Glass: an inventive Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, glass was a source of genuine fascination. The exhibition traces ten centuries of a little-known creative boom.

Whilst drawing inspiration from antiquity or Islamic art, master glassmakers also developed highly skilled techniques, such as the Venetians, renowned for their enamelled goblets, or the craftsmen of northern France, who perfected the first stemmed glasses.

From architecture, where stained glass windows bear witness to the craftsmanship of the artisans, to the most prestigious dining tables, glass is a luxury product. Over the centuries, it has gradually become more widespread in the form of everyday window panes or tavern glasses.

But glass was also used in precision work: urinals that enabled doctors to make diagnoses, stills used by apothecaries, and mirrors that aided reading – just like spectacles, which first appeared in the late 13th century.

The exhibition "Glass: an Inventive Middle Ages" brings together some 230 works, including illuminations, paintings and engravings, which help us to understand the uses of glass throughout the medieval period.

Curated by: Sophie Lagabrielle, Chief Heritage Curator.
Co-produced by Rmn-GP.
Exhibition organised with the support of Saint-Gobain.