Vitraux de la cathédrale de Rouen, Medieval stained glass windows in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Rouen, France.
The stained glass windows of Rouen Cathedral are found in Notre-Dame Cathedral and display glassmaking techniques from multiple centuries. The windows cover roughly 1,150 square meters (12,000 sq ft) and combine works from the 13th through the 20th century.
No window predates the 1200 fire and the rebuilding that followed. The ambulatory glazing survives intact from about 1220-1230, and around 1270 older panels were regrouped into the two "Belles Verrières" bays. The chapel of the Virgin was rebuilt from 1306 under bishop Guillaume de Flavacourt, with windows of about 1310 showing the archbishops of Rouen. Panels from the 19th century still in place were destroyed in World War II; after the war, glass from Saint-Vincent and works by Max Ingrand, Jean-Jacques Gruber, Simone Flandrin-Latron and Sylvie Gaudin filled the empty bays.
The window in the photograph is divided by stone mullions into three panels whose scrolls read "MARTHE", "MARIE" and "LAZARE", naming Martha, Mary and Lazarus. The two oldest windows, in chapels 51 and 53 of the north nave aisle, are called the "Belles Verrières"; they were made around 1200 and moved here after 1270, and are known for their blue glass. The ambulatory window of Saint Julian the Hospitaller, made around 1220-1230, was given by the fishmongers.
The windows are best viewed during daytime, especially in the morning when light comes through from the east. The best views happen when you take time to look around and try different positions in the nave.
The workshop of Guillaume Barbe created many panels in the 15th century with scenes of local saints and Norman religious figures. These works show how regional craftspeople honored their community through glassmaking.
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