Three Reproductions of La Farge's Sealing of the Twelve Tribes Window

• Types of glass: 1. Opalescent 2. Milk 3. Wispy 4. Marbleized
• Painting only on faces, limbs and hands
• One Layer, Two Layers, Three Layers
• Contemporary

American stained glass artists developed new types of glass that were tremendously varied and rich in textures and colors. While searching for the most effective way to use these new creations, American artists began layering glass in their windows. This technique is called plating.

This trio of windows was created to show the varying visual effects of one, two, and three layers of glass. The shapes of the glass pieces are the same; it is the additional layers that change the appearance.

The lower left window has a single layer of glass. It is more translucent than the other windows. The colors are not as vibrant. The faces and hands are more rudimentary, and they are in colors that are not realistic. Overall, the window is very flat and lacks depth.

The lower right window has up to two layers of glass with the additional layers added to the back of the window. In general, plating deepens and strengthens the colors of glass. In this window, the faces are plated with milk glass painted in a flesh tone, which gives the skin a deeper color. The more realistic sky has an uneven blue color, which was produced by plating with blue wispy and marbleized glass. The grey and white sections of the woman’s gown deepened in color because of the adjacent brown section being plated with pink and blue glass.

The top window includes up to three layers of glass with the additional layers added to the front of the window. Notice how they add depth of field and three-dimensional effects to the composition. They also enhance the effects of light shining through the glass. Plating has made the lower portion of the gowns appear softer and three-dimensional. The man’s arm also now appears three-dimensional. The faces and hands received a light clear layer with texture that created a deeper tone close to real flesh color. And the sky is now the deeper color of a real sky. The section of missing glass in the bottom right corner reveals the three layers.