Christ of Wissembourg

Towards 1060 Diameter 25 cm Inv. MAD XXIII.21

Old Stained glass of the Saint-Pierre-and-Paul church of Wissembourg, representing the head of the Christ, it is the oldest intact figurative stained glass of the world preserved in France, with the Musée of Work Notre-Dame.

A series of stamps representing the stained glass was published in 1990.

The famous head of Wissembourg is the oldest illustrated stained glass preserved in France. Probable fragment of a figure of Christ in foot or bust, this stained glass is considered to come from the Abbatiale Bénédictin E of Wissembourg, in the north of the Alsace, rebuilt starting from 1040 and clearing after 1056. This origin however is not attested.

The head of Strasbourg, supplemented modern parts coloured towards 1950, was painted according to the technique described towards 1100 by the Theophilus monk in his treaty concerning the painting annealed glass. The greyness is applied in three layers of intensity different, one very clear by places, the other less diluted for the shades and the very dark third for the features. The strict frontality of the face and the stylization of the forms give to the character a great force of primitive expression.

External bonds

of the stained glass on the site of the Museum of Work Notre-Dame

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