KRSTG-600-1: Vintage, very large set of Sanctuary Windows that are 100% hand-painted-- No art glass here! Zettler was part of the Munich School of stained glass in Germany.
Dimensions: 18 1/2 feet in height, 6 1/2 feet in width
This window is:
The Carrying of the Cross
Christ Carrying the Cross on his way to his crucifixion is an episode included in all four Gospels, and a very common subject in art, especially in the fourteen Stations of the Cross, sets of which are now found in almost all Catholic churches. But the subject occurs in many other contexts, including single works and cycles of the Life of Christ or the Passion of Christ. Alternative names include the Procession to Calvary, Road to Calvary and Way to Calvary, Calvary or Golgotha being the site of the crucifixion outside Jerusalem. The actual route taken is defined as the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, although the specific path has varied over the centuries and continues to be the subject of debate.
The episode is mentioned, without much detail, in all the canonical Gospels: Matthew 27:31–33, Mark 15:20–22, Luke 23:26–32 and John 19:16–18, and all but John include Simon of Cyrene, who was recruited by the soldiers to help carry the cross. Modern scholars, following descriptions of criminals carrying crossbars by Plautus and Plutarch, often take the Gospel description as meaning Jesus, then Simon, carried only a heavy patibulum, the crossbar, to a pole, stipes, which was permanently driven into the ground at Golgotha. However in Christian imagery Jesus, and Simon, carry the complete cross—both patibulum and stipes.
Only Luke mentions the "women of Jerusalem", who were in later patristic writings and Christian art taken to include the Three Marys and the Virgin Mary. This meeting was usually located at the city gates, as in the painting illustrated, which is also typical in following Luke and showing Jesus turning his head to speak to them. The other episodes were later elaborations, with the Veil of Veronica appearing from the 13th century, and the falls of Christ, eventually three, first found in the Late Middle Ages. Luke mentions that the two thieves were also in the group walking out to Golgotha, but does not say that they had to carry their crosses, and though they may be identifiable among the walking figures, their crosses are very rarely anywhere to be seen in depictions of the group. Some works, like Raphael's Il Spasimo, Bruegel's Vienna Procession (see below for both), and the London Jacopo Bassano, have the thieves' two crosses already set up at the place of execution in the distant background.
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Read more about F.X. Zettler.
In 1847 Joseph Gabriel Mayer (1808–1883), an academic artist and sculptor, founded the "Mayer Institute of Christian Art". His vision for the new Christian Art had been to revive the ideal of the Medieval "Bauhutten" (masons' lodges) – establishments of mutual collaboration and inspiration of fine arts, architecture, sculpture, stained glass and painting. Following his vision the manufacture of sculptures, statues and altars dominated the early years.
Of course, the great success of the Royal Stained Glass Establishment and the revival of this art form did inspire Joseph Gabriel Mayer. But it was the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain which fascinated Mayer. The British movement and its pursuit of true quality in craftsmanship generated glass painters with great skills. Mayer recognized the opportunity to add stained glass windows of highest quality to his range of products. Locally trained and eventually British stained glass artists and glass painters were invited to his Munich studio. Stained glass windows by Peter Hemmel von Andlau or Hans Holbein the Elder set the standards for Mayer.
In approximately 1862 F. X. Zettler, Mayer's junior associate and son in law, became entrusted with the founding of the stained glass department within Mayer's "Institute of Christian Art". In 1870 he established an independent studio, which became very successful, too. The F. X. Zettler Studio was reunited with the Mayer Studio in 1939.
In 1865 the first branch was opened in London. In 1869 it was followed by a branch in Paris. In 1882 King Ludwig II awarded the company the title of "Royal Bavarian Art Establishment" ("Hofkunstanstalt").
The next generation, Joseph and especially Franz Borgias Mayer (1848–1926), brought the company to its highest international renown and success. By the turn of the century Mayer and Zettler employed some 600 artisans and glass painters.
In 1888 the new branch in New York City was opened and brought the company full international status. Furthermore, in 1892 Pope Leo XIII awarded the title "Pontifical Institute of Christian Art". The most outstanding ecclesiastical commission of that period had been the Holy Spirit Window above the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome (approx. 1905).
Stained glass windows for more than 50 Cathedral Churches in the United States and Canada and another 50 in other parts of the world were made by Mayer and Zettler. In addition, windows for thousands of regular parish churches, mostly Roman Catholic ones, were designed and supplied. Towards the end of the 19th century Franz Mayer of Munich and F.X. Zettler with some 600 glass painters and artisans became the most successful stained glass studios in Munich and worked worldwide.
Mayer and Zettler succeeded in the creation of a stained glass style, which eventually became world-renowned. This style was called the "Munich Style" and was clearly a phenomenon. Analyzing and researching the preconditions and the characteristics of the Munich Style reveals the following key words or explanations:
Characteristics and Features of the Munich Style
The text in this box was generated from a Wikipedia article, which is released under the CC-BY-SA.