Stained Glass

Tiffany is a newbie.  Long before lamps were even invented, there was stained glass. 

We drove to the Musée du Vitrail in Curzay-sur-Vonne, and toured their 2012 exhibit "La Belle Époque".  With a two-hour guided tour, we came out of there feeling like we had enough information to start making stained glass, yet armed with the knowledge that this is a much more complicated art than ever imagined.  But there are definite links between that art and quilting or RC plane building.  It seems that many art forms link up somehow.



Please note that cameras were not allowed in the museum, therefore all the photos in this posting come from the Museum's or the Artists' Internet sites.







In the beginning, stained glass was created for churches and always had a religious theme.  Towards the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th, there was "L'Art nouveau", which introduced new subjects not of a religious nature.  The style of the art changed as well, bringing in more fluidity, more roundness, more feminine, floral and animal themes.

A take on "The Kiss" by Klimt created by Corinne Flanet

This was my favourite and I know that Rhonda and Colin will love it since the Klimt hangs in prominence in their home.

L'Emeraude by Corinne Flanet

For this exhibit, seven artists who have been inspired by Mucha, Klimt or Horta, have created stained art pieces according to various techniques.  Their pieces are poetry in glass!




Some of the pieces use age-old techniques, while others use very new ways of assembling the glass.








This artist, Laurent Fournier, creates Tiffany art pieces.










Les Quatre éléments de Pierre-Marie Leboullenger

      L'Une et l'Autre de Maryse Maillard-Félix







Mucha. La Byzantine brune.  Claude Thoraval


What an interesting and informative afternoon!  We will be looking at the stained glass windows in churches with a different eye.  We can even detect repairs done on cracked or broken pieces.  We've taken the first tentative steps to becoming experts!  (I wish...)





The town of Curzay-sur-Vonne is a beautiful little town which lends itself to art and reflection.

After a long day and a long drive, time to stop for a nice dinner.  We went to our old stand-by, Hôtellerie St. Jean.  They cater to many of the travelling business people and are open when other restaurants are not.  The food is good and the service is fast, perhaps even a bit too fast when you'd like to linger over your wine.

The appy was a sauce similar to the one I make for my fondues:  sour cream and mayonnaise with some dill.  This was served with baguette crackers and was a light and tasty start.

For an entrée, I had the cold mushrooms in a Spanish sauce, with a tomato base and coriander.  A crisp slice of bacon added texture and a salty taste.

Karl's entrée was a cold pea pod soup with enough cream to make it smooth, but not so much that it was too rich.  He loved it.

For my main course I chose cod (which I never eat back home...) over a bed of assorted veggies in a light cream and wine sauce.  The mashed potatoes had quite a bit of horse-radish.  Delicious!

Karl also ordered a fish dish for his main, but it was "doré", served with the same veggies and potatoes that I had.

Ah, the dessert.  Always the highlight of the meal!  We each had the profiteroles (cream puffs) with a generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream in between, smothered with chocolate sauce.




With the last bite of chocolate and the last sip of wine, we were done and ready to head home.