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For the first few hundred years of this extraordinary
early period brilliant sparkly glasses were produced
which dazzled the eye. As the centuries progressed,
however, the fashion got more and more elaborate in
terms of painting on the surface of the glass until
the works created in the 17th,18th, and 19th century
became rather dull and lifeless. Over-pianting was producing
glass with little fire or life of its own.
Enter Louis Comfort Tiffany
and John LaFarge near the turn of this past century
- 1900 – two artist experimenters who wanted to
do something significantly different in glass. They
both wanted to create works as painterly as possible
– they wanted to have the color "in the glass,"
not on it.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Delamar's country estate
"Pembroke" circa 1912**
(click to enlarge - 78k)
POLYCHROME GLASS WAS INVENTED. Lafarge pioneered,
but Tiffany won out (some claim by hood-winking LaFarge
out of his patent). In any case, as heir to huge Tiffany
fortune amassed by his father, Louis Comfort was able
to finance a dazzling revolution in the uses of stained
glass, bringing it into the homes of the wealthy and
well-to-do on a large scale.
Now works could be created with
from sheets of glass the could have three, four, five,
or even six colors mixed together. Remarkable works
with brilliance and sparkle, intriguing "ring-mottles,"
or with a dizzying array of "fractures and streamers"
were created. Many experimental works were created that
astound the eye today can be found throughout New England
and beyond.
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