Zurab Tsariteli, Moscow Stained Glass

Being on my holidays, I went on an inspiring trip to still snowy Moscow where among other beauties I had a chance to contemplate the splendid of the world famous interiors of Moscow metro.
One of the stations which grabbed my attention was Tsvetnoy Boulevard. I can't state that I am very much attached to works by Zurab Tsariteli as i am not impressed by his sense of proportion, nevertheless his small scale works which are a part of station decor impressed me greatly.

Vitrage 'Vladimir'

This work could be called as stained glass window where the pieces of glass are cut to predetermined design with the help of a stell or carbide wheel glass cutter and then grinded. The pieces are attached with the help of the lead starting from the corner. The lead can differ in the profile section and consistency.

Detailed Section: Lead Profile and Glass
Original Image Here

Nevertheless looking at the piece by Tsariteli one could notice that the profile is hidden between the pieces of glass, and they are profoundly more substantial and solid, almost being a 'brick' rather than a two-dimensional glass plane kept between the sides of the came. Moreover, it is noticable that the pieces were made probably in the similar technique as marble or stone sculptures, which is called hammer and point work. I think that the 'vitrages' are made at that point of techniques mixture, where the artist approaches the light picture plane by means of applying a method for its elements as if they are imposed with mass and weight.

Vitrage close-up

Another curious thing about this work came to me when I was visiting Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Dormition in London. While being inside at some point I realized that the stained glass windows are so at variance with the space for a simple reason that usually I see those bearing a different kind of aesthetics: the one typical for Mideval or Gothic Europe. While I could probably state that in this particular church they were made in regard to its architectural component (it was built in Italianate style in 1846 as an Anglican church), the application of the stained glass window technique in order to represent the icons or bible stories is quite out of ordinary in orthodox world and the paintings are traditionally made on a wooden surface. What I am trying to say here is that the narratives represented in Tsariteli's works while made in an alien to orthodox art techniques communicate visually as religious art.

Orthodox Cathedral of Dormition
Original Image Here

St. Serzhius of Radonezh
Original Image Here


I believe that these works are on the verge of mixture not only of techniques, but narratives in art. At some point they could seem ignorant to the history of techniques and the depth of the reasons for their application, while at the same time the uncertainty and playfulness gives a rise to a variety for interpretation.