TOWARDS THE LIGHT:

The stained glass of Christian Waller

It is a little known but remarkable fact that Corio’s Chapel of All Saints houses the largest collection of Christian Waller (1894–1954) works in existence. The wife of the better-known stained glass artist Napier Waller – whose work is also represented in the Chapel – Christian was an artist of extraordinary brilliance, greatly admired for the originality of her designs, sumptuous use of colour, mastery of technique and symbolic detail. A leading proponent of Modernism, she was the sole female professional stained glass artist in Australia until the 1970s.

One of Waller’s most beautiful windows commemorates Robert de Wolf (M’34), who died aged 14 following complications from surgery. It incorporates the text from her favourite gospel and is a superb example of her skills as a colourist and designer.

Christian Waller Stained Glass: Towards the light by Dr Caroline Miley (ASP, 2022) is the first book to examine Waller’s oeuvre in its entirety, offering a detailed analysis of the themes, influences and iconography of over a hundred windows as well as accompanying designs and sketches. Twenty-one of these windows illuminate the Chapel of All Saints, comprising two windows executed in conjunction with Napier Waller – the John and George Russell Bell memorial window (1931) and the striking Falkiner window (1944) – two exquisite windows in the baptistry commemorating Robert de Wolf (1936) and Captain Stewart Weir (1950), and the beautiful cycle of 17 windows (1947–48) that were installed to commemorate OGGs killed in World War Two.

Through clear and informative descriptions, art historian Caroline Miley explains the iconography of these windows, which reveal Christian’s intensely spiritual focus, influenced by a synthesis between Theosophy (a religious teaching that focuses on the reincarnation of the bodily soul) and Christianity. The Weir window, for example, depicts St Michael, an archetypal subject for war memorial windows, often depicted wielding his sword as the leader of the heavenly armies. Miley explains that in Christian’s window, St Michael’s sword is sheathed, a reference to peace, while the lighthouse motif on the shield is a symbol of Christ as both a ‘strong tower’ and ‘the light of the world’, and also refers to the Theosophical concept of radiance as a symbol for the Supreme All.

The cycle of 17 windows in the nave transepts is especially important, both within the history of stained glass in Australia and for its significant place in the body of Australian World War Two memorials. While all but three of the windows commemorate an individual person – and the others a theatre of war –the scheme as a whole represents the concepts of service, sacrifice, resurrection and eternal life, along with Christian virtues. The windows are small, but richly packed with symbolism and biblical texts, and bordered by exquisitely painted foliage unique to each window which enhances the theme. As Miley says, “these works contain a wealth of creative syntheses of Christian, Egyptian, Greek and Theosophical iconography united in a unique and remarkable program of memorial glass”.

While the esoteric qualities of Waller’s work were largely unappreciated during her lifetime, the more familiar influences of the Celtic Revival and especially the Arts and Crafts movement, the style in which the Chapel is built, infuse her Chapel windows with a transcendent beauty that places them among the gems of the building. Caroline Miley’s book, the culmination of many years of research and personal interest in Christian Waller, not only provides rich context and authoritative detail about the artist, it also reminds us of our good fortune – and great responsibility – in having custody of these extraordinarily significant works of art at Geelong Grammar School.

Sophie Church School Historian

A window from the World War Two memorial cycle commemorating Captain William Lloyd (M’33), who was killed in the invasion of Sicily. Its symbolism includes the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, health and restoration, and a border of asphodel lilies, often planted near tombs to ward off evil. It also grows wild in Sicily.