Stained Glass Window 1902 - 1905

This stained glass window, by William Lightfoot Price, sits in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it's a real puzzler. The process, if you can call it that, looks more like a controlled demolition than careful construction! The material is what speaks here. The stark contrast between the clear glass and the brutal lead lines creates a surface tension, an almost violent energy. It's as if the window is holding its breath, trying to contain the chaos within. Look closely at how the lead snakes and curves, defining these irregular shapes. Each line feels deliberate, yet unpredictable, like a roadmap of a restless mind. This piece feels like a distant cousin to some of the early modernists, maybe a touch of Kandinsky's abstraction, filtered through the lens of folk art. Ultimately, this window reminds us that art doesn't always need to be pretty; sometimes, it just needs to be real, raw, and a little bit broken.