St John the Evangelist
Chapel of the ancient commandery at Sainte-Vaubourg, France, around 1264
Stained glass with lead came; pot-metal coloured glass, grisaille. Diameter: 40 cm
Vitromusée Romont, acquired with the support of UBS, VMR 187
Against a red background, seated on a blue throne covered with a green cushion, under a semi-circular arch supported by white columns and ionic capitals, St. John the Evangelist, dressed in a blue tunic, a yellow mantle and with a blue halo, holds a closed book in his left hand. He raises his right hand with an outstretched index finger. The scene is surrounded by a red segmented frieze, intercepted at the top by a yellow glass representing a chalice and at the bottom by the saint’s bare feet. A central band in the background bears the following inscription and identifies the figure: S: // OHAN // NE // I: S.
The medallion is part of a set of stained glass windows dispersed in the 19th century from the chapel of the former Commandery of Sainte-Vaubourg (France, Val-de-la-Haye, near Rouen), consecrated in 1264. Following the destruction of the chapel after the French Revolution, some of its stained glass windows, including the one in the Vitromusée Romont, were reused in the abbey church of Saint-Denis. The stained glass windows of Sainte-Vaubourg are characterised in particular by the rendering of the eyes, with accentuated pupils and the rapid and light outline. The style and workmanship correspond to those of the Paris region in the 1240s.
Heavy cratering on the outside of the panel darkens it considerably. This phenomenon is very common in medieval stained glass and is caused by humidity and atmospheric pollution. The two small pieces of glass at the beginning and end of the inscription "S:I" and ":S" were reversed during a restoration after 1849.