From mosaics to stained glass: how glass was used in the architecture of the past. How to make a mosaic In Germany, glass painting appeared in the 10th century, by the middle of the 11th century

Glass was used to decorate ceramic and stone products, as well as jewelry, when colored glass imitated precious stones.

After the Romans in the 1st century. BC captured Syria and Egypt, developed centers of glassmaking, glass production quickly spread throughout the territory of the Roman Empire. Glass products that poured into Rome from the conquered territories were in high demand, and the influx of slaves and material resources contributed to an unprecedented flourishing of crafts, fine arts and, of course, architecture.

Roman architects created great works of art using new techniques and designs, lavishly decorating interiors. Palaces, temples, theaters, baths, aqueducts, and triumphal arches were built. Glass plates were used to decorate walls, columns, floors and ceilings - as Pliny testified.

Mosaics have become especially widespread

Its earliest examples were found in southern Mesopotamia and date back to the 4th millennium BC. e. The mosaic of the Red Temple in Uruk (Mesopotamia, 3rd millennium BC) has been preserved, which is a clay coating of the walls inlaid with colored heads of clay cones. One of the finds in the Palace of Knossos, dating back to the early Minoan period, indicates that mosaic work was known during the Cretan-Mycenaean culture.

During the Hellenistic era, mosaic art reached a high level.

The mosaic floors of houses in the ancient cities of Olynthos, Delos, Priene, Pompeii, and the wonderful pebble mosaics of the ancient city of Pella are well known. Precious and semi-precious stones were often used in mosaics that decorated temples and palaces.

By this period, which covers the period from the 3rd century. BC e. before the 1st century n. e., date back to the beginning of the Greeks’ use of smalt and glass mosaics.

Colored glass not only enriched the mosaic, but also gave it ancient species art new artistic possibilities.

The beauty of glass has made this material the most popular for mosaics; the stone remained only in the floor mosaics.

During this period, in Egypt, which was part of the Ptolemaic monarchy, under the influence of the culture and crafts of Greece, mosaics began to be made in the glass workshops of Alexandria. From glass rods various colors They cut thin plates that were used to decorate dishes, and much later - the walls and floors of buildings.

The earliest known glass mosaics were found in Lower Egypt. During the Roman Empire, mosaics were used to decorate fountain pools, walls of baths and nymphaeums, floors and walls of palaces and mansions.

From III – IV centuries. began to widely use smalts, which gave the mosaics depth of colors, sonority and shimmering tones thanks to the golden underlying layer. In the IV – V centuries. mosaics of amazing decorative richness are created; An example is the mosaics in the rotunda of St. George in Thessalonica.

But mosaic art reached a special flowering on the territory of the Byzantine Empire in the 5th – 6th centuries.

During this period, magnificent mosaics of the Cathedral of St. Sofia and the Great Palace of the Emperors in Constantinople, as well as the churches of Ravenna in Northern Italy. Byzantine influence affected the character of the Ravenna mosaics - they have a golden background. The mosaics on the inner surface of the dome of the mausoleum of Galla Placidia are among the best among the early Ravenna mosaics.

From the 9th century Local mosaic schools began to develop rapidly. The art of mosaic is expanding into new territories.

Mosaics were used in the interior decoration of St. Sophia Cathedral and St. Michael's Monastery in Kyiv in the 11th century. The floors, walls, columns and vaults of the St. Sophia Cathedral were lined with mosaics, which were considered lost for a long time. At the end of the 19th century. the surviving fragments were rediscovered.

IN Kievan Rus mosaics were used to decorate churches in Novgorod, Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, Polotsk, Chernigov, etc. Excavations in Kyiv in 1951 discovered workshops for the production of smalt, mosaics, enamels, glass products dating back to the second half of the 11th century.

From the 12th century The Venetian school of mosaic is developing rapidly.

During this period, mosaics of the Cathedral of St. Mark (XIII – XIV centuries). The mosaic rises to the height of its own decorative arts.

History has brought to us many magnificent mosaic works. These days, beautiful mosaics decorate modern buildings.

Among other types of architectural and artistic glass used for cladding and decorating interiors, one can name mirror glass, which has been used for a long time, sheets of colored glass, glass elements for interior decoration, glass slabs that have appeared relatively recently, etc.

The first mirror appeared in Venice in the 14th century, and in the 17th century. production of mirror glass has become widespread. It was widely used for interior decoration. In the 18th century colored and milky-white glass was used in interior decoration.

At the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. The Venetian glass industry began producing chandeliers made of clear glass. The production of chandeliers, sconces, and floor lamps made of glass and crystal has become especially popular in France and Russia. From the beginning of the 18th century. The demand for such products has increased sharply. Architects widely used glass and crystal for interior decoration. Outstanding Russian architects used glass to solve a wide variety of decorative and monumental problems, especially in the era of classicism.

Nowadays, glass is widely used for interior decoration of buildings. Along with performing utilitarian functions, such finishing, as a rule, has high decorative qualities and makes the interior more expressive.

The most significant application of glass in construction is the use of glass in glazing structures

Window glazing was first used by the Romans shortly before the new era. Early Roman houses were illuminated and ventilated through doorways opening into the atrium. However, already during the time of the Roman Republic (VI century BC - 27 AD), windows were widely used in residential buildings, palaces, public buildings. The first glazing appears.

The “terra forum” built in Pompeii (80 BC) had fairly large glazed windows. The glazing was thick cast glass with fused edges in a bronze frame.

During the construction of residential buildings, more and more attention was paid to the connection between the internal space and environment. The interior spaces opened up to the outside world through galleries, windows, porticos or wide openings into courtyards with gardens, fountains and sculptures.

In continental Europe, Scotland and Ireland, windows developed from doorways, where they were used for both light and passage. Later, this solution took the form of a fan-shaped window above the door and half-glazed doors. Glass gradually replaced mica, marble, parchment, alabaster and other opaque materials in doorways. The spread of glass making in European countries accelerated the use of glass in window openings.

However, glass from workshops Western Europe the quality was lower than that of Egypt and Rome. It had cracks, bubbles and other defects; its color range was limited, and the range of products was more than modest.

And only the glass production of Byzantium, which arose even before Roman rule in the 6th century. BC e. and reached its peak by the 4th century. n. e. under Emperor Constantine the Great, who gave glassmakers great privileges, the quality of products and the skill of artisans could be compared with the production of Egypt and Rome. Byzantine colored and gilded glass was especially famous.

In 1688, in France, and later in England, a method of producing thick glass using casting, which was then ground by hand, appeared. This glass was used for glazing windows and making mirrors. The casting method made it possible to produce sheets of quite large sizes. Window frames made of wood, stone, plaster, bronze, and steel take on a modern look. Folds up traditional way the use of sheet glass - in the form of glazing in frames that fill openings in solid walls.

During the 19th century, several architectural styles changed; windows took different shapes, but always remained openings in a massive load-bearing wall. At the same time, glass was given a modest place to fill light openings and did not play a dominant role in shaping the architectural appearance of the building facades.

Romanesque architecture was based on the use of arched vaults. Her characteristic features- massive stone walls with small, sparse windows in the depths of the niches, which is why there was not enough lighting inside the rooms. The Gothic style, which replaced Romanesque architecture, was called upon to solve this problem.

The leading type of building in Gothic architecture is the majestic structure, the city cathedral. The size of the cathedrals and the richness of their decoration served as an expression of the power and wealth of the cities. With the advent of pointed arches and flying buttresses, the size of windows increased significantly, but the span of the window determined the height of the floor. In cathedrals, the height of the floor could be significant, but in civil buildings the windows remained narrow and small.

Decorative stained glass occupied a special place in the architecture of the past.

Colored stained glass windows first appeared in the 6th century. in Byzantium, decorating the windows of the Cathedral of St. Sophia.

Stained glass consisted of fragments of colored flat glass, cut out according to a specific pattern and joined together with a lead profile.

Glass for stained glass was first produced by casting, and then by blowing. The sheets were about 1 cm thick, their surface was uneven and rough, and the glass was not transparent enough.

In the Middle Ages, a craftsman would boil glass in a ceramic pot and then produce a sheet of glass by casting or blowing. Probably, the artist was present when the glass was melted or selected glass of the required colors from one prepared in advance by the artisan. Drawings and sketches were made with charcoal on boards, and later on parchment. Glass cutting According to the drawing, it was carried out like this: the glass was heated in the right place with a hot metal rod, and then cooled with water, and a crack formed. By developing the crack in the desired direction, glass of the required shape was obtained. Each piece of glass was finally adjusted to the design using a tool that was the prototype of the modern glass cutter.

In the 10th century stained glass windows began to be painted with ceramic paints.

Fragments of glass were temporarily fastened and the main elements of the image and details were drawn: faces, folds of clothing, hands, etc. The painted pieces of glass were fired in a furnace at a temperature below the melting point of glass. The lead H-shaped profile was smelted in a stained glass workshop. The finished pieces of stained glass were assembled according to the drawing. The joints of the lead rod were connected by soldering on both sides. Along the perimeter of the stained glass window was framed by a massive lead profile, which was attached to the racks in the window.

During the VI – IX centuries. The technique of making stained glass spread throughout Europe. The treatises of Gregory of Tours and Fortune indicate that the technology for making stained glass in the 6th century. was well known in Gaul.

Stained glass art reached its peak in the 12th century. on the territory of France.

This period coincided with the emergence in architecture gothic style. The earliest are the stained glass windows of the Church of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, dating back to the beginning of the 12th century. In almost all major cities, churches are built that are decorated with stained glass windows:

cathedral Notre Dame of Paris in Paris (1163-1196),
Cathedral in Lana (1180-1220),
Church of Saint-Rémy in Reims (1170-1181),
Cathedral of Chartres (circa 1200),
Cathedral in Mana (mid-XI - mid-XIII centuries),
Amiens Cathedral (1218),
Cathedral of Poitiers (circa 1215),
Cathedral in Angers (second half of the 12th century), etc.

Chartres Cathedral is the only one in which almost all the stained glass windows have been preserved intact.

As the Gothic style developed, the windows in the buildings became larger, and the images of figures in the narrow windows became increasingly elongated.

One of the common elements of decorating the facades of Gothic cathedrals is the round stained glass window, the “rose”. However, increasing the size of the windows of Gothic cathedrals did not improve the illumination inside, because by the middle of the 13th century. stained glass windows were made from intensely colored glass; their designs were complex and rich.

By the beginning of the 14th century. appears T a technique for making stained glass “grisaille”, in which the entire surface of colorless glass was covered with a light monochrome continuous pattern, and a more intense and more relief pattern was applied on it.

Further development of the Gothic style led to an increase in the size of windows, at which walls practically ceased to exist. The glass surfaces of the cathedrals were almost entirely decorated with stained glass. Example - Holy Chapel in Paris, XIII century.

In Germany, painting on glass appeared in the 10th century, by the middle of the 11th century. it has become widespread.

One of the earliest are the stained glass windows of the Augsburg Cathedral, dating back to the 11th century. By the 14th century glass painting reached its peak. During this period, stained glass windows were created in the windows of the Erfurt and Cologne cathedrals, the Königsfelden Church in Aargau, etc.

Among the most significant examples of English stained glass are the windows of Merton's College in Oxford, dating back to the 13th century, and the windows of Wells and York Cathedrals.

In the XIV – XV centuries. Decorative stained glass windows with images of secular content appeared; stained glass windows are increasingly used in buildings for non-religious purposes. Stained glass technology developed and enriched, and the palette of colors increased. In the middle of the 17th century. stained glass art fell into decline and was revived only in early XIX V.

In Central Asia and the Middle East colored glass has been used in ornamentation in residential buildings, palaces and temples from ancient times to the present day. Colored stained glass windows in an ornamental frame were an organic continuation of the wall decor.

Stained glass windows made by ancient architects of the East differ significantly from European ones. They contain mainly blue and blue glasses rich tones with small inclusions of red glass, which creates an overall color scheme interior design in cold tones and in combination with wall and ceiling paintings, also in cold blue tones, evokes a feeling of coolness.

The functions of colored stained glass are varied

First of all, like conventional glazing, they transmit light and protect from bad weather. Stained glass, complementing artistic image structures play a significant role in shaping the interior and, moreover, are a means of emotional influence. This property has long been used in places of worship to create a religious and mystical mood.

In secular buildings, colored glazing created a feeling of coolness or warmth, thus compensating for the shortcomings of the external environment.

Read about how glass appeared

Don't miss: How glass was used in architecture of the 19th-20th century and what transformations await architectural glass in

We often say: all the pieces of the puzzle have come together. Of course, we mean that all the events came together perfectly into a single picture. True, without our help it is unlikely that the puzzle of events would have worked out so successfully. In this, the mosaic of our reality is not very different from a real mosaic - paintings laid out from tens, hundreds and even thousands of tiny pieces. I was lucky enough to see how such paintings are created in one of the workshops of the Alexandria stained glass studio, where I was invited by the studio’s chief artist, Leila Al-Numan ( elenaleila ) .

Twenty years ago, “Alexandria” was created as a stained glass studio, and I already talked about that. When creating stained glass windows, a variety of glass is used - from transparent to dense. Over time, quite a lot of remnants of dense, opaque glass accumulated, and the studio decided to try to put them to work - to start laying out mosaics. Six years have passed since that moment, and now mosaic can safely be called the second main specialization of the studio. For such important work, craftsmen were trained and workshops were equipped.

In one of these workshops - a spacious room with high ceilings - I saw how mosaics were assembled. The light streaming from the high windows illuminated the huge tables on which paintings of varying degrees of completion were laid out. Along the edges of each table, among the scattered pieces of glass, lay all sorts of tools: pliers, intricately shaped wire cutters, glass cutters, knives and markers. The craftsmen were bending over two mosaics and working.

Along the walls there were tall shelves with bathtubs, each of which contained ready-made modules - small rectangular pieces of glass. A narrow staircase pressed against the wall led to a small balcony. With every step, pieces of glass creaked and crunched underfoot - the craftsmen, in order not to look away from their work, threw the scraps directly onto the floor.

At first glance, the mosaic was not much different from stained glass - the same pieces of glass that need to be cut out and fit into the picture. But if you take a closer look, a whole sea of differences opens up. “It all starts with cardboard - a drawing of the future mosaic. Only if he comes to the stained glass artists with marked colors - yellow here, blue here - then we just see the general lines and sketch,” one of the masters Andrei told me.

Today, mosaics are laid out in two main ways. In one, glass is cut to the exact size of an area - a flower petal or a dragonfly's wing - akin to a Florentine mosaic. With another, closer to the Roman mosaic, the picture is assembled from small rectangular pieces. “I don’t like cutting glass - you immediately depend on the colors that are on the finished sheet. Smalt is closer to painting - each module is like a brush stroke. And here we have much more freedom - we are our own artists. Suppose I decided that the hair on the mosaic should be gold - and I make it gold.”

But this is far from the only difference between mosaic and stained glass. The work here is much more delicate - sometimes you have to lay out modules a little larger than an eyelash. And they still need to be cut out of glass and, if necessary, polished. The modules have to be fitted tightly to each other, with the smallest gaps. It’s not for nothing that craftsmen call this work jewelry.

If necessary, the module can be polished on a special machine

“We usually lay out modules starting with a specific element. Here, for example, is a berry,” and Andrey showed me a sketch of a new mosaic and began to move his finger around the angular, stylized berry, “I’ll lay it out first, then a row around it, then another row. But sometimes it happens differently - look at how Andryukha works,” and Andrey nodded towards another master who was working on the mosaic icon of St. Nicholas, “he first laid out the face and brushes, secured them and inserted them into the overall panel. And now everything else is being built around them.”

Most of the mosaicists in the workshop have an artistic education, but Andrei, when I asked how he started doing mosaics, answered with a grin: “I actually came here to work in the garage, I have no artistic education. I come, and they ask me: “Have you ever laid out a mosaic?” Well, I answered no. No problem, they say, we’ll teach you. That’s how they taught me that I’ve been working here for six years now.”

The modules are laid out on mounting film - a self-adhesive sheet that holds the glass pieces in place. When the whole picture is assembled, arakal is glued on top of the front part - another self-adhesive sheet. After this, the mosaic is turned over and the mounting film is removed, and in its place a base is placed - a special fabric, onto which the mosaic elements knitted with arakal are finally glued. When the modules are firmly fixed to the base, the arakal that has become unnecessary is removed.

Mosaic based on Gustav Klimt's painting "Water Snakes". Andrey worked tirelessly on this mosaic for three months.

Such cunning manipulations are done so that the artist, when typing, sees the front part of the mosaic - the way it will appear after installation on the base. There is, however, also a so-called reverse set, when the mosaic is assembled in a mirror image directly on the arakal. But glass for mosaics is a whimsical thing: often one side can be strikingly different from the other in pattern and color, and you can’t predict it. It will be very difficult to predict what the mosaic will look like in the end when it is set back.

“And after that the most interesting part begins - rubbing the seams. The grout is selected to match the color of the modules and, if necessary, the desired color is added. But after this, the work may change beyond recognition: some areas will lighten, others will darken, and some colors may merge. And nothing can be done about it - you can only imagine each time what will happen in the end.”

The work went on as usual - small pieces of glass, one after another, lay on the table, forming a future picture. I finished filming, watched the mosaicists at work a little more, and then left the workshop. Before leaving, I looked into the studio office and met Leila there. We started talking - about art, about photography, about the internal affairs of the studio. “You can get tired of any work, even creative work. Any artist can get burned out and then need a break. If we see that a person has fallen into a stupor, then we try to give him some other work - sort out samples, go somewhere.”

At the end of the conversation, Leila took out a large black box with glass samples from under the table: “Now I’ll show you what... if you don’t like them, then you have nothing sacred.” With these words, she threw back the cardboard cover, and even rows of thin plates appeared to my gaze. With burning eyes, Leila began to sort through them, and soon took out one piece of glass: intricate multi-colored stains spread inside the thin transparent square. In the thickness of the next square, a colony of mold seemed to have grown, and another sample was pierced by airy white feathers.

“When you’re tired of everything and have no strength, this is what helps you not give up and move on.” And in these words there were feelings much deeper than simple devotion to the profession.

Taken from anton_agarkov in Mosaic: glass painting

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Today, well-known types of all kinds of decorative art are popular in the architectural space: fresco, mosaic, stained glass, etc.

Both stained glass and mosaics date back to ancient times. Today, these types of decor have not lost their popularity, but have only increased it. New artists and craftsmen are developing new techniques, types, and design approaches in the production of these ancient decorative works of art.

Stained glass and mosaic are not the same thing, although they have certain similarities. Let's find out and define these types of art.

What is stained glass and what is mosaic?

She represents various types stones, ceramic tiles, etc. All the pieces are matched to each other so that later a beautiful and complete picture is formed from it. This technique dates back to ancient times, it was then that the ancient Romans began to lay out mosaics on the walls and floors in palaces and houses of rich people. Over time, this art of decoration developed, the patterns became more laconic, the execution technique became more and more accurate and correct. IN ancient Rus' mosaic came along with Christianity. It was considered a very expensive imported product.

Today, mosaic is very affordable; it is used to decorate the bathroom, kitchen, and living room. The materials remained basically the same: stone, ceramics. Added new material– metal. Such paintings have a very non-standard appearance.

Stained glass

The material used to create stained glass windows is glass. It can be of different shapes, colors, thickness. Paintings made in this style are ideally combined with all sorts of designs, ranging from more classic to some crazy and bright modern.

Stained glass has been considered high art since ancient times. Stained glass inserts were present in palaces, rich houses, and, of course, in temples. The artists who produced these wonderful paintings were very famous, in demand and revered. The faces of people and animals were depicted on the glass, there were also

Dragonflies are one of the most favorite images among stained glass artists.
I don't even know why. Probably due to the fact that they are as fragile and transparent as the glass with which these masters of light and color work. Or perhaps due to the fact that the membranes of dragonfly wings are very reminiscent of the web of stained glass lintels. Or maybe because of this, and because of the other, and it is still unknown why. In any case, the fact remains a fact. The totem animal (okay, insect) of stained glass artists is the dragonfly.
So, let's look at the stained glass dragonfly from a slightly unusual point of view. Many of you have been to Barcelona, and are probably familiar with Gaudi's mosaics, which he made generally from waste, from broken plates, from scrap ceramic factories, from broken terracotta tiles, and so on. As a result, a new direction of mosaic technology has emerged!
But this is what happens when the brother in mind of a mosaic artist, a stained glass artist, looks at the same technique. Everything that can catch the eye of a predatory artisan is used: bottles, forks and spoons, broken plates, light bulbs, toys, and so on and so forth.
Dragonfly butterflies and other fairies made from old glass.

And here it’s just the whole summer!
An attentive reader can try to guess from what kind of dishes these flying creatures were collected. (Well, repeat it later if you suddenly drop a stack of multi-colored saucers by accident)

The creator's imagination never weakens! If only the surrounding trash cans were replenished with semi-finished products as quickly as possible! Waste turns into income, as the members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee bequeathed to us.
Is it possible to resist without cute feelings while looking at such a cheerful stained glass exhibition? She really deserves to decorate any interior. And if it was made with your own hands, and each item has its own family story (even if made up) which you will tell to amazed guests in the dim light of the fireplace and a glass of old peat whiskey in your hand...
Who knows, maybe it was from this very bottle that your great-grandmother poured poison into the auricle (well, further on in the libretto...)
And now it is in a place of honor in the center of the stained glass window and symbolizes the desire to go up and upward, because a handful of earth brought from distant Patagonia (or Potogonia? Although, no, Potogonia is at a nearby metallurgical plant), where that same great-grandmother was born, is forever sealed in it from a visiting hussar of the Russian Marine Corps.
And these butterflies and moths will already carry completely different stories, which you can find out directly in your dusty family legends. Stories of past years, legends of deep antiquity. The main thing is broken dishes on time, and a little magic powder from that very blue bottle of my great-grandmother! And all this together will need to be taken to the nearest stained glass artist and a drop of 500 grams of peat whiskey will be poured into him.
I beg you, do not mix up the bubbles!
Let's take another look at all our stained glass dragonflies, the uneven edges of their glass wings, the funny old inscriptions on the bodies made of bubbles, let's understand that stained glass is actually interesting and think about where stained glass can live in your interior?