The Observer E2 - Geoffrey Wallace Stained Glass

Issue No. 2 - Spring 2013
Stained Glass Observer
The
A quarterly magazine devoted to observing and discussing Victoria’s stained glass heritage.
Featured Studio
Earley Studio, Dublin
Featured Style
Munich Style
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Contents
Stained Glass Observer
This edition of The Stained Glass Observer features two totally different
approaches to glass painting, contrasting the 20th century Irish Style with the
19th century Munich Style of stained glass.
Munich Style painters strove to even out the light passing through the glass
by applying a matte of glass paint over the entire window which, while still
retaining fabulous colour, tended to ‘flatten’ the visual effect. As a result,
Munich Style windows tend to glow rather than sparkle. They have an eveness
of tone that makes them easier to read and appreciate the painted graphics but
they lack the ‘glassiness’ of the earlier Gothic Revival style.
In stark contrast, the Irish style of glass painting, pioneered by Harry Clarke
in Dublin in the 1920s, will shimmer and dance before the eyes of the viewer in
a most delightful and exciting manner. This is achieved by retaining areas of
unpainted antique glass and contrasting them with heavy black diapering to
create a dynamic vibrancy of light and colour.
3 Feature Studio
Earley Studios, Dublin
7 Window Awareness
Leaking Windows
9 Design Styles
Munich Style
14 Technical
How to Assess the Condition
of a Window
16 For Custodians
Photographing Stained Glass
Windows
Geoffrey Wallace. October 2013
17 Location of the Windows
Design concept: Tessa Duke
Geoffrey Wallace Stained Glass
PO Box 2110 Caulfield Junction
Munich Style glass painting contrasted with Irish Style
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VIC 3161 Australia
© 2013 www.gwsg.com.au
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Earley Studios Dublin
About ten years ago I was in Warrnambool to prepare
a condition report for another church and afterwards
decided to call into the main catholic church, St.
Joseph’s. I had known for some time that St. Joseph’s
contained some windows from the Earley Studios of
Dublin that bore resemblance to the work of Harry
Clarke, one of the greatest stained glass designers of
the 20th century.
At this time, I knew nothing at all about the Earley
Studios except that this church contained the only
documented examples of their work in Australia. There
is a major, 5 lancet, great east window and a number of
small 2 and 3 lancet chapel windows all in strong
blues, pinks, greens and violet. The theme of the east
window is the ‘Assumption’ and it is signed, “Earley
Dublin Ireland 1953”.
What I discovered on entering the church caught me
completely by surprise as I was
immediately
overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the Great East
Window. I just had not expected such a stunning
surprise and if I hadn't known what I was going to see
I would have sworn it was a Harry Clarke window. I
was entranced by the shimmering, starry, jewel like
quality of the work. The colours! Oh, the colours! I
couldn't stop grinning and didn't want to leave.
After making some enquiries, Barbara Krueger of the
Michigan Stained Glass Census, kindly came to my
assistance and sent me some, quite detailed,
information on the history of Earley Studios, provided
in 1998 by Michael J. Earley, a descendant of the
founder, Thomas Earley. What I discovered was a
remarkable story of 4 generations of stained glass
painters and designers that had been present at the very
beginnings of Gothic Revival and had continued a
family run studio producing high quality stained glass
windows until 1975.
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Great East Window, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Warrnambool
The studio’s founder, Thomas Earley, was trained
as a gothic decorator by the famous gothic revivalist
A. G. Pugin and worked on many projects with him
including the British Houses of Parliament . By the
mid 1840’s he was put in charge of the newly
formed corps of glass painters that had been
established, at Pugin’s prompting, by John Hardman
in Birmingham to meet the increasing demand for
gothic revival stained glass. Thomas’ younger
brother John also worked for Hardman as a painter
and draughtsman.
With a rush of orders following the International
Dublin Exhibition of 1853 Hardman decided that the
time was right to set up an outlet in Dublin, so
Thomas Earley and Edward Powell were sent along
to establish the Ecclesiastical Supplies Shop.
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Initially, John Hardman-Powell, Edward Powell’s
brother, continued to design the windows in
collaboration with Pugin in Birmingham but in 1864
the Dublin establishment became known as Earley
& Powell Studios and Thomas Earley’s brother John
moved from Hardman’s in Birmingham to become
the studio’s main designer and cartoonist.
The Earley & Powell Studios flourished under the
guiding hand of “The Governor”, Thomas Earley.
His brother John died young but his son, also called
John, became a renowned stained glass artist with
examples of his work still existing throughout
Ireland. When “The Governor” died in 1893, John
Bishop-Earley, as he became known, took over as
the studio manager but within a few years he had
suffered a stroke. As a result, his much younger
brother William was called back, to help out with
the family business, from an apprenticeship with the
Studios of Edward Martyn of Dublin, much to
Edward Martyn’s consternation.
Before apprenticing to Edward Martyn, William
had distinguished himself at the Metropolitan
School of Art where he had won prizes for designs
of stained glass windows and in 1894 was one of
only two scholarship winners. Where John BishopEarley’s style incorporated some Celtic influences in
border decoration, etc., William was influenced by
the painters such as Michaelangelo, Raphael,
Murillo and the others who favoured more
representational imagery of the Bible and Saints.
Renamed Earley & Company, William’s nephews
Jack and Gerard (sons of John Bishop-Earley)
joined the studio with Jack ‘setting out’ the stained
glass windows drawn by his Uncle Bill and Gerard
designing altars, marble work and metal work.
In the early 20th century Harry Clarke came to
prominence in Dublin and subsequently the rest of
the world, with his remarkably effervescent
approach to window design that reinterpreted gothic
in a very modern, sophisticated and ‘artistic’ manner
that obviously influenced the Earleys along with
many other studios around the world. Clarke’s high
contrast style of painting which used trace and black
out painting to control light, as opposed to
traditional matting, was a true 20th century
revolution in stained glass design.
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The innovations of Harry Clarke were to live on
long after his premature death in 1931 through not
only his own studio but that of the Earleys and also
Hardman's in Birmingham.
Jack’s son, Leo, became apprenticed to Uncle Bill
and by the 1950’s was the stained glass designer and
cartoonist. With the death of Uncle Bill in 1956,
Gerard became Managing Director of Earley
Studios while Leo’s brothers Jackie and Gabriel
became involved in glass painting and ‘setting out’
the windows. It is Leo who was responsible for the
magnificent east window at St. Joseph’s Church,
Warrnambool which inspired this article.
The 1960’s were not easy years for Earley Studios
as the architectural mood favoured a starker concept
of concrete and light and the demand fell for highly
ornate and costly designs. The workforce of skilled
glass painters and marble carvers diminished and in
1975 the doors of Earley and Company were closed
for the last time. Chroniclers of Irish glass have
tended to dismiss the Earley Studios as derivative
and for this reason they have been largely ignored.
As the Great West Window at St. Joseph’s Church,
Warrnambool clearly demonstrates though, a
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masterwork is still a masterwork no matter who
signed their name to it.
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Leaking Windows
Over time, leaded glass windows will cease to be
water tight and begin to allow moisture from the
outside to enter the building.
A stained glass window gains itʼs inherent strength,
rigidity and waterproofing from the leadlight cement
that is worked under the flanges and around the heart
of the lead cames forming a tight bond between glass
and lead. This cement/lead structure supports the
weight of the window with the lead providing the
maleabilty to cope with expansion and contraction and
the leadlight cement providing rigidity against
buckling and watertightness.
Leadlight cement, like all linseed oil based putties,
will eventually dry out and progressively lose bonding
strength. Cracks and powdering appear in the cement
and rain water from the outside will be siphoned to the
inside through capillary action created by the voids left
behind by the decomposing linseed oil.
The siphoned water is usually observed internally as
a damp band around each piece of glass and when dry,
often leaves a white calcium deposit or build up of
grime on the inside surface of the glass adjacent to the
lead cames.
Extended periods of dampness can have disastrous
effects on some 19th century windows, particularly
those by Ferguson and Urie of Melbourne and also
John Hardman of Birmingham. Water is the major
accelerant of paint loss on stained glass windows and,
over time, leaking water can dissolve the painted detail
to the point where the images become ghost-like.
When cracks start appearing in the leadlight cement, the
window is no longer waterproof
Calcium deposits left behind by water leaking through
degraded leadlight cement.
Grime build up where water has been entering
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Leaking Windows
Another source of leaking water is through the
building fabric itself. As a general rule, water
entering through the degraded leadlight cement will
not be in sufficient volume to actually flow down the
window or wall, in these instances the water is
usually entering from somewhere else.
It is extremely important to identify exactly where
the water is entering the building before attempting
any method to stop the flow. A case example of this
was where a window, set directly into the masonry,
had been leaking for many years and undergone
numerous attempts by well meaning handymen to
stop the flow. As a result, the perimeter of the
window had been totally sealed, inside and out, with
silicone sealant. The destruction by leakage now
increased because the window was actually the place
where the water was exiting the building after
entering the wall at the very top through an
overflowing box gutter. Eventually the whole wall
became saturated which resulted in large sections of
internal plaster dislodging from the wall.
Silicone sealant has no place anywhere near a
stained glass window and its use should be prohibited
on the windows under your care.
Stone movement has dislodged the jointing mortar allowing
water to enter through the frame around the window
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Paint loss caused by extended periods of dampness
Restored paint work after preventive conservation
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Munich Style
In 1827 King Ludwig 1 of Bavaria
planned to revive the medieval art of
stained glass and created the Royal Stained
Glass Establishment which laid the
foundation for Munich to become a centre
for stained glass design and fabrication.
The largest and best known of the
Munich stained glass studios were Franz
Mayer, established in about 1865 by his
son in law, F. X. Zettler, who in turn
established his own studio in 1870.
Mayer and Zettler introduced a Romantic
design style which combined the detailed
technique of the northern European
masters like Albrecht Durer with the more
sensual and idealistic styles of the Italian
Renaissance masters.
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Munich Style
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From the 1880s onwards Munich Style
became extremely popular world wide and
many studios in Australia, England and
America, that had been producing Gothic
Revival, now began creating windows in the
Munich Style. Those studios that did not make
the change received fewer and fewer
commissions for new windows and by 1900
most had gone out of business. A good
example of this is the Melbourne firm of
Ferguson and Urie who had been creating
world class Gothic Revival windows since
1861 but closed its doors before the turn of the
century having been unable to adapt to the new
styles in glass design.
The Munich Style had been inspired by a
school of German Romantic painters who
called themselves the Brotherhood of St. Luke
but were more commonly known as the
Nazarenes. As a reaction to the then current
Neoclassicism, they aimed to return spirituality
and honesty to Christian art.
The Nazarene's religious dedication to an
artistic ideal earned recognition for Germany
and established a tradition for religious art that
would be emulated by the Pre-Raphaelites in
Britain. The glass artists of Mayer and Zettler
combined the thematic piety of the Nazarene
painters with Raphael's gentle Madonna
paintings from the Italian Renaissance. This
may well account for the pervasive sweetness
attributed to Mayer glass of the nineteenth
century.
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Munich Style
The scenes displayed in Mayer and Zettler
windows are panoramic with carefully constructed
landscape detail in the backgrounds. This was a big
departure from the two dimensional Gothic Revival
style where backgrounds were purely decorative or
symbolic. In Gothic Revival, images were usually
contained within a single, bordered opening whereas
with the new Munich Style the whole scene would
now flow across multiple lancets. People are clothed
in bejeweled and richly embroidered fabrics and the
backgrounds contain expansive landscapes, interiors
or intricately woven tapestries and finely laced cloths.
The abundant landscaping is reflective of the
Romanticist's belief that nature can be the source for
the spiritual experience.
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Munich Style windows tend to contain richly
colored scenes bordered by intricate architectural
tabernacling or elaborate canopies varied according
to the architectural style of a particular church. The
lower portions of the windows also have richly
bordered panels. These architectural frames and
panels were derived directly from medieval stained
glass models but taken to the extreme in complexity
of design and the detail of the glass painting and
staining.
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Munich Style
Mayer, in particular, is known to have employed
British glass painters which helped to develop a
certain cross fertilisation of stained glass skills and
techniques. Melbourne’s William Montgomery is a
good example of this, having served his
apprenticeship with Clayton and Bell in London, he
then spent seven years working in Munich before
arriving in Melbourne in 1887 where he operated
his studio until 1927.
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Munich Style windows contain more than just
beautiful pictorial themes, there is a rich symbolic
content in the designs meant to expand the viewer’s
understanding of Biblical teachings. The windows
usually contain a rich array of ecclesiastical
vocabulary. Frequently, saints are shown with their
personal symbols. St. Peter, for instance, is shown
holding the keys to heaven and earth, St. Luke is
seen with an ox and a winged lion is associated with
St. Mark. Specific flowers like the white lily is used
frequently either to represent purity or as a reference
to the Virgin Mary. Roses likewise represent Mary
with red roses alluding to her great despair or
perhaps a reminder of her heavenly bliss. Cypress
trees are meant, as references to death while the
palm trees are associated with martyrdom and Jesus'
entry into Jerusalem. Christ's halo is generally a
cruciform halo and Mary's halo sometimes contains
stars as a reminder of her status as Queen of
Heaven. Mary is uniformly youthful and displays a
sweet expression on her face. The apostle, John, is
rendered as a young man with flowing hair, while
Saint Peter is always the oldest looking apostle. The
complex and romantic iconography was intended to
enhance the spiritual experience of the viewer.
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Munich Style
Victoria has many beautiful Munich Style
windows by not only Mayer and Zettler but also by
the English studios of John Hardman and Clayton
& Bell and the Melbourne studios of Brooks
Robinson and William Montgomery, amongst
others.
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How to Assess the Condition of a Window
Stained Glass deteriorates very slowly over decades
leaving the casual observer to seldom notice a
developing problem until it is well beyond the critical
stage.
the fingers, should be tight as a drum due to the lateral
pressure that is causing the problem. If there is any
movement or rattling of the glass a consultant should
be contacted straight away as this condition eventuates
in ‘popping’ of the window and loss of glass.
To adequately asses the condition of a window you
will need an extension ladder with a cross bar lashed
to it to gain close visual access. For very high or
inaccessible windows a pair of binoculars or digital
photography can reveal much about the state of a
window that cannot be observed with the naked eye.
The things to look for are as follows:
The exterior surface of the lead cames should be
inspected for fatigue cracks. These are often no larger
than a human hair and usually occur close to solder
joints. If these are apparent, remedial works should be
arranged to prevent the progression to structural
failure.
Lead structure
Leadlight cement
Bulging or buckling of the lead structure can usually
be observed from ground level by standing hard up
against the wall, under the window, and looking
straight up at the windows’ surface.
The leadlight cement may be either white, black or
grey in colour and can be observed under the flanges
of the lead cames. Its purpose is to stiffen and bind the
structure together and also make the window
waterproof. It should appear as a continuous solid
grout and be well adhered to both glass and lead. If it
displays cracks or sections that have been dislodged it
requires attention.
If buckling is apparent the lead should be closely
inspected on the convex side for breaks in the lead
came. The bulging glass and lead, when tapped with
Hairline crack in lead at solder joint.
Lead crack has opened up causing window to split, exposing
raw edges of glass.
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How to Assess the Condition of a Window
Glass
Usually the deterioration of the lead structure has
prompted attention long before glass actually falls
out or breaks, but not always. What you should look
for are any exposed edges of glass whether caused
by buckling, sagging or breakage. If any raw edges
are visible it means that at the very least your
window cannot be successfully waterproofed and at
worst that you have major structural problems with
the lead work.
As the most important component of a window,
every effort should be made to preserve the
individual pieces of glass. Any broken or unbroken
glass that is loose and can be removed should be.
These pieces should be kept in a safe place and a
consultant called in.
Saddle bars and tie wires
The round steel saddle bars fitted into the masonry
frame on the inside of the window should be
inspected for rust, particularly where they enter the
stone. As the metal expands while it rusts it will
eventually crack or explode the stone if left
unattended.
The copper wire ties that fix the window to the
saddle bars should be checked for stretching or
breakage. If they are stretched it is because the
window is sagging due to failure of the lead/cement
structure which will therefore require attention. The
purpose of the saddle bars is not to hold the window
up but to provide lateral support against wind
pressure. At the same time, any other metal
components should be inspected for rust.
Rusting saddle bars can cause serious damage to masonry
frames.
Bedding mortar
The glazing channel that contains the window in
the masonry frame should be sealed with lime putty
mortar internally and externally. As it is the outside
that must prevent rain from entering the building
fabric it should be inspected for soundness and
repaired where necessary. Only lime putty mortar
should be used and in no circumstances should
silicone, portland cement mortar or linseed oil putty
be used.
Protective screens
The state of wire screens is usually quite apparent
but less obvious is the damage caused by double
glazed plate glass screens that became very popular
in the 1970’s. As these usually do not allow for the
free flow of air over the surface of the window a
corrosive atmosphere often develops in the cavity
between the screen and the window. This is caused
by water entering the cavity and dissolving either
acids or alkalis from other building or biological
components. An acid atmosphere will quickly
corrode the lead cames and can be observed as a
white or brown scale on the lead or in extreme cases
it will begin to form in piles as the lead decays. An
alkali atmosphere will attack the glass surface and
can be observed as a milky or granular deposit on
the glass. On aspects of the building that receive the
full force of the sun the air in the cavity often heats
up to the point where it will bulge windows or crack
glass. Glass screens cause more problems than they
solve and if possible should be removed and
replaced with alternative screens.
Extensive application of silicone has failed to prevent this
stained glass panel from splitting.
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Photographing Stained Glass Windows
A detailed photographic record of all the windows in a
building should be created to ensure that there is good
reference material, to allow for repair or reproduction of
the broken glass, if the windows ever suffer severe
damage in the future.
Determining the correct exposure is complicated
because the light meter will try to set an exposure to
include the interior wall of the building, which is much
too dark by contrast. As a general rule, I set the
exposure one f stop back from what the meter is reading.
This creates a darker photo but all the detail is captured
Stained glass is very difficult to photograph due to the and the image can be lightened once downloaded to the
extreme difference in exposure levels in different parts computer.
of the window which means they often record with too
much contrast. The white areas, particularly faces, will
Of course, a digital SLR camera is best for
over expose and the detail will wash out while darker photographing windows as it allows much more control
colours appear too dark.
over exposure settings. However, if all you have is an
automatic digital camera, one way to get a good
Firstly, and most importantly, photographs are never exposure level is to zoom in on the lightest part of the
taken using a flash as this will just create a reflection off window and press the shutter button halfway down.
the glass when it is the transmitted light that you wish to This will set exposure levels for the lightest part of the
capture, not a photo of the flash. Photos are best taken, window. Then, while keeping the button held halfway,
with interior lighting switched off, on a dull day because you can zoom back out to view the whole window and
the light coming through the glass will be more even.
take the shot. It is very important not to allow the
highlight to blow out. That will result in no detail with
A tripod is recommended because hand shake can be a which to work later.
problem during what will be a longer than normal
exposure. A tripod will also allow you to take several
Even if you are not a great photographer, recording all
identical photos, at different settings, that can later be the windows in your church or other building will mean
manipulated and overlapped in a photo enhancing there is at least some record if something untoward
application if desired. I try to shoot the photos from far should happen in the future.
away with a zoom lens so that there will be minimal
distortion in the perspective, but some keystoning is
inevitable.
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Automatic exposure
Automatic exposure minus 1 f stop
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Location of the Windows
When visiting churches to admire and enjoy the artifacts and history, it is important to always leave
behind a donation towards the ongoing upkeep of the place as this can be a heavy burden on small
communities. The windows featured in this magazine can be found at the following locations.
Cover. St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Melbourne. Clayton and Bell, London.
Frontispiece. St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Melbourne. Franz Mayer, Munich.
1. Sacred Heart Church, Carlton and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Warrnambool.
2 . Catholic Mortuary Chapel, Melbourne General Cemetery. Ferguson and Urie, Melbourne.
3. Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Carlton. John Hardman & Co., Birmingham.
4. Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Kew. Brooks Robinson, Melbourne.
5. St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Melbourne. Franz Mayer, Munich.
6. Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Carlton. John Hardman & Co., Birmingham.
7. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Middle Park. F. X. Zettler, Munich.
8. St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Melbourne. John Hardman & Co., Birmingham.
9. Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Carlton. John Hardman & Co., Birmingham.
10. St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Melbourne. Franz Mayer, Munich.
11. Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Parkville. Brooks Robinson, Melbourne.
12. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Middle Park. F. X. Zettler, Munich.
13. Catholic Church of SS Peter and Paul, South Melbourne. F. X. Zettler, Munich.
14. Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Carlton. John Hardman & Co., Birmingham.
15. St. Michael’s Independent Church, Melbourne. Brooks Robinson, Melbourne.
16. Christ Anglican Church, Geelong. Christisn Waller, Melbourne
About Geoffrey Wallace Stained Glass
Our many years of experience can assist you in the maintenance of your historic stained glass
windows with advice and planning on conservation issues and by providing strategies for a
staged or total conservation programme. Geoffrey is an acknowledged leader in the field of
stained glass conservation and has consulted for churches, cathedrals and public buildings
across Victoria.
The studio has amassed training and experience in all aspects of window conservation and
traditional stained glass techniques and our expertise lies in the field of hands on conservation.
Our skilled artisans are also expert at creating new windows using traditional techniques,
materials and traditional design styles and we enthusiastically follow in the foot steps of the
master craftsmen of years gone by.
If you have concerns about the windows under your care or are interested in commissioning a
memorial window please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
web site: www.gwsg.com.au
email: gwsg@alphalink.com.au