking!  Especially when you are used to seeing Chihuly's art only in pictures. 

Close-up detail of Campiello Remer #2 showing the striated textures on each and every
hand-blown piece.

Untitled, by Toots Zynsky
This bowl shape is made entirely of fused glass threads

       As we continue the search for what I'm sure will be an awe-inspiring collection of stained glass (and trying to dodge the overly-protective docent who keeps eyeing my children with suspicious glances), we find several interesting pieces of unique glass art along the way.

One of Hank's very favorite activities at home is to grab a bottle of Windex and "wash" the windows.  Imagine his delight upon eyeing this bedazzled bottle of his favorite window cleaner!

Still Life With Pear, by Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick
I think my grandma used to have a set of this glass fruit on her coffee table.  

Nope. Not unless Grandma found her glass fruit at the Jolly Green Giant's garage sale.

Evelynn and Hank resting a moment on a glass bench.
Evelynn: "Sitting on glass feels really strange. What if it breaks? Will I get in trouble?"
Hank: "I don't have a problem with it!"

      By now we've seen some amazing works of glass art.  I was very impressed with how the museum was able to light the glass pieces to richly, especially at night.  There is still so much to see. They must keep the stained glass pieces at the very far end...right?

Prussian Blue and Oxblood Persian Pair, by Dale Chihuly

Sovereign Cloister--Beyond War, by Michael Glancy

Reverse-Painted Mirror Portrait of Elizabeth Graham, Chinese, Quianlong Period

        Amazing glass art from ancient times to modern day...but I still can't seem to locate the stained glass pieces.  After locating the suspicious docent who has been stalking us throughout our tour, I ask for directions to the room where I can see the stained glass.  He points the way, and I am giddy with anticipation...

Until I see this...

A very unflattering view of Francis Chigot's Garden in the Rain.

      I have waited almost a year to visit this museum, to see beautiful, world renowned stained glass.  I am breathless to see what glorious creations are stored in this museum so far from home...and when I finally reach my destination, the glass is unlit.  It is dark, dull, and ever-so disappointing.  I can see my own reflection in the glass better than I can see the glass's design or colors.  And my reflection is horrified, mortified, and overwhelmingly sad.

These are four panels of Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass designs.  Forgive my out-of-focus photo, I was trying not to sob too openly during this shot.

      We have no choice now, but to leave.  We visit the rest of the Toledo Museum of Art, which has a wonderful selection of relevant artworks, but my heart is just not in it at this point.  I was momentarily cheered when we found a small stained glass window inside the main museum by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Avery Coonley Playhouse Window, 1912, by Frank Lloyd Wright
I saw a matching window from the same playhouse during my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.

        Will I ever get to see the 5 stained glass pieces I traveled across state lines to visit?  Or is this trip destined to become a sad memory of what "could have been?"  

      Stay tuned for the conclusion of "The Saga of the Unlit Stained Glass."