Gothic Stained Glass

Timeline

1. 1200–1240Chartres Cathedral · Centre-Val de LoireThe window program rebuilt after the Chartres Cathedral fire systematized cobalt blue, ruby red, and other pigment recipes and lead-came techniques, using triptych windows to narrate the Old Testament, Christ's life, and saints' deeds, establishing the iconographic program and scale standards of High Gothic stained glass.
2. 1242–1248Sainte-Chapelle, Paris · Île-de-FranceThe Sainte-Chapelle, commissioned by Louis IX, used an extremely high window-to-wall ratio to make stained glass the main body of the building; fifteen large biblical narrative windows and a rose window created an all-over effect of light and color, demonstrating the union of Gothic stained glass with royal religious politics.
3. 1251–1260Reims Cathedral · Grand EstIn the 1250s, Reims and other French cathedrals continued installing large rose windows and aisle stained glass; glass workshops and mason sites worked in coordination, and stained glass iconography further integrated into coronation rites and saintly devotion, becoming a core artistic process in the completion phase of cathedrals.