Munich-style stained glass

Munich-style stained glass was produced in the Royal Bavarian Stained Glass Manufactory, Munich, in the mid-19th century.[1]

King Ludwig I of Bavaria planned for the first time in Continental Europe the revival of the art of stained glass and established in 1827 the “Königliche Glasmalereianstalt” / “Royal Stained Glass Establishment”. Sigmund Frank, Max Emanuel Ainmiller and Heinrich Maria Hess were entrusted by the King to bring stained glass back to life. They succeeded to develop the Royal Institute to the highest levels. Stained glass windows were designed, fabricated and installed for the Cathedrals of Regensburg and Cologne in Germany, of Glasgow in Scotland, of St. Petersburg in Russia and many others.

The Royal Stained Glass Establishment laid the foundation for Munich as a center for stained glass design and fabrication in the 19th and early 20’s Centuries. Around 1900 some 13 stained glass studios worked in Munich. Franz Mayer of Munich (with approximately 350) and F.X. Zettler (with some 250 employees) were the largest and the best known studios internationally.

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Franz Mayer of Munich / Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt - F.X. Zettler

In 1847 Joseph Gabriel Mayer (1808–1883), an academic artist and sculptor, founded the “Mayer Institute of Christian Art“. His vision for the new Christian Art had been to revive the ideal of the Medieval “Bauhütten” (masons’ lodges) – establishments of mutual collaboration and inspiration of fine arts, architecture, sculpture, stained glass and painting. Following his vision the manufacture of sculptures, statues and altars dominated the early years.

Of course, the great success of the Royal Stained Glass Establishment and the revival of this art form did inspire Joseph Gabriel Mayer. But it was the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain which fascinated Mayer. The British movement and its pursuit of true quality in craftsmanship generated glass painters with great skills. Mayer recognized the opportunity to add stained glass windows of highest quality to his range of products. Locally trained and eventually British stained glass artists and glass painters were invited to his Munich studio. Stained glass windows by Peter Hemmel von Andlau or Hans Holbein the Elder set the standards for Mayer.

In approximately 1862 F. X. Zettler, Mayer’s junior associate and son in law, became entrusted with the founding of the stained glass department within Mayer’s “Institute of Christian Art”. In 1870 he established an independent studio, which became very successful, too. The F. X. Zettler Studio was reunited with the Mayer Studio in 1939.

In 1865 the first branch was opened in London. In 1869 it was followed by a branch in Paris. In 1882 King Ludwig II awarded the company the title of “Royal Bavarian Art Establishment“ (“Hofkunstanstalt”).

The next generation, Joseph and especially Franz Borgias Mayer (1848–1926), brought the company to its highest international renown and success. By the turn of the century Mayer and Zettler employed some 600 artisans and glass painters.

In 1888 the new branch in New York City was opened and brought the company full international status. Furthermore, in 1892 Pope Leo XIII awarded the title “Pontifical Institute of Christian Art“. The most outstanding ecclesiastical commission of that period had been the Holy Spirit Window above the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (approx. 1905).

Stained glass windows for more than 50 Cathedral Churches in the United States and Canada and another 50 in other parts of the world were made by Mayer and Zettler. In addition, windows for thousands of regular parish churches, mostly Roman Catholic ones, were designed and supplied. Towards the end of the 19th century Franz Mayer of Munich and F.X. Zettler with some 600 glass painters and artisans became the most successful stained glass studios in Munich and worked worldwide.

The Munich Style

Mayer and Zettler succeeded in the creation of a stained glass style, which eventually became world-renowned. This style was called the “Munich Style” and was clearly a phenomenon. Analyzing and researching the preconditions and the characteristics of the Munich Style reveals the following key words or explanations:

Environment and Context

Characteristics and Features of the Munich Style

  1. Reference to late gothic stained glass between 1450 and 1500; special reference to Peter Hemmel von Andlau, Hans Holbein the Elder – rather than referring to Nazarenes or Pre-Raphaelites
  2. Musivic combined with painterly stained glass
  3. Colourful stained glass; strong colours – rather than subdued colouring and clear glass in 19th Century British glass
  4. Naturalistic and painstakingly exact figurative drawing
  5. Balanced composition within the individual window opening
  6. Perfectly worked out architectural framing design for each window
  7. Excellence in design - Master painters, academic professors designed the composition and concentrated on the main figures and on most important elements of the art work; the assistants added the background figures, landscape, architecture; skilled helpers worked on less important areas. In the 2nd half of the 19th century the Munich Academy of Fine Arts was famous and historic, monumental and figurative painting played an important role; many of the professors and “masters” worked for Mayer and Zettler. Through the studio’s international relations and especially contacts with stained glass artists in England, the best British painters were added to the design teams. The individual design artist of the Mayer or Zettler windows in the late 19th or early 20th century normally worked anonymously. It was the Mayer and Zettler studio which entrusted the work to the artists and which stood for the art works. The studio meant teamwork from all design and fabrication aspects. Artistic stardom was not yet borne. Few very established and well-known artists were mentioned by name, for instance Moritz von Schwind, Claudius von Schraudolph, - sometimes – Martin Feuerstein or William Francis Dixon.
  8. Selection and Repetition of best and most refined artistic Compositions - Both Joseph Gabriel and Franz Borgias Mayer were of deep faith and social understanding, with an admiration of medieval culture and yet fascination for the new industrial age. The best religious art works should be made affordable to as many church communities as possible. It was not the “originality” of the art work, which counted most, but the individual quality of design and execution! The most beautifully developed compositions of their own design teams set the standard and were often used as master-copies. Often only minor changes were made for the individual churches. It was more important that each church would receive the best possible and most beautifully executed windows, statues and altars.
  9. Excellence in fabrication - The painting and drawing quality, and the luminosity, transparency and glassiness were of upmost importance at all Mayer and Zettler stained glass windows. Some 50% or more of the glass painting was erasing, rubbing and etching: “Painting” light or “painting” transparency. Specialization of artists and artisans became key elements of the studios practicing. Alone the stained glass painters specialized in human portraits, architecture, landscape, ornament etc. The glazier artisans specialized in groups that defined the lead-line compositions, prepared the patterns, selected the colours, cut the glass etc. All other steps of the work were also performed by specialists and experts in their field.
  10. Both Mayer and Zettler defined the art work, organized the execution and marketed the “product”, i.e. the “Munich Style” stained glass window.
  11. The studios also allowed space for individual artistic expressions and envelopments.

Expansion and Degradation

Epigones, Copyists

The success of Munich stained glass attracted, of course, epigones, those who used the good name of Munich stained glass and copyists, as well as low-priced competition. A renowned St. Louis stained glass studio opened a branch in Munich. A stained glass studio in Chicago named itself “Munich Studio” and produced low quality “copies” of Mayer or Zettler windows.

The desire for change

The huge number of stained glass windows during the 19th century using the Munich styles eventually developed symptoms of fatigue. Secular art separated from ecclesiastical art. Ecclesiastical art turned into multiple directions, many of them more or less traditional. At World War I the art of stained glass lost its status as “fine art” and was rated down to “applied art”. With the search for the new and different there was a declining reputation for all fields of secular or “profane” art. Now all 19th century arts and crafts were bedevilled. All artistic individualism, originality et al. was praised to the skies - the usual exaggerations!

Rediscovery and Revival of Munich Style Windows

In Germany, right after World War II, the disapproval of 19th century art – both secular and ecclesiastical - became immensely strong. The Zeitgeist demanded a break with the past and a new beginning in all aspects of life including all fields of art. In the 1960s and 70’s declining acceptance of 19th century art became rather common internationally, even in traditional ecclesiastical circles. Many beautiful stained glass windows of the 19th and early 20th century were removed from churches, destroyed or distorted, and were replaced with “modernistic” windows.

The quality of traditional pictorial and figurative windows had immensely deteriorated through the 20th century. There were very few artists left with mastery of figurative drawing in the traditional academic sense. The painters tended to simplify their strokes, their tracing lines and all of the etching and rubbing work. One has to remember that at Mayer and Zettler windows around 1900 approximately 50% to 65% of all painting work was erasing and rubbing work, which was necessary to achieve the beautiful luminosity of these Munich style windows.

Besides concentrating on the field of contemporary stained glass with great success, Mayer of Munich again has been focusing on the design and fabrication qualities of the historic “Munich Style” windows of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Restoration Work

Restoration and reconstruction of historic stained glass and mosaics was always an important field of work in the Mayer studios. Mayer restored and preserved major projects of medieval stained glass and Roman mosaics as well as works of later periods. In very intense and close collaboration with the prominent preservation agencies in Germany as well as with the “Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi” (similar to the Census of American stained glass) the methods of the restoration work have been defined and researched. While in the United States and in other countries restoration is often simplified to such works as removing the original stained glass panels, dismantling and cleaning and then complete re-leading, the restoration usually is approached more carefully and comprehensively in Europe. The original frames and especially stone mullions and stone traceries should be retained in all their beauty, wherever possible. Re-leading as such of the old windows is by no means a general recommendation. Often the recommendations in Europe are: Outer protective glazing – usually set into the rebates of the original stained glass panels - preparation of the frames for “isothermal glazing”; very careful dry cleaning; dismantling of the net of lead canes only where necessary; re-soldering and partial re-leading rather than general re-leading. In Europe it has become a principle to retain as much of the original historic glass and it’s frames as possible. Therefore, broken glass pieces are not necessarily being replaced by new ones. Edge-gluing technology is often used. The highest standards of perfectly masterful painting work, where replacements are necessary, are implemented. With regards to US restoration projects – especially of historic Mayer or Zettler windows - the Mayer studio collaborates with experienced local glaziers and discusses the advantages of European versus American restoration methods.

References

  1. ^ http://stjamesf.dioceseny.org/building/Munichwindows.htm