Study for a Stained Glass Window 1570 - 1614

Christoph Murer made this ink drawing in the late 16th or early 17th century, as a study for a stained-glass window. The drawing’s dynamism comes from the contrasts between weighty figures at the front of the picture plane, and the sketchy rendition of the scene behind. The primary figure is powerful. Look closely, and you’ll notice that a fur hangs off his shoulders, perhaps a symbolic nod to tanning and textile processing. The drawing below shows the tools of architecture and building. Given the context, this work speaks to a thriving early modern economy. Stained glasswork was an industry of its own in this period, and depended on intense collaboration. Labor was divided between those who made the glass, those who painted it, those who installed it, and those who designed it. The drawing is just one step in the larger process. Considering the drawing in relation to the stained glass it anticipates reminds us that art-making is almost always a collective endeavor, encompassing many kinds of skill.