32 – The subtlety of leadlight…

Inside the abbey

We first saw this style of window art above the abbey church doorway. It appears colourless, especially as I mentioned, when compared the rich hues and pictorial style of the work in Chartres Cathedral, Notre Dame and St Chapelle – the latter two in Paris. In effect most Gothic churches have windows that will be memorable for their detail and depth of colour. The work in the church and chapels of Mont St Michel has a different kind of beauty. 

If you haven’t yet worked it out, clicking on images on this site will display a larger version than the version shown on each blog entry. I suggest you examine this one especially, in larger format to gain a better appreciation of the subtlety of the light colouring and pattern detail. 

The monastic simplicity and elaborate patterning of the lead work here is what makes me recall these magnificent windows as easily as I can visualise those in the aforementioned places. They also help with that unity of the Gothic and Romanesque architectural styles we have looked at and discussed in the two earlier posts.