Summary of the previous episode:
Although the tour goes downhill, it builds up the visitor’s interest to a crescendo, culminating in the final spot: the chapel.
The “Cité du Vitrail” is home to a number of iconic masterpieces, a selection of which are presented here. You might want to add some of your favourite pieces to this list, according to your own tastes and sensitivity.
The Transfiguration of Christ (“La Transfiguration du Christ”)
The place of honour goes to the oldest stained-glass window on display at the “Cité du Vitrail”. Because of its venerable age and rarity, it occupies a room of its own, the aptly named “Treasure Room”.
It is a small stained-glass window from Troyes dating from the end of the 12th century, which has had an eventful history, since after being moved from one building to another, it finally disappeared before reappearing in 2018 at a public auction.
In fact, it is doubly miraculous, as it was part of a set of stained-glass windows that was dismantled and scattered around the world, in Paris, London and New York. It is thought to have been created for Troyes Romanesque cathedral or the collegiate church built by the Count of Champagne.
Oculus
Stained-glass windows are designed to be admired from inside a building. Perhaps some are also designed to look at those who look at them. The chapel’s oculus has the appearance of a Cyclops, with its large blue eye streaked with yellow.
Its motif is open to interpretation: a vortex (a whirlpool) according to the official version, an exercise in calligraphy, a stylisation of the Earth with its seas and continents, a representation of the path of the Sun in the blue, a ribbon whirling in the sky, streaks of gold spreading across a glass…
The only thing that is certain is that this miniature rose window was specially created by the painter Fabienne Verdier, and made by the Manufacture Vincent-Petit in Troyes. The oculus is the signature, seal and coat of arms of the “Cité du Vitrail”. It is also the only painted stained glass incorporated into the building envelope.
Many other remarkable works could be on this list: the Champagne Drinker (“Le buveur de champagne”), the Islamic panels (“Les panneaux islamiques”) (because the art of stained glass is not the exclusive preserve of Christianity), the stained-glass window refused by Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris because it was considered too modern at the time it was commissioned, the last surviving stained-glass window from the 1878 Universal Exhibition…
There are as many works on display as there are good reasons to come to the “Cité du Vitrail”. The next and final episode is dedicated to some of them.