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Painting on Light: Stained Glass in the Medieval Tradition - HOA00006M

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  • Department: History of Art
  • Module co-ordinator: Prof. Tim Ayers
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Spring Term 2022-23

Module aims

York is uniquely rich in materials for the study of stained glass, which was among the most popular monumental media in the middle ages and beyond, inspired by the metaphysical value of light and the communicative power of illuminated images: the enamel-painted picture windows of the 16th-19th centuries were premised upon new thinking about the image, after the Reformation.

Not surprisingly, the medium also enjoyed a new popularity in the Gothic Revival of the 19th century, famously attracting the many talents of Morris & Co., but also supporting commercial firms to fill many thousands of windows in secular and sacred buildings across Europe and the United States.

Taking an international perspective, but with local visits, this module sets out to explore the issues that the medium raises, including the relationship to architectural settings, ways to read these striking images in context, the variety of their functions for different audiences, and the creative partnerships involved in the making of such monumental art.

Module learning outcomes

  • To familiarise students with past and current trends in stained glass scholarship
  • To enable students to interrogate case-studies as a means of exploring themes and issues relevant to the scholarly discourse in the subject and to the wider art-historical discipline
  • To enable students to integrate the medium of stained glass into their wider study of art history
  • To suggest topics and themes for further research

Module content

Possible seminar outline

  • Introduction: Stained Glass and Architecture
  • The Middle Ages: Artists and Craftsmen, Making and Status
  • The Middle Ages: Patrons and Donors (Saint-Denis)
  • The Middle Ages: Reading and Meaning Chartres and York Minster)
  • The Middle Ages: The Parish Church (All Saints North Street, York)
  • The Reformation: Rethinking the Image (St-Janskerk, Gouda and York Minster)
  • The Gothic Revival: Reading and Meaning, from the Sublime to the Mass Market (Strawberry Hill and the Great Exhibition)
  • The Gothic Revival: Artists and Craftsmen (Capronnier and Morris & Co)

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Coursework		 N/A 100

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Coursework		 N/A 100

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on assessed work within the timeframes set out by the University - please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

The purpose of feedback is to help you to improve your future work. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further, you are warmly encouraged to meet your Supervisor during their Office Hours.

Indicative reading

Some preparatory reading:

  • Brown, S., Stained Glass at York Minster, London, 1999
  • Camille, M., The Gothic Idol, Ideology and Image Making in Medieval Art, Cambridge, 1990
  • Eire, C., War against the Idols, Cambridge and New York , 1986
  • Hamburger, J. F. and A.-M. Bouché, The Mind's Eye, Art and Theological Argument in the Middle Ages, Princeton, 2006
  • Harrison, M., Victorian Stained Glass, London/Melbourne/Sydney/ Auckland/Johannesburg, 1980
  • Marks, R., Stained Glass in England during the Middle Ages, London, 1993
  • Marks, R., 'Medieval Stained Glass: Recent and Future Trends in Scholarship', Journal of Stained Glass, XXIV (2000), pp.62–79


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.