Book Description

The magical qualities of stained glass have an enduring appeal, but church windows tend to be ignored as a form of creative and artistic expression. How to Look at Stained Glass is a fresh, unstuffy guide, which explores the medium by themes, patterns, designs, and effects. Using an A-Z format to reveal a multitude of fascinating details - all the way from apples to zig-zags - it makes looking at gloriously colourful, artistically important windows entertaining and rewarding. This layman's guide requires no previous historical, artistic or religious knowledge and the A-Z miscellany is in keeping with the pot-luck mix of windows to be found in most churches. It covers all the major periods and styles from medieval to modern, Victorian to post-war, eighteenth century to Arts and Crafts, figurative to abstract, and examines the fascinating and evolving iconography of stained glass. Illustrated in black & white and colour and with a list of the top 30 places to see outstanding examples, How to Look at Stained Glass is all that is needed to make sense of and enjoy the array of stained glass windows in the churches of England.