GOTHIC GLASS PAINTER, German
(active 1250-1260)

Saints

1250s
Stained glass window
Cathedral, Naumburg

Stained glass windows were created in the Naumburg cathedral in the 1250s, in the same period when the Naumburg Master, probably the greatest German sculptor of the Gothic age, created there his outstanding works of sculpture. His idiom was based on the style of Early High Gothic works of art in the eastern provinces of France, such as in Reims. From him the glass painters took over the treatment of figures, but integrated them into their own style.

The two saints shown in the picture are Sebastian (left) and Magdalen (right). The figure of Sebastian is framed by an extended foil which consists of two quatrefoils run into each other, backed by a rich tapestry pattern. This type of composition was very popular in 13th-century German and Austrian stained glass, enabled the artist to place several standing individual figures above each other within a single frame.