Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole
Special Techniques in Stained Glass:
Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole
Attributed to Joseph Lauber
Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole
ATTRIBUTED TO JOSEPH LAUBER
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Types of glass: 1. Opalescent 2. Striated 3. Nodular 4. Cathedral 5. Antique Cathedral
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Painting on faces, hands, and feet
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Multiple Layers
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1921
Joseph Lauber worked for Tiffany from 1888 to 1892. However, according to documentation, he likely designed windows for Tiffany as late as 1898. Lauber was a muralist, etcher, sculptor, mosaic artist, and painter, as well as an art professor at Columbia University.
Like many artists and designers at Tiffany, Lauber contributed to the greatness of the firm while receiving little credit for his accomplishments. One of the goals of this exhibition is to showcase the work of great yet virtually unrecognized artists who were overshadowed by Tiffany’s fame, such as Mary Tillinghast, Frederick Wilson, and Edward P. Sperry, among others.
SPECIAL FEATURES
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An unusual technique was used in the creation of the robes. Striated glass is plated over hundreds of slivers of different colored glass, diffusing and softening the colors while creating folds in the robes. There is no drapery glass in this window.
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Another unusual technique seen here is the layering of cathedral or one color glass over opalescent glass rather than opalescent glass over opalescent glass.
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The above factors contribute to the magnificence and uniqueness of this window.
BIBLICAL STORY OF THE WINDOW
The biblical story of a woman who is healed of a long illness by touching the robe of Jesus is vividly depicted in this window. She believed that by touching the hem of his robe she would be cured. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:34) His white robe signifies his divinity and purity, while her darker clothes reflect her suffering prior to being healed.
Detail of Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole
Attributed to Joseph Lauber
Joseph Lauber (1855–1948)
Born in Germany in 1855, Joseph Lauber immigrated to the United States as a child. This multi-talented artist created stained glass windows, murals, oil paintings, etchings, sculpture, and illustrations. He worked with both John La Farge and Louis Comfort Tiffany during his career.
In the early 1880s, Lauber assisted La Farge in decorating the Fifth Avenue mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Lauber worked for Tiffany from 1888 to 1892. During that time, he designed the monumental Fathers of the Church mosaic frieze, which depicts larger-than-life versions of Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Augustine, and Saint Ambrose. Tiffany displayed the mosaic at the exterior of his Byzantine-inspired Chapel at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago.
Lauber worked in a variety of other capacities. He designed stained glass windows for locations that include the Church of the Ascension and the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, both in New York. He also created a series of eleven windows for The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From 1911 to 1912, he painted murals in Federal Buildings in Washington. For the next five years, he was assistant director of the Maryland Institute of Art. And for many years, he was an art professor at Columbia University.
He continued to work in stained glass until relatively late in life. Our Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole window is attributed to Lauber. It is from the period after he worked for Tiffany.