BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Washington Natl Cathedral -- Stained glass

DC -- Washington Natl Cathedral -- Stained glass:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. NCATHG_040925_185.JPG: The South Nave Clerestory Windows. At Washington National Cathedral, the nave clerestory, or upper level, windows are the largest windows with the exception of the three rose windows. The art and artisanship of the Cathedral is tied together by a system of images and symbols called iconography. The nave clerestory windows have a progressive iconography moving from west to east. They present an overview of Old Testament stories and provide a prelude to New Testament themes east of the crossing. As the west rose window attests to the Divine origin of all life, the Cathedral interior thereafter offers a perception of God's covenant with Humanity. The clerestory windows suggest clues to God's presence in aiding the human spirit as it moves from mortality in the west to eternity as depicted in the east. In no other Christian structure built in this century has there been an opportunity for so much stained glass iconography as in this Cathedral. These eighteen nave clerestory windows (none on each side) contain one of the largest assemblies of Old Testament figures ever to be placed in one church's stained glass windows. The eminent artist Rowan LeCompte designed all of the nave clerestory windows as well as the west rose window. It was decided that one artist should design all the windows to create a harmony of design in all the windows. The first window was completed in 1977 and the eighteenth and final window was installed in 2002. LeCompte has spoken of his view of the importance of the elements of richness of color, clarity, and sparkle in stained glass and those elements are brilliantly displayed in these masterpieces. The windows are approximately 27 feet tall and each is comprised of four lancets, or thin, pointed windows. The descriptions use the terms lancet, meaning one of four sections making up the entire window; multifoil, meaning the six sided section above the lancets, predella, meaning the lower part of the window.
2. NCATHG_040925_195.JPG: Ruth and Naomi. Naomi and her husband lived in Moab with their two sons, who married the native women Ruth and Oprah. Soon, both sons and Naomi's husband died. At this time it was usual for a widow to return to her own family after her husband's death. However, Ruth would not leave Naomi, saying "entreat me not to leave thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." To support themselves, the women gleaned wheat from the fields, gathering the grain left after the harvest. (1) Here is a large olive tree, symbolizing the fruitful earth. (2) Ruth stands holding a sheaf of wheat she has harvested from the fields of Boaz, and looks toward Naomi, in the next lancet. (3) Naomi, the cared-for dependent, shown leaning on a staff; she beckons Ruth toward Boaz. (4) Boaz has seen Ruth in the fields and fallen in love with her. As he moves toward her, he holds a sandal in his hand, a symbolic pledge. (5) Ruth and Boaz's sun Obed, the father of Jesse. He holds a large shovel and plants a tree, symbolizing the "tree of Jesse" from which springs the lineage of Jesus.
3. NCATHG_040925_200.JPG: Abraham and Isaac: The Sacrifice Abraham, an old man, had no children with his wife Sarah. To provide him with a son, Sarah gave Abraham her servant Hagar, who bore his son Ishmael. When Sarah gave birth to Isaac late in life, God fulfilled a promise to Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son of their own. (1) In anger and jealousy, Sarah banished Hagar and Ishmael to the desert where they almost died of thirst, but an angel directed them to water. Hagar is seen with a water jug, her hand on Ishmael's shoulder. (2) At the bottom of this lancet, an angry Sarah, holding Isaac, shakes her fist at Hagar and Ishmael. Later, God told Abraham that he must sacrifice Isaac. The top of this lancet shows Isaac cowering on a pile of wood used for the burnt offering. (3) The anguished figure of Abraham, his face and body contorted by grief as he prepared to obey God's awful command and sacrifice his son. He holds a huge green sword used in the sacrifice. (4) An abstract pattern of fiery red glass which suggests the heat of the sacrificial fire and violet "drops" which suggest tears of mourning. (5) God's response to Abraham's absolute obedience was to spare Isaac by providing a substitute for the sacrifice -- golden ram caught in a thicket.
4. NCATHG_040925_206.JPG: The Lineage of Jesus Here is imagery suggesting the many generations of the ancestry of Jesus. This window is read from right to left (west to east), like the Hebrew alphabet. Each lancet depicts the passage of fourteen generations. (1) Abraham had been told by God that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens or the sand on the beach. He reaches up toward a star-filled sky. Beneath his feet, pieces of pebble-like glass suggest grains of sand. (2) King David, representing the power of the kings of Israel, sits holding an orb and scepter. Below him is the city of Jerusalem. (3) Shown here is the nation of Israel in captivity; with the king in chains, held by a helmeted figure with a sword. His crown falls as the king bends in subjection, symbolizing the fall of the nation of Israel. (4) Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child. Mary holds her infant on her lap. Her hand cradles the infant, while Joseph's hand rests protectively on her soldier. He holds a spring of greenery, symbolizing the rebirth of Israel. Above them is the Star of Bethlehem, which led people of all nations to Christ, and which echoes the stars above Abraham in the first lancet. (5) The letters alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, used as a symbol of the eternity of God.
5. NCATHG_040925_215.JPG: Job: Suffering and Redemption Job was a wealthy, upright man who loved God. Satan wagered with God, saying that Job would not love God if he lost all he possessed. The suffering of Job recalls the suffering of family survivors or lost ones in war. The outer lancets contain grave markers -- tombstones in the forms of crosses and stars of David, representing those lost in war. Job represents all who suffer in the world. His body is covered with sores and surrounded by the grey of the ash heap on which he sat. Despite losing his riches, his family, the respect of others and his health, Job persisted in his love of God, saying "I know that at the last my vindicator will stand for me." In the second lancet from the right, this "vindicator" is seen, dressed in a sparkling golden robe. He carries a child on his shoulder who reaches toward Job with one hand while reaching toward heaven with the other. At the bottom of the lancet are the words "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. The American Legion Auxiliary honors the memory of veterans of all wars," with the seals of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary. Three figures holding hands and dancing in flames. Above them is the figure of Jesus, preserving them from suffering.
6. NCATHG_040925_234.JPG: Jeremiah, Baruch, and Nahum: Jeremiah's faithful scribe Baruch, is shown holding a long curling scroll. As Jeremiah was illiterate, it was Baruch who recorded all of Jeremiah's prophecy. When Jeremiah was exiled and prohibited from preaching in the temple, Baruch read the prophecies hoping to bring about reform. Jeremiah saw that new life would come even as the people of the city faced death. This towering figure is the mighty prophet Jeremiah, anguished and ignored as he preached repentance to the rich, indifferent city beneath his feet. He prophesied that the temple and city would fall but that the people would survive and new life would come. An abstract panel of jewel-toned colors. Another Old Testament prophet, Nahum, who spoke out against the cruelty of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, and who predicted its downfall. Nineveh is seen above him, crumbling and in flames along with the blue rosettes typical of Assyrian art. A flowering almond tree, a reference to one of Jeremiah's early visions. In the predella, or lower portion of each lancet, surrounded by flame-like decorations, are symbols of the evils denounced by the prophets; manacles, money bags, a golden calf on an altar, a whip, daggers, and chains -- symbols of greed, violence, and the worship of false gods.
7. NCATHG_040925_241.JPG: The Psalms The Psalms are a series of poems written for worship by the Israelites. The authors of the Psalms remain forever nameless, so the major themes -- Thanksgiving, Praise, Supplication, and Lamentation -- are depicted here. Thanksgiving, in the figure of a jolly, rustic farmer holding a large cloth filled with the golden fruit of the earth. A rejoicing woman dressed in red embodies Praise. She dances in joy, arms thrown over her head, abandoning herself to the dance, and sings "a new song to the Lord." Low in the frame of this lancet is the figure of Supplication -- a man rapt in prayer, which rises from him in the form of an undulating blue flame which surges up to heaven carrying his requests. This man represents Lamentation. Beating his breast, and burdened with chains, he embodies grief, remorse, fear, humiliation, and bitterness; all emotions that weigh down the spirit. The top multifoil shows the three golden gateways in Psalm 24, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates." A band of musicians parades across the bottom of this window, playing a wide variety of ancient musical instruments, as related in Psalm 68, "The singers went before, the players on instrument followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels."
8. NCATHG_040925_265.JPG: Prophecy, Religion, and Righteousness The prophetic messages conveyed in this window is "religion without righteousness is loathsome to God." The prophet Isaiah dominates this lancet. He holds a starving child and reproaches humanity for permitting human suffering. Below him are weapons of destruction -- a pair of missiles poised to lift off -- symbols of the world's preoccupation with weapons technology. The towering figure of Christ in a green robe uses a whip to drive the money changers out of the Temple. Above him a man with a calculator counts the money spilling from a bag held by a small figure to the upper right. At the top left is the figure of an unscrupulous preacher, wearing a pink suit and carrying a Bible as he exhorts his listeners to send him money. Christ expresses anger over the greed and deceit of those who try to cheat the faithful. A windswept Moses, descending from the mountain, carries the Ten Commandments in one hand and raises his other hand in horror as he sees his people worshipping and dancing around a golden calf. This is a violation of the first commandment, "Thou shall have no other gods before Me." The prophet Hosea protests against burnt offering which, he says, mean nothing without a contrite heart. Above him is a figure with hands raised in prayer, demonstrating the sacrifice acceptable to God; a truly repentant heart. A small ship filled with all sorts of people whom Christ is guiding "in the true way."
9. NCATHG_040925_277.JPG: Micah, Isaiah: Salvation Foretold The theme of this window is salvation foretold by the Old Testament prophets. Several saw that humanity could not save itself, and that in due time God would provide the means for salvation, but first must come repentance. Abstract right and left lancets bracket the central "story panels" of this window. The curving shapes draw the eye toward the central lancets. The prophet Micah, who called for consideration for the poor and oppressed and prophesied that a deliverer would come. He gestures to the city of Jerusalem below him, destined to fall if it does not repent, and raises his other arm to a flowering tree, symbol of the rebirth of a virtuous nation. The dominant figure of the window is the prophet Isaiah who, when called by God to prophesy said, "Who am I, a man of unclean lips to speak to God?" His hand is raised to ward off an angel sent by God with a fiery coal with which to touch Isaiah's lips and purify him. After being purified, Isaiah went on to prophesy of the Messiah, the "Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." A watchman is seen in the multifoil as he peers anxiously from his tower for the coming of the savior and salvation. "Watchman, what of the night?"
10. NCATHG_040925_286.JPG: Saint Paul. The clerestory windows nearest the Crossing feature saints Peter and Paul, for whom the Cathedral is named. In the first lancet to the left is an image depicting Palm Sunday. Here, figures waving palm branches all turn toward Christ in the next lancet. Jesus astride a donkey, riding into Jerusalem. The figures from the first lancet spill across into the bottom of the second, almost surrounding the figure of Jesus with adoration. The empty cross, draped in the cloth used to lower the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. At this time, it was unusual for an inscription stating the nature of a condemned man's offense to be fixed to the head of the cross. John 19:19-20 tells that Pontius Pilate used the inscription "INRI," the initial letters of the Latin words "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Tudaerum" (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). Below the cross, Mary and John comfort each other, while a line of hooded, mourning figures with torches move below. The Apostle Paul reaches toward Christ, who looks through the cross to search out Paul. Paul is shown in chains as a reminder of his many imprisonments for the Christian faith. Below him, the jug of water and basket of food symbolize his many journeys to spread the Gospel. The veil of the Temple is shown being torn in two at the moment of Christ's death. This veil separated the holy of holies from the rest of the Temple, and its tearing symbolizes the end of human separation from God through Christ's death and resurrection.
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2004 photos: Equipment this year: I bought two Fujifilm S7000 digital cameras. While they produced excellent images, I found all of the retractable-lens Fuji models had a disturbing tendency to get dust inside the lens. Dark blurs would show up on the images and the camera had to be sent back to the shop in order to get it fixed. I returned one of the cameras when the blurs showed up in the first month. I found myself buying extended warranties on cameras. Trips this year: (1) Margot and I went off to Scotland for a few days, my first time overseas. (2) I went to Hawaii on business (such a deal!) and extended it, spending a week in Hawaii and another in California. (3) I went to Tennessee to man a booth and extended it to go to my third Fan Fair country music festival. Number of photos taken this year: 110,000.
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