Sermon on the Mount Windows at Herzogenbuchsee Reformed Church near Berne 1911

These Sermon on the Mount windows were made with stained glass by Eugène Burnand at Herzogenbuchsee Reformed Church near Berne. Look at the figures in this piece. They are built up from many different panes of glass. The light shining through the glass really animates them. I love how the surface of the glass has been worked to create different textures and patterns. You can almost feel the weight of the robes, the roughness of the rocks. Focus on the faces in the crowd: the artist has captured such a range of expressions, from awe to skepticism. See how the figures' eyes follow the central figure in the central panel. The light refracts through the coloured glass, bathing the interior in a kaleidoscope of hues. It's like the architecture comes alive with color and light. Burnand worked in a period when artists were wrestling with how to represent religious subjects in a modern way. I'm reminded of Rouault, who brought a similar sense of modernism to stained glass. In the end, both Burnand and Rouault embraced a new way of seeing.