Gabriel Loire

Gabriel Loire (1904-Dec 25, 1996) was a French stained glass artist of the twentieth century whose extensive works, portraying various persons or historical scenes, appear in many venues around the world. He founded the Loire Studio in Chartres, France which continues to produce stained glass windows. Loire was a leader in the modern use of "slab glass" which is much thicker and stronger than the stained glass technique of the Middle Ages. The figures in his windows are mostly Impressionistic in style.Margaret Ann Cox, "Loire Studio – a French Connection", "Just Words", November, 2006.]

His life

Loire was born in Angers, France in 1904. After completing his schooling in Angers in 1926, he went to a stained glass workshop in Chartres, France. In 1946, he founded his own stained glass studio there, which continues under the direction of his son Jacques Loire and grandsons. [Véronique and Xavier Debendère, "Gabriel Loire, L’œuvre d’une vie". Paris: Somogy, 2005 (ISBN 2 85056 8503).]

He died on Christmas Day, December 25, 1996, shortly after finishing a design for a new window.

His works in stained glass

Loire often expressed the view, "La paix donne la joie" ("Peace gives joy") and particularly liked working with shades of blue, which he said represented to him the color of peace. His stained glass artistry, blending modern and traditional elements, attained wide acceptance, as indicated by the considerable output of the Loire Studio displayed around the world. In addition to more than 450 installations in France, Loire's works are found in Great Britain, Germany, South Africa, Japan, Chile, Canada, and the United States of America.

Some of his important commissions were for churches rebuilt after destruction in World War II, in particular the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche) in Berlin, Germany (1960) and the Church of St. Walberge, Xertigny, Lorraine, France (1951-1952).

His celebrated "Christ in Triumph over Darkness and Evil" was dedicated in 1982 at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, in memory of British war hero Earl Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. [cite web|url=http://www.stgeorgescathedral.com/window.html|title=The Great West Window of St. Georges Cathedral]

For St. Andrew's-Wesley Church in Vancouver, Canada, Loire created three different commissions: in 1969, a set of six windows dedicated to women in the Bible; also in 1969, “The Great Commission”, based on Mark 16:15 “Go ye into the all the world”; and in 1981, a set of eight windows based on Romans 9:4-5.

Other notable works include Loire's stained glass windows designed in 1980 for Salisbury Cathedral in England, and in 1967 for Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.

Gallery of Gabriel Loire's works

Thanks-Giving Square's Chapel of Thanksgiving, Dallas, Texas (1976)

References

External links

* [http://vitrail-vitraux-chartres.ateliers-loire.fr/english/page.php Loire Studio] (official website)
* [http://www.gracecathedral.org/ram/gctour.smil Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, California] (RealVideo tour)