Stained Glass from Ebreichsdorf in the Cloisters, Sept. 2007

Stained Glass from Ebreichsdorf
Pot metal glass, white glass, vitreous paint, and silver stain
Austria, Niederosterreich, ca. 1390
From the choir of the Schlosskapelle at Ebreichsdorf, between Vienna and Wiener Neustadt

Accession Numbers: 36.39.1- .2 and 1986.285.1-.3, .8-.11

The castle at Ebreichsdorf, strategically positioned south of Vienna near the Hungarian border, served as a private residence for a member of the court. These windows from the glazing of the castle chapel were made by a large workshop in the employ of the royal dukes in Vienna. Elongated figures with heads often seen in profile, heavy masses of drapery, and an unusually rich range of colors distinguish the style of this workshop. In contrast to the glass from St. Leonhard in the central windows in this chapel, the figures here are placed in elaborate architectural settings composed of pinnacles and towers, imaginatively combined to create fanciful structures. These backgrounds link the individual scenes in a unified composition. The scenes in this window represent events in the Infancy of Christ, including the Annunciation, the Presentation, and the Nativity. The tracery light above, representing the Sun and the Moon, is also from Ebreichsdorf.

Text from the Cloisters label.