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IG_330: Title page of Heinrich Oidtmann, Die Glasmalerei. Allgemeinverständlich dargestellt, 1893/1898
(MISC_IG_Oidtmann_1898_IG_330)

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Title

Die Glasmalerei. Allgemeinverständlich dargestellt

Type of Object
Artist / Producer
Oidtmann, Heinrich · Author
Dating
1898
Research Project
Author and Date of Entry
Sarah Keller 2025

Iconography

Description

In 1893, the director of the stained-glass workshop Glasmalerei Oidtmann, Heinrich II Oidtmann, published the first of several books and articles about the art of stained glass. Volume I is dedicated to technique, volume II, published in 1898, to the early history of glazing. In the chapter in the second volume ‘Die Entwickelung und äussere Eintheilung der Fensteröffnungen’, Oidtmann also mentions Islamic stucco and glass windows. Both volumes were published by Bachem in Cologne.

History

Research

Volume 2 of Heinrich Oidtmann’s Die Glasmalerei. Allgemein verständlich dargestellt, published in 1898, is the first publication on stained glass in German language that mentions Islamic stucco and glass windows. Oidtmann’s description is entirely based on the publications of William Burges of 1858 (see IG_189, translated and published in the Organ für christliche Kunst that year) and those of Édouard Didron dating to 1863 (see IG_246).

Like Didron, Oidtmann distinguishes two types of glazing in the Islamic world. One he identifies in the Süleymaniye Mosque in Constantinople and the other in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. He describes how the lead in the windows of the Dome of the Rock had been replaced by a strong plaster grille, and how light entered through a pierced faïence panel in the outer wall: ‘Die äussere Platte lässt ein mildes Licht durchdringen und beleuchtet die innere Verglasung in geradezu wundervoller Weise.’
For the Süleymaniye Mosque windows, his description follows that of Burges (p. 12): ‘[Das Fenster] ist mit kleinen Scheiben sehr dünnen Glases versehen, welches auf der Rückseite der Platte vermittelst eines aus Eiweiss und Kalk bereiteten Kittes befestigt ist. Diese innere Platte ist in ornamentalen Formen durchbrochen. Das zweite in gleicher Linie mit der äussern Wand stehende Rahmenwerk enthält kleine runde Scheiben in den verschiedensten Farben.’
Oidtmann similarly praises the double glazing, which subdues and diversifies the light, and secondly, the projecting stucco grille, which produces a different view of the window with every change of standpoint: ‘Nach der Meinung Burgess’ müssten unsere schönsten mittelalterlichen Glasfenster gegen die herrliche Wirkung dieser Arbeiten zurückstehen. Die Vorzüge dieser Fenster beständen in der doppelten Verglasung, welche das Licht in magischer Weise dämpft und bricht, und in dem Masswerk der innern Platte, dessen feine Gliederungen sehr enge sind, aber so stark ausladen, dass der Beschauer bei jeder Veränderung des Standortes eine andere Ansicht des Fensters hat, wobei einzelne der Farben verschwinden, andere wieder mehr hervortreten, und dies in fortwährendem farbenprächtigen Wechsel.’ (p. 12).

Dating
1898
Period
1893 – 1898
Related Locations
Place of Manufacture

Bibliography and Sources

Literature

Oidtmann, H. (1898). Die Glasmalerei. Allgemeinverständlich dargestellt. 2 Bde. Köln: Bachem-Verlag.

Image Information

Name of Image
MISC_IG_Oidtmann_1898_IG_330
Credits
Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf

Citation suggestion

Keller, S. (2025). Die Glasmalerei. Allgemeinverständlich dargestellt. In Vitrosearch. Retrieved December 5, 2025 from https://vitrosearch.ch/objects/2713174.

Record Information

Reference Number
IG_330