Stained Glass Lunette from the Cornelius Vanderbilt II House, New York
ca. 1880–82
Medium
Leaded opalescent glass
Dimensions
30 1/4 x 63 in., 64lb. (76.8 x 160 cm) Framed: 34 3/4 x 68 7/8 x 2 in. (88.3 x 174.9 x 5.1 cm)
Classification
Lunette
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Otto Heinigke, 1916
Accession Number
16.153.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This stunning stained glass lunette, created by John La Farge 1880–82, once adorned the opulent Cornelius Vanderbilt II House on New York's Fifth Avenue. As a masterpiece from the Gilded Age, it reflects the era's lavish excess, commissioned for one of America's wealthiest families. Vanderbilt II, heir to a railroad fortune, embodied the period's grandeur, and La Farge's design—featuring mythical griffins and serpentslikely symbolized protection, power, and exotic allure, fitting for a palatial entranceway. La Farge, a trailblazing American artist, revolutionized stained glass with his invent...
About the Artist
John La Farge · 1835–1910
John La Farge (1835–1910) was born into a wealthy French émigré family in New York City, the son of John Frederick La Farge and Louisa Binsse de Saint-Victor. Educated at Jesuit institutions including Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland and St. John's College (now Fordham University), he initially pursued law but turned to art after receiving early drawing lessons from his maternal grandfather, a...