Peacock Window

Artist John La Farge American, 1835–1910

Date1892–1908

Mediumstained glass (leaded and plated opalescent glass, colorless glass, cloisonné glass, fused glass, copper coil, copper foil, cold paint and glazes, various colored putties and resins)

Dimensions101.5 x 50.7 cm (39 15/16 x 19 15/16 in.)

ClassificationsGlass

Markingsnone visible.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1909.11

DescriptionStained glass window, almost a cloisonne.Label Text"A window far finer in some ways that I have ever done... Nothing of the kind has ever been and any one such seen anywhere on earth."
- John La Farge (1908)

Skilled in many artistic media, La Farge was one of the country's leading glass artists in the late 19th century. This window represents the culmination of his achievements in stained glass, as well as his fascination with Japanese aesthetics. In 1892, John Hay (1838-1905), a statesman and fellow collector of Japanese art, commissioned this window for his Washington, D.C. home. La Farge drew inspiration for its design from Japanese woodblock prints.

For this window, the artist experimented with his innovative technique of cloisonné glass, made by fusing pieces of glass together directly or with thin copper wires— rather than the traditional method of joining pieces with a heavy lead border. Because cloisonné glass requires multiple firings and is unpredictable, La Farge abandoned the window to create another, more traditional version for Hay.

La Farge returned to this piece 15 years later. In its final form, the Peacock Window combines multiple techniques, including leaded and cloisonné glass, into a tour-de-force of richly varied colors and technical sophistication. One critic described the peacock's tail feathers as an "iridescent waterfall."ProvenanceThe artist’s studio; (Doll & Richards, Boston, MA); 1909, purchased by the Worcester Art Museum.

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