Study for Glass (Celtic Jeweled Cross in Arabesque)
ca. 1881–82
Medium
Watercolor and graphite on heavy white paper mounted on tan cardboard
Dimensions
6 1/4 x 4 7/8 in. (15.9 x 12.4 cm)
Classification
Watercolor
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Jane D. Kaufmann Gift, 2001
Accession Number
2001.378
Art Historical Context
John La Farge's *Study for Glass (Celtic Jeweled Cross inesque)*, created around 1881–82, is a delicate preparatory drawing that captures the artist's approach to stained glass design. Rendered in watercolor and graphite on heavy white mounted on tan cardboard, small-scale work (just 6 1/ x 4 7/8 inches) served a blueprint for larger glass panels, blending intricate Celtic motifs jeweled cross—with flowing Arabesque patterns by Islamic art. La Farge, a pioneering American artist of the Aesthetic Movement, was for revolutionizing stained glass with his innovative use of opalescent effects and l...
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...