HPUC

Architecture & Stained Glass Windows

The North Windows

Paul on Mars Hill
The westernmost window, the John B. Jackson window, was given by the Jackson family in 1907 and is dedicated to the memory of the pastor of the church from 1878 to 1883. Jackson was also a professor in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago until poor health forced him to leave that position. He had served as supply preacher on only two Sundays when the congregation prevailed upon him to accept the call to their pulpit on a full-time basis. The window, fittingly then, depicts Paul on Mars Hill in Athens. This episode in the ministry of Paul, described in Acts 17:16-34, is a common theme in Protestant religious art. Paul addresses the assembled Areopagus (Mars Hill in Greek), the judicial council of Athens, whose functions included hearing religious cases. On this occasion, Dionysius (St. Denis) was converted to Christianity, and according to some sources became the first bishop of Athens; he may be the figure seated at Paul's feet in the foreground, wearing a crown of leaves. (In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul contrasts the laurel wreath with which victorious Greek athletes and soldiers were crowned, with the imperishable wreath of the victorious Christian.) The temple of Mars, seen in the background, is realistically depicted as a classical building, as are the columns near which Paul stands to preach.

The window, though unsigned, is attributed to the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany. There is some speculation that it may not actually have been crafted by the Tiffany Studios but by another studio with his approval, or even by a rival studio or former student of Tiffany. Its style represents many of the characteristics that distinguish Tiffany and

Tiffany-style windows from those of other stained glass artists, and the glass certainly came from the Tiffany Studios.

Tiffany's goal was to "paint with light," and in order to achieve that effect, his studios layered colored glass, creating subtle color effects and a slight softening of focus. (This technique is particularly evident in the foliage behind Paul.) Variations in color are built into the glass. The colors are soft, and shade from one tone to another, in sharp contrast to the jewel-like primary colors of medieval glass, also found in the windows of the Connick and Associates along the back of the chancel. In Tiffany and Tiffany-approved windows, faces and hands are painted on, as they are in this window, in order to achieve careful anatomical detail. The draperies and use of composition are also very painterly - they appear to have been observed from life. Tiffany used artists to do large drawings, or "cartoons," which served as the pattern for the windows. Since this took place in the context of a studio system, however, the artists were not recognized and the windows were only occasionally signed, sometimes only with the name of the studio.

The effect of a painting is enhanced by the use of three-point perspective, that is, background objects such as the distant temple are realistically smaller so they appear far away from the columns and steps of the foreground. Medieval and medieval revival art did not use perspective; Tiffany got his ideas for the use of perspective in stained glass from the Zettler Company of Munich, another stained glass maker and the first to use it to achieve more painterly effects. (One window on the south side of the sanctuary is by the Zettler Company.) Tiffany and Tiffany-influenced windows also differ from the medieval and medieval revival approach in the way they tell their story. The tradition was to use images and icons to make a statement, whereas Tiffany windows depict a narrative, as this window does.

Joshua and Moses
Moving east, we come to the Edward and Herbert E. Goodman window, given in 1918 by the wife of Herbert E. Goodman in memory of her husband and his father Edward. Herbert Goodman immigrated to the U.S. from England and studied at the University of Chicago before becoming an inventor and manufacturer, with Elmer A. Sperry, of mining and electrical equipment. He was highly regarded as an executive who showed great concern for the welfare of miners and was himself injured in a mining accident while attending to a safety concern.

The Goodman window was produced, signed, and dated by Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios. The left half depicts Joshua, the war leader of the Israelites; the right half depicts Moses, the lawgiver. Joshua holds a sword and two spears, weapons appropriate for a general but which also have special associations in Christian art. Spears, the weapon of the foot soldier, are attributes of several warrior saints; the sword also represents authority and the administration of justice. After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into the land of milk and honey. The Moses window is noteworthy for the way in which the coloring in the draperies was matched. This is extremely rare and difficult to do, and naturally created a lot of wasted glass, which Tiffany Studios sold to other stained glass makers.

Amos and Hosea
Moving east once again, we come to the William Rainey Harper window (1907), which portrays two eighth century B.C. prophets, Amos and Hosea. Harper, who served as the superintendent of the Sunday School here for twelve years, organized and launched the University of Chicago as its first president. He was also an Old Testament scholar in its Divinity School. The subject of this window is closely associated with President Harper, whose last published work was a commentary on Amos and Hosea. Although most other Tiffany windows were made from cartoons used in churches across the country, the Amos and Hosea window is the only one of its kind.

Amos and Hosea represent two different aspects of the Old Testament God: the inscription on the Amos window -- "Let judgment roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream" (Amos 5:24) -- reflects the God of justice; the quotation from Hosea -- "Ye are the sons of the living God" (Hosea 1:10) -- is taken from a broader promise of God to forgive and redeem his straying people when they turned away from error. Amos, who was "a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees," holds a shepherd's crook in his right hand and is flanked by a sycamore on his left. Hosea, his hand lifted in exhortation and blessing, calls the children of Israel to return to the Lord.

Again the glasswork is notable for the large size of the pieces of glass, for the subtlety of the coloring, and for the

speckling which was achieved by layering different colors of glass. (The difference between this technique and that of the Connick studios, which tended to use smaller pieces of glass in strong primary colors to achieve a flatter effect, is readily observable. See the next windows and those at the back of the chancel.)

Luke and John
The fourth window, dedicated to the memory of University of Chicago president Ernest De Witt Burton and his wife, Mary Frances Burton who had joined the church in 1893, was given by their daughter Margaret in 1954. The window was produced by the studios of C. J. Connick Associates. The style and presentation are strikingly different from the opalescent subtleties and realism of the Tiffany and Tiffany-style windows. The Burton window depicts evangelists Luke and John, along with symbols associated with them and with the Burtons. Each of the figures holds a plumed pen, the usual attribute of the gospel writers. The medallion in the ocular window above the two evangelists depicts a lamp, traditionally a symbol of wisdom and piety, the word of God (described as "a lamp unto the faithful"), and, in the context of a university, the light of knowledge. The inscription scrolled over the heads of the evangelists is taken from the Gospel of John: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). On either side are stars, generally a symbol of divine guidance or favor.

Luke is traditionally known as both a physician and a painter, because of the legend that he did several portraits of the Virgin Mary, and his artist's palette is depicted in the upper right quadrant of the window. Luke was said to have made many converts to Christianity merely by showing the portraits to his listeners. His role as a physician is reflected in the caduceus, or staff with two entwined serpents, in the lower right quadrant of the window. (The caduceus, originally a symbol of the messenger god Hermes, was used to suggest eloquence, reason, and peace.) The symbol that traditionally represents Luke, the winged ox (because his Gospel emphasizes the priesthood of Christ: the ox is a symbol of sacrifice, and wings generally are a sign of divine mission) also appears on the book he holds. In the lower left quadrant, a depiction of Rockefeller Chapel reminds the

viewer that the building was completed during Burton's tenure as president of the University of Chicago.

John, the brother of James and "the disciple whom Jesus loved," is usually depicted, as he is here, as a long-haired, beardless youth. He is surrounded with his attributes of the winged eagle, the serpent emerging from a chalice, the book he carries, symbolizing his role as a writer. The eagle is the symbol of highest aspiration, and the gospel of John focuses particularly on contemplating the divine nature of Jesus. The chalice reminds us of a legendary encounter with the Emperor Domitian, who ordered John to drink a cup of poisoned wine; when he drank it the poison became a serpent and slithered away. The lower left quadrant depicts Mrs. Burton' s legendary hospitality to students. The relative size of these figures denotes not a literal portrait but an emotional state, a good example of the difference between Tiffany' s and Connick's approach to telling a story.

Matthew and Mark
Moving east once more, we come to the Rolland Walter and Edith Grandsen Schloerb window, also from the studio of Connick, which depicts the evangelists Matthew and Mark. This window and the northernmost window on the east wall were given in 1959 by members of the church and community in memory of Rolland Schloerb who died in 1958 and in honor of his wife Edith who lived until 1985. The medallion in the ocular window holds a Greek cross surrounded by four smaller crosses. The Greek cross generally suggests the Church of Christ rather than the sacrifice represented by the Roman cross. Matthew too holds the book and pen associated with all the evangelists. Over his head is the phrase, "Let your light so shine before men" (Matthew 5:16). The axe in the upper right quadrant of the window represents the instrument of Matthew's martyrdom; the winged man in the lower right quadrant is the traditional attribute of Matthew; and the small portrait in the lower left quadrant shows him as a tax collector. The blue glass background is rich with symbols. The bunch of grapes between the axe and the angel reminds us of references to God's people as a vineyard, and is also often a symbol of the close relationship between Christ and the church: "I am the vine; ye are the branches" (John 15:5).

Mark is also surmounted with a scriptural quotation: "Pre-pare ye the way of the Lord" (Mark 1:3). The lower right quadrant of this window depicts an oak tree, the emblem of faith and virtue, and of endurance in the face of adversity. At the left is an inset of the winged lion, the attribute of Mark. The four symbols of the evangelists (the angel, the lion, the eagle and the ox) originally derived from the Book of Ezekiel.