Welcome to the virtual foyer of my gallery!
Art is a sensual experience stemming from the viewer’s encounter with colours, shapes, lines and light. Of all art types, stained-glass painting is unique due to the harmony between material and light. Light is revelation, beauty and the symbol of divinity.
In the 20th century such important painters as Josef Albers, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Ferdinand Léger, Heinrich Campendonk, Max Pechstein, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Adolf Hölzel executed numerous stained-glass paintings. With all the possibilities of free composition and of colors in changing light, of playing with transparency, opacity and the effect of surface textures the artists opened an entirely new world for themselves that painting just could not offer.
These works show that modern and contemporary stained-glass painting, as autonomous works of art or windows in architecture, can be equated with today’s painting in their art historical significance and quality, matching it in imagination and expressiveness. Especially the work of German artists before and after WWII had a determining influence in the discovery of stained-glass painting for modern art. I would like to draw particular attention to these artists and invite you to have a look at the 20th Century section of my virtual gallery.
I’m convinced that stained-glass paintings and windows, both old and modern, are not only collector’s items but also have a stimulating influence on the well-being and the quality of life of human beings.
This virtual gallery can convey only a general impression of the stained-glass paintings in my collection. If you enjoyed your cyber tour through the centuries and your curiosity to personally see the originals is growing, then visit us in Obereggenen near Badenweiler. Here awaits you not only a unique gallery but also all the riches of one of Germany’s loveliest cultural landscapes.
Barbara Giesicke
