Holy Family’s Flight into Egypt

• La Farge-style window: painting on faces, hands, and donkey; 2 to 5 layers
• European-style window: extensive painting, single layer

These two newly created windows are based on William Thomas Hickinson’s sketch of the Holy Family’s Flight into Egypt (circa 1920). The drawing includes lead lines, meaning it was intended as a design for a stained glass window. The sketch is presented to the left of the windows.

The art glass here illustrates the difference between American- and European-style windows. The window on the top reflects a very traditional European window with heavily painted designs and a single layer of glass throughout. There are simple fields of color. And details such as the expression of love on the mother’s face have been expertly created with the lines of paint. The multilayer design of the window on the bottom reflects the style of John La Farge, an American artist. The American artists usually combined techniques. They used plating or layering, painting, and new types and colors of glass to create vibrant, richly detailed, three-dimensional windows like the lower one on display here.

The difference between the two windows is especially evident in the robes and wings. The European-style window features painting in these areas. In the American-style window, the artist used multiple small pieces and colors of glass along with layering on the front and back to create visual effects typical of those seen in La Farge windows. The halos in the bottom window consist of vivid yellow glass, while the ones in the top window have been mostly painted. Here again the difference between the two windows is distinct. Also, the sky and the groundcover are more bold and colorful in the bottom window. The new types and hues of glass as well as plating provide a more accurate depiction of nature. Overall, the top window lacks the complexity of the lower window. However, in the past, intricate details could only be achieved in stained glass windows through painting. The two donkeys have been painted in a similar style.
The Gospel of Matthew recounts the Flight into Egypt (2:13–15). Joseph flees to Egypt with Mary and the Infant Son after the Magi inform him that King Herod intends to kill Jesus.