The Prophet Ezekiel and the Apostle Paul Soissons, Cathedral of Saint Gervais et Saint Protais France, 1st quarter of the 13th cent. Stained glass 75.1 x 88.4 cm; 80.4 x 97 cm Kyiv, Khanenko Museum, inv. 135 БР МХ, 136 БP МХ 1 The oldest stained-glass paintings in the Khanenko Collection feature distinctive busts that once belonged to larger-than-life figures from early 13th-century church windows. Their current appearance is a typical example of so-called composite panes, which were reassembled from fragmented or damaged originals for the art trade during the historicist period of the 19th century. The two stainedglass paintings assembled in this way probably came from the clerestory of Soissons Cathedral, built between 1212 and 1220. Its windows, some nine metres high, were decorated with figures of prophets and apostles arranged one above the other. The figure of St. Paul, easily recognisable by his forelock, still contains mostly old glass in the inner image, including a striking frame of ‘flamed’ red glass, typical of the period. The background of the prophet, on the other hand, is a pasticcio of authentic but hardly coherent fragments. These include architectural elements, garments or hair, heraldic motifs (such as the coat of arms of Castile in the shape of a castle) and fragments of at least three inscriptions. The easily legible inscription behind the prophet – EZEC(I)EL – allows the iconographic identification of this figure, who, like the Apostle Paul, is adorned with a halo. The second fragment of the banner, SPECIES ELECTR(I), obscured by patches, refers to Ezekiel’s prophecy of the divine appearance: ‘There was fire inside the cloud, and in the middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber’ (Ezekiel 1:4). During the restoration of 1875–1891, several precious originals were removed from Soissons Cathedral. A few years later, some of them appeared on the Paris art market, where they were probably acquired by the art-loving Khanenko couple. In addition to the Khanenko Museum in Kyiv, parts of this high-quality glazing can be found in the Louvre in Paris, the Cloisters in New York, the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, the Stained Glass Museum in Ely and other public and private collections worldwide. Макаренко 1924, 85, 90. – Grodecki 1953. – Grodecki 1960. – Muratova 1970. – Grodecki/Perrot/Taralon 1978, 169–172. – Caviness/Pastan/Beaven 1984, 10. – Caviness 1990, 59–62. – Рославець 2005. Elena Kosina 36
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