The Illuminated Window: Perspectives on Chartres with Virginia Raguin

ABOUT THE EVENT

Join us for an engaging evening with renowned stained glass scholar Professor Virginia Chieffo Raguin. Professor Raguin will present captivating insights from her newly published book, The Illuminated Window: Stories Across Time, with a special emphasis on the iconic French Gothic windows of Chartres. This is a rare opportunity to delve into the fascinating history and art of stained glass—an event not to be missed!

This event is made possible through the partnership with American Friends of Chartres and Bonjour Books DC.

The presentation will be in English. Books will be available for purchase at the event via Bonjour Books DC.

EVENT FORMAT

Doors open at 6:30pm. Presentation starts at 7:00pm and will be followed by Q&A and a light reception.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Presented as a series of case studies of iconic stained glass, this new publication by renowned stained glass scholar Professor Virginia Chieffo Raguin is a rich compendium. Wide-ranging, both chronologically and geographically, this lavishly illustrated book is brimming with perceptive insight into the history and interpretation of stained glass. The superbly executed windows of France are highlighted in chapters on Chartres and the Sainte-Chapelle.

At Chartres we identify the donors as bishops, clergy, counts of France, kings of Spain and members of France’s Capitan monarchy, but certainly not a group of local butchers or watercarriers. The prominent depiction of the trades in so many windows should rather be seen as part of the tradition of legends of purported popular support for the clergy’s building programs. Compare the “cult of the carts” as related by Robert of Torigni describing how men spontaneously volunteered to drag wagons to aid construction.

At the Sainte-Chapelle, the glazing scheme is strongly informed by royal prerogatives, emphasising the continuity of royal power from Old Testament patriarchs, to Christ, to the Capetian kings.

In the Swiss chapter, by contrast, we find that small stained glass windows were given by Renaissance patrons from all strata of society to serve diverse agendas. The French-speaking citizens of Catholic Fribourg gave windows showing the continuity of the veneration of saints and the continuation of Latin as well as the vernacular in worship.

In the modern era, the importance of France is seen in Tiffany’s efforts to play on a world stage by exhibiting at the Parisian Exposition Universelle of 1900.

The book is written so that the reader can peruse each chapter in any order, yet there are useful links, comparative reflections, and cross-references throughout the book that unify the whole.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Virginia Chieffo Raguin, Ph.D. Yale University, is Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emeritus at the College of the Holy Cross. Her first book was Stained Glass in Thirteenth- Century Burgundy, Princeton Press, 1982. She has published widely on religion, stained glass and architecture including Stained Glass from its Origins to the Present with Abrams (USA) and Thames and Hudson (GB) in 2003. A member of the International Corpus Vitrearum, she has authored Stained Glass before 1700 in the Midwest United States (2002) and Stained Glass before 1700 in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum (2024). She edited Art, Piety, and Destruction in the Christian West, 1500-1700, Ashgate, 2010. She also wrote catalogue essays for contemporary artists Kiki Smith in 2010 and 2018 and Judith Schaechter in 2020. Her online book presents a broad overview of the American experience and offers 450 downloadable images. It includes the important French glass exported to the United States particularly found in New York and New Orleans.

ABOUT AMERICAN FRIENDS OF CHARTRES

American Friends of Chartres was founded as a non-profit organization in 2005 to assist in the restoration and preservation of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres, a priceless example of medieval art and architecture. The cathedral is a historic site of unparalleled artistic, intellectual and spiritual influence and is designated as a monument of paramount cultural significance on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. AFC works in tandem with the French organization , which raises funds from private individuals and organizations in France. It also works in partnership with the French Government, which approves all restoration and preservation projects.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Alliance Française of Washington DC, 2142 Wyoming Avenue NW, 2142 Wyoming Avenue Northwest, Washington, United States