The linear detail , such as facial features and the feathers of the angel ’ s wings , was added by painting black lines onto the coloured glass , which were then fixed to the surface by firing in a kiln . The tonal gradation , such as the shadows of the drapery folds , was achieved by applying washes of brown and black onto the coloured glass .
II . The difference between the thirteenthcentury scene and Thomas Glazier ’ s late fourteenth-century glass is dramatic . Thomas ’ s work at Winchester College represents a major turning point in the development of English stained glass . He introduced features of the International Gothic style that dominated northern European art in the period around 1400 by combining a new sense of sculptural mass , created through a subtle use of line and shading , with elegant poses . The angels of the earlier glass have bulbous eyes too large for their heads , giving them a cartoonesque quality , whereas the chapel figures ’ faces have subtle gradation around their eyes and under their mouths , allowing for more individual expressions . Another striking difference is the colour . While the later glass retains the brilliant blues , reds , and yellows of the St Germain window , the colour scheme is diversified with soft olive greens , magentas , and rose pinks . In both colour and modelling , a softness is added that makes these figures appear more lifelike . They also have distinctively individual poses : the figures of Absolon both at Winchester and at New College stroke their beards in contemplation ( figs 8 and 10 ). Thomas also made other innovations that seem to have been unique to England , particularly in the canopy design of the side windows , and also in the fern-like decoration of the backgrounds used throughout the chapel . Both these features continued in English stained glass design for decades . Richard Marks ’ s important survey of English medieval stained glass foregrounds Thomas as a major figure , ‘ one of the leading proponents of International Gothic ’, and Winchester College houses the remains of what is probably his most important work . 15
I . Angel from Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés ( Paris , 1243 – 48 )
His windows also demonstrate a particularly sophisticated use of silver staining , a new method of creating detail , introduced at the beginning of the fourteenth century . White ( transparent ) glass could be stained different tints of yellow , from pale lemon to orange , by firing a derivative of sulphide of silver onto its surface . This meant that a single piece of white glass could now contain more than one colour , alongside the continuing use of black vitreous paint to depict eyes , hair lines and other details . The
16 Medieval Glass at Winchester College