9 Stained glass

9

Stained glass

Title/Topic

Triptych of the Dames de Cerdanyola (Ladies of Cerdanyola)

Author

Ludwig Dietrich Von Bearn (Alsatian stained glass artist). Attributed by Joan Vila-Grau and Francesc Rodon. Other possibilities have not been ruled out. It is also not

Date/Period Circa 1910

Dimensions

235 × 195 cm, 235 × 190 cm and 240 × 180 cm

Location

Cerdanyola Art Museum (MAC), Cerdanyola del Vallès (Vallès Occidental county)

The stained glass windows of Cerdanyola are among the most iconic Catalan Modernist stained glass windows. Everyone knows what they look like, just like the skylight of the Palau de la Música or the galleries of the Casa Lleó Morera. Apart from the unquestionable beauty and captivating elegance of the scenes, this is also because they have appeared on the covers of several books and have been displayed in various exhibitions.

The stained glass windows were installed in the museum during the building’s renovation that the owner, Evarist López, commissioned to the architect Eduard Maria Balcells Buïgas. In 1984, they were moved to the Miró Foundation for an exhibition, and from then on, they were stored in a warehouse until 2009, when they were acquired by Cerdanyola City Council and returned to their original location.

They are attributed to the Alsatian stained glass artist Ludwig Dietrich von Bearn, although other possibilities cannot be ruled out. It is not known whether Martí de Riquer or the architect Balcells himself took part in the preparation of the templates, which contain many similarities with the pictorial work of the former and, in general, with Central European Modernist stained glass windows of the era.

State of conservation

The stained glass windows had been returned to their original position without being restored, so they were suffering from some serious pathologies and other damage that could quickly lead to major deterioration. Temporary repairs that had been carried out with silicone, some of the panels were heavily warped and parts of the glass and lead was broken.

The stained glass windows were solid to the touch but were fragmented in the lead camework, which suggested that the metal was weak and altered or that it was supporting some of the weight of the panels, which should have been held in place by the railings.The green and blue enamels were damaged all over. Also, the surface of one of the yellow pieces, similar to yellow glass, was cracked.

The stained glass windows appeared to be clean, but they were covered evenly with a thin layer of dirt, especially on the outside.

There are no documented prior restorations, although there was evidence that repairs had been carried out, already visible in the 1983 photographs, and there were some pieces that were identified as undated replacements.

Fracture in one of the lead parts of The Ladies of the Lake

Restoration

J. M. Bonet Vitralls, SL / Tallers Nualart

Years of restoration

Study and evaluation of the state of conservation: 2012; disassembly: 8-10-2013; conservation-restoration intervention: 2013-2014, and final assembly: 17-12-2014

The ladies of the swing. Final

Intervention

The intervention was carried out in stages, between 2012 and 2015. The aim was to stop the spread of the detected alterations: dirt, warps, cracks..., and, at the same time, to improve the conservation conditions of the stained glass windows.

To carry out these tasks, the stained glass windows were disassembled and transported to the workshop, packed in boxes lined with expanded polystyrene. The dismantling of all the panels was done in the workshop, by first removing the perimeter putty using fine chisels. The disassembled stained glass was laid out flat on a work surface to flatten the warps.

A first dry clean was carried out, using brushes, followed by a second using cotton swabs soaked in a 50% water and alcohol solution. The remains of putty from the perimeter were removed with a scalpel.

The fractured parts were consolidated with epoxy resin, and only one piece was re-introduced that was discreetly, but visibly, marked with the year and name of the workshop.

The stained glass comes in a complex lead camework, with different thicknesses. The fractured lead parts were re-welded locally and replaced, if necessary, with new profiles of the same section and size. In the case of the Dama del llac (Lady of the Lake) stained glass windows, the lead was especially damaged. Many cracks were re-welded in order to preserve the original lead, and putty was added to the panels with a spatula. The restored stained glass was installed in the original frames, and the attachment system was replaced: putty and wooden pegs with L-shaped iron plates.

Assembly

Attaching the frame to the window meant that the screws had to penetrate very close to the lead of the stained glass windows. The disassembly was used to weld new lugs to the outside of the frame, to enable a simpler and safer installation of the frames on the window jambs. Sealing the panels with putty was no longer necessary which, in addition, would have made maintenance tasks very difficult. For this reason, it was replaced with a batten screwed to the frame, which allows the panels to be disassembled with a screwdriver and without creating dust.

Conclusion

The restored stained glass windows regained all their natural splendour, while ensuring further deterioration was prevented and improving the system of assembly and disassembly, making any future conservation intervention much easier.

Overall view of the restored stained glass windows

Warped panels of The Ladies of the Lake stained glass window

Old temporary repair made with silicone Alteration of the green enamel in the tiara of the central figure of The ladies of the tulips

Conservation-restoration of the 13th century stained glass windows of the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Santes Creus

Title/Topic

Leaded stained glass on the east side of the church’s transept. Leaded window made of white/green glass. A complex geometric border typical of the Cistercian order

Author

Unknown

Date/Period

Early 13th century

Location

South transept V of the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Santes Creus, Aiguamúrcia (Alt Camp county)

CRBMC Register NO

12641

Coordination

Joan Ibarz (Monastery of Santes Creus) and Pere Rovira (CRBMC)

Restoration

J. M. Bonet Vitralls, SL

Year of restoration

2015

The stained glass windows of Santes Creus are unique for several reasons: they are the oldest preserved in Catalonia, installed in the windows for which they were designed; they are not fragmented remains but a complete set of stained glass windows. They date back to the period in which the monastery was built, of which there are very few examples left, and they were also manufactured according to the rules of the Cistercian order, using clear glass and complex borders without any figuration.

State of conservation

They were originally made of crown glass, cut with red-hot iron, with different thicknesses (up to 6 mm in parts). The coloured glasses were coloured en masse, and only one of the pieces, on one of the sides, is a red flashed glass. There were clearly some reintegrations with newer glass, displaying more intense colours, which were much more scratched than the older glasses, and which did not follow the lead pattern of the other panels.

The lead was very hard and, despite having numerous fractures, warps and movements, it was preserved almost completely. There is no reason to believe that this is not the original from the early 13th century.

In total we counted 29 painted pieces. Two types of grisaille were found: a darker one, which coincides with a more basic, more irregular and less elaborate stroke, and a redder one, which we believe is more recent, in which the lines are thinner and more delicate.

Some of the glass was suffering from early stages of corrosion. The whitish ones were slightly iridescent on the outside, and only some parts were blackened or had holes in, typical of a more advanced stage of corrosion.

On the outside, the surface was clean; there was only a thin layer of dust which was loose and evenly spread. There were cement marks around the perimeter, with some panels partially covered by this material. On the inside, there were thick, unevenly distributed crusts, spider webs and dust.

In the very thick glass pieces which are mechanically very strong there were a lot of fractures in the lead. The fact that there were so many cracks greatly weakened the stability of the panels, to the point that the risk of them coming off was high.

Intervention

After the construction of the scaffolding, each panel was photographed on both sides, and plans of the damage were drawn up. A rigid base lined with expanded polystyrene was placed on both sides of the panels during their extraction. The stained glass windows were transported to the workshop packed in closed boxes.

The stained glass was cleaned on the outside using a 50% water and alcohol solution. The encrustations on the inside were softened in places, using a gelled solution of ammonium carbonate, and removed with a scalpel. Small holes were filled in with coloured epoxy resin. The largest reintegrations were carried out using cylinder blown glass, etched in acid, and dated with a diamond tip.

Assembly

The panels were individually framed in brass frames. The protective glazing and stained glass were assembled in such a way that the original wrought iron was preserved and used as a structural element. This resulted in a fixed structure, without the need for welding or modification. The new assembly should allow easier handling of the stained glass windows and improve their conservation conditions.

— J. M. Bonet

 Panel a8, showing most of the deposits and the painted pieces reused by the original author (on the right side)

 One of the top panels placed on the support used to properly position the fractured pieces before consolidating them

 Close-up of the top of the stained glass window reinstalled in the original position