Stained-Glass Windows

Photo above of the Noah window.

The Chapel’s 77 stained-glass windows were designed and composed by G. Owen Bonawit, of New York, working with fifteen other artists and craftsmen. The Chapel’s windows depict every major scene in the Bible and contain an estimated 800 to 900 figures, including 301 larger-than-life-sized figures in the chancel and transept windows. The largest window measures 17-1/2 by 38 feet. All of the ruby and most of the blue glass was made in the United States, and the glass of other colors was imported from Europe.

Although most of the windows are in the style typical of mid-Gothic French cathedrals, with stylized figures and bright colors, the Chapel also contains examples of painted white-glass windows and intricate lead pattern work on plain glass. The Chapel’s windows employ traditional symbolism in design and color, identifying saints and other figures with characteristic attributes. Duke Chapel reportedly was the first building in the United States with windows depicting all of the major stories from both the Old and New Testaments.

After 75 years’ exposure to the elements, the lead holding together some of the Chapel’s stained-glass windows has weakened, causing the glass to bulge and endangering the windows.

Windows Restoration

Scaffolding inside and outside of the Chapel is a sign that restoration work on the windows is under way. The first three windows restored were the Adam, Tobit, and Noah windows. For more information on the current status of the windows, please call 919-681-9488.

Weather affects stained glass windows, as temperature changes cause the lead to expand and contract. In particular, the difference in temperature between the inside and outside of the building causes the strips of lead to expand and contract by different amounts on the two sides of each window. After many seasons, the lead weakens, and the glass begins to bulge. If the affected windows were left unattended, the glass would eventually fall out.

In 1991, it was discovered that three of the stained-glass windows were leaking. A local contractor did repair work to stop the leaks, but the University recognized that the windows needed further attention. Stained-glass artisan Dieter Goldkuhle, of Reston, Virginia, was contracted in 1993 to make a survey of the windows’ condition.

Goldkuhle found many problems with the upper windows. He noted that the original lead used to construct the windows was very thin, and that the most significant problem was tearing of the lead. Several of the clerestory windows had multiple tears, and the deterioration was particularly bad on the south side of the Chapel, where the windows are more exposed to the weather. There were signs of deterioration as far back as the 1970s and 1980s, when small bars had been soldered in place across the panes to keep them from moving. This prevented significant damage to the windows, but was not a long-term solution.

Once the survey was completed, in 1993, Goldkuhle was given a pilot project to restore the Ruth and Naomi windows in the narthex. The success of this restoration led the University to develop plans to restore all sixteen clerestory windows, one per year.

Dieter Goldkuhle was originally from Weidenbrück, Germany, from a family of commercial glass tradesmen. After completing a three-year apprenticeship as a young man, he received a Stained Glass Artisan diploma from the State Glassmaking School in Rheinbach. In 1962, he moved to the United States and started working in New York City, and in 1966, he relocated to Reston, Virginia. A well-respected artisan, Goldkuhle has restored over 90 windows, including several stained-glass windows at the Washington National Cathedral. His wife, Martina Norelli, handles the administrative side of the business and comes to the job sites with him, and his son Guido, who is learning the trade, assists with restorations.

Goldkuhle is using traditional techniques to restore the Chapel windows. Whereas other artisans often restore lead by just strengthening the corners, Goldkuhle replaces all of the lead. Before the windows are touched, they are photographed. The panes are then removed and shipped to Goldkuhle’s shop. The restoration process entails charting the design, separating the panels, cleaning each piece of glass, mending any broken pieces, and re-leading the window. In re-leading the panels, Goldkuhle float-solders them together, using tin in the solder to prevent a damaging building up of lead carbonate. The panes are then replaced exactly as they were before, according to the photographs taken at the beginning of the process.

You can learn more these parts of the Chapel by clicking on the corresponding image: