Marienkirche Stained Glass

On 2 April, 2002, an exhibition prepared by the Hermitage restorers opened in the Big Cathedral of the Winter Palace. The exhibition shows 15 of 111 stained glass fragments kept at the museum which together make up a unique extant ensemble from the 14th century created for the altar of the 14th century Virgin Mary Church (Marienkirche) in Frankfurt an der Oder. The three stained glass windows of the Marienkirche express a single idea. Two of them show scenes from the Old Testament and Gospels. The first window is devoted to scenes from the Book of Genesis, from the creation of the world and the life of the first men to Noah's drunkenness. The second window is the so-called ''Bible of the Poor'' showing a sequence of scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The third, southern window of the altar is especially noteworthy being the only stained glass showing scenes from the legend of the Antichrist.
The exhibition introduces both fifteen stained glass fragments and the efforts of the Hermitage restorers to revive these fragile luminous mementos of medieval art.
An academic illustrated catalogue has been prepared for the exhibition. The article ''New History of Old Stained Glass'' was written by Yelena A. Shlikevich, Stained Glass Custodian, Senior Researcher, West European Art History Department, State Hermitage Museum.

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Hermitage Director Mikhail Piotrovsky at the opening of the exhibition

The catalogue