Stained Glass and the Mainstream: Reframing the Medium in Art History

Session will present: On location

Despite its long history, stained glass is curiously understudied in many art-historical narratives. The art form has continuously evolved in direct contact with many of the more commonly researched materials, such as paintings, prints, sculpture, and tapestries, to name only a few. Its crucial place in many architectural settings alone should encourage more attention. Ideas, concepts, and styles across media were constantly exchanged and adapted.

This session explores stained glass and contemporaneous arts of the Early Modern to Modern era in Germany, Switzerland, the Low Countries, and the United States. The first paper by Virginia Raguin focuses on early print culture and images and texts shared in single sheets, emblem books, printed Bibles, and paintings. The second paper by Margot Steurbaut demonstrates how the visual language and Baroque monumentality of Peter Paul Rubens were successfully replicated in stained glass. The last paper, by Fatema Tasmia, addresses the influence of Louis Comfort Tiffany in shaping taste and building social identity.

This panel challenges the disciplinary and curatorial silos that have long separated artistic media. It invites a broader understanding of how art functions across media, spaces, and audiences, indeed a goal of many studies today. The session also aims to spark renewed interest in stained glass and foster conversations about its deep engagement with contemporaneous styles. As the case studies will show, stained glass was far from marginal—it played a vital role in shaping visual culture and civic identity, often in dialogue with more widely studied media.


Keywords:
Geographic Area: United States of America
Geographic Area: Western and Central Europe
Medium: Intermedia
Stained Glass
Topics: Multidisciplinary

Chair:
Margot Steurbaut, Rice University

Abstract Submissions Closed