History of glass painting

The beginnings of the folk art of painting

on glass in Romania go back to the
second half of the eighteenth century.

 Although the technique of glass painting was

taken from other nations, in Romania it developed
along a particular artistic line, influenced by our
long established cultural traditions. The originality
and uniqueness of style impresses everyone who
has contact with our traditional icons worked on
glass. The craftsmanship of the Romanian artists
is characterized by a naive but very suggestive
drawing with a simple and clear composition. The
preciousness and fragility of glass caused the first
paintings on glass to be religious. These icons
painted on glass were highly valued in the
universe of the rural home.

 The icon painted on glass must be understood

in the space for which it was originally
conceived, which is both the traditional house
and the church in the village. These glass
icons had a definite role for peasants in both
Transylvania and in Central Europe in the
eighteenth century until the first half of the
20th century. As the peasants were not able to
read or write, these paintings on glass were
like important holy book for them, the central
themes being the Virgin Mary with Child, Jesus
- the Saviour, the Crucifixion or The Holy
Trinity.

 The particularities of these icons consist in

their naive, simple and primitive drawing, in
their tradition inspired frame, with strands or
hooks that intersect here and there, and in
their floral, repetitive, figurative patterns (also
found in the traditional Romanian costumes)
which are also found in Art Nouveau. So part
of this trend is reflected in the Romanian icon
and in our rustic seams.

 In glass painting some manually prepared

colours were used, usually with pigments and
linseed oil. Before starting painting, the glass
was carefully cleaned of any grease stains.
This technique ensured a considerable
resistance and prevented paint layer from
peeling. Usually some defective glass was
used, which unintentionally increased the
value of the painting, as the light was
reflected in an unusual way with special
effects.

 Before we get to practice I want us to analyse

some images of Orthodox icons in which we
find elements of ART NOUVEAU. Having these
fresh inspiration in mind, we will have a
starting point in making ART NOUVEAU
drawings, and in choosing the most
appropriate colours for our work.

 Steps to successful glass paintings:

1. Drawing a sketch on a sheet of paper, fitted to the
glass support so that the entire area is used;
2. Cleaning the glass support with alcohol;
3. Fitting the previously prepared sketch under glass
support;
4. Drawing in black and white on the glass with a thin
brush or pen;
5. After drying, we fill the contours with the desired
colours.