RSA Scottish Art
Kings from the East
 | Artist: John Duncan |
| Title: Kings from the East | |
| Year: c. 1935 | |
| Medium: pencil & watercolour on paper | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © Estate of John Duncan 2005. All Rights Reserved, DACS | |
| Description: John Duncan was one of the key artists in the “Celtic Revival” movement, creating such memorable paintings as The Riders of the Sidhe.Duncan was also a designer of stained-glass windows. This sketch is a design for a window in Paisley Abbey called Kings from the East. He was very aware of the qualities of the materials he was designing for (coloured glass and lead camework). The figures have taken on the stylised, angular forms that are suited to the qualities of handmade cut glass; and they have strong outlines where the lead cames separate and form the structure for the glass pieces. This sketch is a functional drawing or cartoon used for working out the layout and arrangement of the coloured pieces of glass. It is not intended to be a finished illustration.The three figures are very slender and upright. Some aspects of the composition would have been dependent on the size of the window opening and colour of glass available, as well as its thickness. The thick black line across the centre of the image shows the position of the saddle bar, which sits into the stonework on either side of the panel. Separate panels sit on top of one another to form the height and need this stronger support. Also indicated is the amount of paintwork which would have to be applied to the glass, for example the hair, features on the face and pattern on the clothing. So as you can see, this working drawing is more like a description of the tasks to be carried out rather than a beautiful finished artefact. This window would have been part of an arrangement of openings in the wall. Although the window will be seen from both sides, the view which matters is from inside the Abbey when daylight is shining through it and the congregation can “read” the story contained inside. Therefore it is important to make sure the composition works in the correct orientation and has a good balance of colours and lead work, as well as some plain or pale tinted glass to admit light. | |
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