Education (Chittenden Memorial Window)
Encyclopedia
Education is a stained-glass window commissioned from Louis Comfort Tiffany's
Tiffany Glass Company during the building of Yale University's
Chittenden Hall (now Linsly-Chittenden Hall, after being connected to a nearby building), funded by Simeon Baldwin Chittenden. Personifications of Art
, Science
, Religion
, and Music
are represented in the work, as angel
s. Other angelic representations of related virtue
s, values
, and idea
s attend them, each identified by words in their halos
.
Originally overlooking the main reading room of the then new university library when installed in 1890, the window's location is now identified as room 102 of Linsly-Chittenden Hall, on the High Street side of the building. It is accompanied by a bronze plaque which states that the window had been commissioned to commemorate the daughter of the donor, with the intent of illustrating the biblical quote, "Through wisdom is a house builded, and by understanding it is established, and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches".,
that year. However, it was later discovered that the wrong windows had in fact been identified as the Tiffany window and removed and stored; it was the George Park Fisher Memorial Windows by Clayton and Bell
, twelve large stained glass panels in the stairway to the library, each depicting a group of "men of letters" representing an epoch in literary history, which had been carefully packed for safekeeping in crates labelled "Tiffany" while the actual Tiffany window remained forgotten behind a dirty blackout curtain in a classroom on the other side of the building. The error was particularly striking in view of the Tiffany window having been widely identified as a single window, while the Clayton and Bell windows were twelve separate panels, which had to be individually removed and packed. Ironically, the failure to remove the correct window likely saved the Tiffany window for the university, as eleven of the twelve crates holding the other window but erroneously labeled as "Tiffany" vanished from the Linsly-Chittenden basement, either stolen or simply mislaid. In the meantime, the real Tiffany window has been cleaned and restored and is accompanied by a plaque identifying it.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
Tiffany Glass Company during the building of Yale University's
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Chittenden Hall (now Linsly-Chittenden Hall, after being connected to a nearby building), funded by Simeon Baldwin Chittenden. Personifications of Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, Religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
are represented in the work, as angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s. Other angelic representations of related virtue
Virtue
Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....
s, values
Value (personal and cultural)
A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based...
, and idea
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
s attend them, each identified by words in their halos
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
.
Originally overlooking the main reading room of the then new university library when installed in 1890, the window's location is now identified as room 102 of Linsly-Chittenden Hall, on the High Street side of the building. It is accompanied by a bronze plaque which states that the window had been commissioned to commemorate the daughter of the donor, with the intent of illustrating the biblical quote, "Through wisdom is a house builded, and by understanding it is established, and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches".,
Misidentification
In 1970, the Yale administration removed and crated the Tiffany window for storage in the Linsly-Chittenden basement for safekeeping, as part of a general strategy of securing vulnerable and valuable items on the Yale campus before the May Day protest on the New Haven GreenNew Haven Green
The New Haven Green is a privately owned park and recreation area located in the downtown district of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It comprises the central square of the nine-square settlement plan of the original Puritan colonists in New Haven, and was designed and surveyed by colonist...
that year. However, it was later discovered that the wrong windows had in fact been identified as the Tiffany window and removed and stored; it was the George Park Fisher Memorial Windows by Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient workshops of English stained glass during the latter half of the 19th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton and Alfred Bell . The company was founded in 1855 and continued until 1993...
, twelve large stained glass panels in the stairway to the library, each depicting a group of "men of letters" representing an epoch in literary history, which had been carefully packed for safekeeping in crates labelled "Tiffany" while the actual Tiffany window remained forgotten behind a dirty blackout curtain in a classroom on the other side of the building. The error was particularly striking in view of the Tiffany window having been widely identified as a single window, while the Clayton and Bell windows were twelve separate panels, which had to be individually removed and packed. Ironically, the failure to remove the correct window likely saved the Tiffany window for the university, as eleven of the twelve crates holding the other window but erroneously labeled as "Tiffany" vanished from the Linsly-Chittenden basement, either stolen or simply mislaid. In the meantime, the real Tiffany window has been cleaned and restored and is accompanied by a plaque identifying it.