North Rose Window, Notre-Dame de Paris, by Springbok, USA.
I bought this used puzzle recently, but before the fire. Now that the initial shock has subsided, I wanted to pay tribute to Paris' majestic Gothic cathedral and its amazing windows.
It turned out to be one of the most difficult cardboard puzzles I've ever done, of any size. It played tricks with my eyes: the (unfortunate) blurriness of the image, the repeating elements, the tricky irregular cut and the circular nature of the fit. It was a battle right up until the last couple dozen pieces.
This blurry Springbok version (which I believe dates to the early 1980s, but it could be earlier - no date on box) doesn't do justice to the original, but an 80-piece wooden version by Puzzle Michèle Wilson is sufficiently clear, if tiny. Someday I would love to see PMW create a large, perhaps even 5000 piece version of this window in commemoration. They could neatly bisect the image along the black lead lines; perhaps package it in four sections (only the most masochistic puzzler would try them mixed), but have interlocking pieces only along the border of the outer circle. That way, the puzzle could be more manageable yet would look unified upon completion. I suspect that a large poster of this or one of the other windows will be available soon, and that such a puzzle would sell well.
Accompanying text on the back of the Springbok box:
"When - out of my delight of the beauty of the house of God - the loveliness of the many-colored stones has called me away from external news ... then it seems to me that I see myself dwelling, as it were, in some strange region of the universe ... and that, by the grace of God, I can be transported from this interior to that higher world ..."
The splendor evoked by the diffusion of color and light through stained glass was thus described in the Middle Ages by Suger, the Abbot of St. Denis. Beautifully exemplified in the northern rose window of Notre Dame, which has survived the torrential history of the cathedral since the thirteenth century, the ancient art of stained glass had reached a high level of development during the Abbot's lifetime. The creation of stained glass, while seemingly divine in its conclusion, was the result of the painstaking planning and labor of the skilled glassmaker, painter, architect and other artisans.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the glass, the creation of its brilliant colors, was charged to the glassmaker. He accomplished the task by infusing materials into the glass - cobalt for shades of blue, iron oxide and gold for the ruby reds, silver oxides for the yellows. The same additives produced purples and greens at higher or lower temperatures. The chemical tricks of the glassmakers were subsequently lost and never fully recovered - much of the beauty of medieval glass is the result of accidental impurities and lack of uniformity.
After the forming and coloring of the glass, it was cut to size with a diamond. The details were then painted onto the glass through an enameling process, utilizing a mixture of scrap glass, copper and so-called Greek Sapphire dissolved in wine. The glass could then be baked, creating mysterious and appealing irregularities that have puzzled glassmakers of later eras.
Once the glass was painted, it was leaded and placed in the stone casings of the church; the placement of the glass was essential to its ultimate beauty. Ideally, its position has been planned by the architect and artist for adequate support and architectural balance. Also, the artful utilization of light and environmental objects, as well as interior planning for maximum display of reflected color within the structure, was very important for a dramatic effect. Notre Dame's northern rose is a beautiful outcome of such planning. The color and light that fall through it onto the church floor are breathtaking. The enormous structure rests on the frail gallery windows below it, but the weight is so perfectly distributed that no sagging or cracking has occurred in seven centuries.
The beauty of stained glass, so highly perfected in the Middle Ages, has not been equaled since. Nor was there ever a more appropriate time for the development of a basically religious art medium than during an age of religious fervor. The north rose wall of Notre Dame is a beautiful example of a window that tells the Christian story in a dynamic way, with the kings and prophets of the Old Testament surrounding the Virgin Mary symbolized as the "Rose of all Roses." With the endurance of masterpieces like the north rose, the medieval artisan has been able to inspire worshippers for centuries through the tremendous skills involved in the production of stained glass.
Miraculously, the windows remain intact, and soon the next steps to preserve and rebuild the roof will begin, but the cathedral will never be quite the same. The skills and techniques of the past are ephemeral, and this reminds us how precious they are.
Completed in 7 hr., 57 mins. with no box reference. 502 total pieces: 57.0 secs./piece; 63.1 pcs/hr. Difficulty rating: 5.7/10.
North Rose Window, Notre-Dame de Paris, by Springbok, USA.
I bought this used puzzle recently, but before the fire. Now that the initial shock has subsided, I wanted to pay tribute to Paris' majestic Gothic cathedral and its amazing windows.
It turned out to be one of the most difficult cardboard puzzles I've ever done, of any size. It played tricks with my eyes: the (unfortunate) blurriness of the image, the repeating elements, the tricky irregular cut and the circular nature of the fit. It was a battle right up until the last couple dozen pieces.
This blurry Springbok version (which I believe dates to the early 1980s, but it could be earlier - no date on box) doesn't do justice to the original, but an 80-piece wooden version by Puzzle Michèle Wilson is sufficiently clear, if tiny. Someday I would love to see PMW create a large, perhaps even 5000 piece version of this window in commemoration. They could neatly bisect the image along the black lead lines; perhaps package it in four sections (only the most masochistic puzzler would try them mixed), but have interlocking pieces only along the border of the outer circle. That way, the puzzle could be more manageable yet would look unified upon completion. I suspect that a large poster of this or one of the other windows will be available soon, and that such a puzzle would sell well.
Accompanying text on the back of the Springbok box:
"When - out of my delight of the beauty of the house of God - the loveliness of the many-colored stones has called me away from external news ... then it seems to me that I see myself dwelling, as it were, in some strange region of the universe ... and that, by the grace of God, I can be transported from this interior to that higher world ..."
The splendor evoked by the diffusion of color and light through stained glass was thus described in the Middle Ages by Suger, the Abbot of St. Denis. Beautifully exemplified in the northern rose window of Notre Dame, which has survived the torrential history of the cathedral since the thirteenth century, the ancient art of stained glass had reached a high level of development during the Abbot's lifetime. The creation of stained glass, while seemingly divine in its conclusion, was the result of the painstaking planning and labor of the skilled glassmaker, painter, architect and other artisans.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the glass, the creation of its brilliant colors, was charged to the glassmaker. He accomplished the task by infusing materials into the glass - cobalt for shades of blue, iron oxide and gold for the ruby reds, silver oxides for the yellows. The same additives produced purples and greens at higher or lower temperatures. The chemical tricks of the glassmakers were subsequently lost and never fully recovered - much of the beauty of medieval glass is the result of accidental impurities and lack of uniformity.
After the forming and coloring of the glass, it was cut to size with a diamond. The details were then painted onto the glass through an enameling process, utilizing a mixture of scrap glass, copper and so-called Greek Sapphire dissolved in wine. The glass could then be baked, creating mysterious and appealing irregularities that have puzzled glassmakers of later eras.
Once the glass was painted, it was leaded and placed in the stone casings of the church; the placement of the glass was essential to its ultimate beauty. Ideally, its position has been planned by the architect and artist for adequate support and architectural balance. Also, the artful utilization of light and environmental objects, as well as interior planning for maximum display of reflected color within the structure, was very important for a dramatic effect. Notre Dame's northern rose is a beautiful outcome of such planning. The color and light that fall through it onto the church floor are breathtaking. The enormous structure rests on the frail gallery windows below it, but the weight is so perfectly distributed that no sagging or cracking has occurred in seven centuries.
The beauty of stained glass, so highly perfected in the Middle Ages, has not been equaled since. Nor was there ever a more appropriate time for the development of a basically religious art medium than during an age of religious fervor. The north rose wall of Notre Dame is a beautiful example of a window that tells the Christian story in a dynamic way, with the kings and prophets of the Old Testament surrounding the Virgin Mary symbolized as the "Rose of all Roses." With the endurance of masterpieces like the north rose, the medieval artisan has been able to inspire worshippers for centuries through the tremendous skills involved in the production of stained glass.
Miraculously, the windows remain intact, and soon the next steps to preserve and rebuild the roof will begin, but the cathedral will never be quite the same. The skills and techniques of the past are ephemeral, and this reminds us how precious they are.
Completed in 7 hr., 57 mins. with no box reference. 502 total pieces: 57.0 secs./piece; 63.1 pcs/hr. Difficulty rating: 5.7/10.