Waves, Clouds and Floating Hair in Glass

Waves, Clouds, Floating Hair....in Glass

In past chapters we have seen how the Art Nouveau artists made abundant use of the subject of nature, be it flowers, trees, butterflies or birds. In this post we will see the handling of clouds, waves or ondulating long hair in the composition of stained glass windows, some of them obtaining world wide fame.

Maison Autrique

In my post of "Flowers in Glass" we have seen already a beautiful staircase window in Horta´s Autrique house. Right above this window but directed towards the sky we find this second window in the same delicate colors ranging from white to mauve and brown. While the inferior window depicts flowers and trees the subject of this stained glass is a cloudy sky interrupted only by the flight of grouses. The flowing lines of the clouds and the soft colors like cream, mauve or brownish transmit the airiness of the composition. The choice of different glass textures - as for instance glittering ripple glass for the grouses - serves to enhance the moving birds.

Staircase window in Maison Autrique

Rue Jef Lambeaux 36

Several Art Nouveau houses built by the architect Georges Peereboom line this street. The number 36 shows this charming fanlight above its door. We contemplate here a picture of exuberant nature in most lively colors where clouds and water occupy an important place pronounced by the masterly choice of glass colors and textures. A white swan is overflying the water surface. The intense green of a group of trees made of opalescent glass is contrasting with the declining sun and its white and mauve rays. White and greyish clouds in sparkling ripple glass cross the sun rays. The mirror-like water surface at the bottom of the picture is glittering, another proof of the wise selection of glass.

Fanlight in Rue Jef Lambeaux 36

Rue de l´Arbre Benit 123

Now I present you with one of the most famous stained glass windows in all Art Nouveau. The design of this window is due to the well-known designer and painter Privat-Livemont, largely influenced by the artistic current of symbolism  as well as to the emerging interest in japonism. The glass artist Raphael Evaldre has been able to translate this extraordinary design in stained glass. Paul Saintenoy, the architect of the famous "Magasins of Old England" in the centre of Brussels commissioned these artists to finish his recently acquired house. 

A young woman with folded hands like in prayer is looking out across the sea. Foaming waves and the woman´s long floating hair are exploited to develop arabesques characteristic for the style of Art Nouveau. The inherent symbolism of waves and ondulating hair stand for the woman´s anguish. This violent movement at the bottom of the picture constrasts with the lineal calm of the clouds in the superior part of the composition. The same yuxtaposition of turbulence  and calm can be followed in the decrease of colors, from the rich palette at the bottom to the single blue tonalities in the superior part. The expert handling of glass colors and textures by master Evaldre are most evident in the waves´ sparkling quality or the soothing blue of the linear clouds. 

Living room window in Hotel Saintenoy

The staircase of Hotel Saintenoy is lighted by another stained glass window, probably a product of the same artists as of "The Wave". The subject of huge waves with their white foam is repeated in this window. They seem to come alive contrasting strongly with the static flowers at the bottom of the window. A frame in stained glass repeats the wave motif, but in regular sequences and in golden colors. 

Staircase window in Hotel Saintenoy

Rue Vogler 17

A rather unobtrusive building with only few Art Nouveau embellishments surprises with this delicious little window above the entrance. It is one of the numerous anonymous works of stained glass all over Brussels indicating the great liking it found among its people. A boat with its white opaque sails above the turquoise-colored sea is set in front of the golden rays of the sky. Again we see the use of opalescent glass for the sea underlining its prominence.

Fanlight in Rue Vogler 17

Rue Philip le Bon 55

A lovely Art Nouveau house in the European quarter, built by Armand van Waesberghe in 1902, includes in its exterior decorations beautiful sgraffiti pannels on the second floor as well as this big fanlight forming a perfect unit with the door. The water surface in light blue glass  at the bottom and the mauve-colored clouds in the upper part are held together by an ondulating plant. The whole picture  is kept in delicate pastel colors. 

Fanlight in Rue Philip le Bon 55