Siegfried Reinhardt was a 20th century German-American artist. In many ways, that sums up the look and style of his art. I have seen these windows and Fr. Weedon’s photos do not do them justice. Nonetheless, the 20th century ushered in, with Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,” the era of the ugly as beautiful. I believe that Reinhardt was simply a man of his times. I would disagree that these windows are ugly and agree with Fr. Weedon that they are powerful; still his style did not accentuate what most would describe as aesthetically pleasing. Rather he tried to capture a sense of drama and earthy reality.
As for the “feminine” look of St. John the Apostle, it simply pictures his youth. Especially at the Last Supper, virtually all depictions of him in Eastern and Western art are beardless and boyish. Add to that long hair and he looks very “girlish.” When I did a stained glass window of St. John in a Last Supper scene, I was quite proud of the boyish (feminine) look I had captured. The folks at the church just couldn’t buy it though, and we put a slight beard on him. As the pastor who liked what I had originally done said, “Damn that Dan Brown!”
4 comments:
I'm sorry, but this is ugly, ugly art. No sense of aesthetics whatsoever.
Since you're the chaplain there, maybe you can get some Cranach replicas installed.
Oh, I'd disagree. I think they're actually rather powerful artwork. Perhaps the photo doesn't capture them properly.
I just wish artists wouldn't always picture St John the Evangelist as so "girly".
Siegfried Reinhardt was a 20th century German-American artist. In many ways, that sums up the look and style of his art. I have seen these windows and Fr. Weedon’s photos do not do them justice. Nonetheless, the 20th century ushered in, with Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,” the era of the ugly as beautiful. I believe that Reinhardt was simply a man of his times. I would disagree that these windows are ugly and agree with Fr. Weedon that they are powerful; still his style did not accentuate what most would describe as aesthetically pleasing. Rather he tried to capture a sense of drama and earthy reality.
As for the “feminine” look of St. John the Apostle, it simply pictures his youth. Especially at the Last Supper, virtually all depictions of him in Eastern and Western art are beardless and boyish. Add to that long hair and he looks very “girlish.” When I did a stained glass window of St. John in a Last Supper scene, I was quite proud of the boyish (feminine) look I had captured. The folks at the church just couldn’t buy it though, and we put a slight beard on him. As the pastor who liked what I had originally done said, “Damn that Dan Brown!”
My 2¢.
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