All That Glitters
by Joyce Dalton
What everyday object shines, glistens and sparkles, guaranteed to attract
attention? Regrettably, diamonds don’t fall into the “everyday” category of
my life, so let’s talk about glass.
A trip to Montreal, which designated itself the City of Glass for 2010,
revealed the many forms glass can assume as well as the myriad places it can
enhance, ranging from churches to corporate and hotel lobbies to shopping
centers and even subway stations.
Stained Glass of the Celestial Sort
Light streaming through the translucent colors of a stained-glass window
can awaken the spiritual in even the most secular pew-sitter. When the
artist is Tiffany and the theme, angels, the effect is beyond inspiring. <
  The
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts claims 18 such windows, created between 1897
and 1902, Tiffany Studios’ finest period, according to most experts. To form
the single angel figures, artisans utilized a variety of techniques,
including drapery glass, a Tiffany invention which works molten glass with
paddles into folds and creases, giving volume to, for example, angels’
robes; fractured or “confetti” glass which imbeds multicolored
irregularly-shaped shards into molten glass, and feather glass produced by
hand-rolling molten glass, a method developed specifically for angels’
wings.
Originally, the windows were installed in the Erskine and American
Church, situated next door to the museum and now part of that institution.
During renovation of the church, built in 1894 in Romanesque Revival style,
the windows were removed and restored by the Fine Arts Museum. When
renovation is complete, hopefully during 2010 in time for the museum’s 150th
anniversary, the church will house a concert hall and exhibition space and
of course, the Tiffany windows.
  Stained-glass
windows line both sides of Notre-Dame Basilica’s three interior levels. More
are to be found in the sacristy and in the Sacred Heart Chapel, commonly
called the Wedding Chapel. The latter is accessed by two ornate narrow
winding staircases. The sanctuary’s windows saw three separate installations
between the end of the 19th century and 1963. The ground floor’s
stained-glass was ordered in 1929 in honor of the church’s centenary. These
images, designed by a Quebec artist and executed in Limoges, France, display
both religious and historical scenes from the city’s early days.
Stained Glass of the Earthly Sort
If the funds are there, stained-glass windows can be, too, even in one’s
home. More often than not, flowers, geometrics, tranquil streams and maidens
in diaphanous gowns serve as subjects. To view stained-glass on the secular
side, consider a visit to the Chateau Dufresne Museum, the early 20th
century Beaux-Arts mansion of two wealthy entrepreneurial brothers. Modeled
after the Petit Trianon in Versailles, France, the home was constructed as
two separate, but joined, households.
  The
stained-glass was commissioned by the brothers from Guido Nincheri, a Tuscan
immigrant who lived and worked nearby. Primarily known for his religious
themes, Nincheri created windows for 220 churches throughout Canada and the
U.S. The Dufresne mansion houses what is considered to be his most important
secular work in Canada.
 In Montreal,
stained-glass can pop up in unlikely places – the metro, for instance, where
the McGill, Champ-de-Mars, Barrie-UQAM and Place-des-Arts stations all
display such art. Or an athletic association? Look on either side of the
Peel Street entrance to Club Sportif MAA for scenes of a trapper and a
lacrosse player in the same medium. After visiting the Notre-Dame Basilica,
walk catacorner across Place d’Armes into the Aldred Building for a glimpse
of a fine Art Deco stained-glass piece at the end of the entry foyer.
A Potpourri of Glass
Wandering the city with an eye out for beautiful glass lent a focus to my
sightseeing. Not that I wasn’t appreciating the many other aspects of this
beautiful city, but having a theme sharpened my senses. It reminded me of a
photography workshop many years ago when one assignment sent us, cameras in
hand, searching for a particular color. I chose beige, probably because it
seemed an easily found shade. To the best of my memory, I photographed
scraps of paper in the gutter, sides of buildings, dirt, abandoned
furniture, a woman’s coat and heaven knows what else. Beige was everywhere
in New York, just as interesting glass, I’ve learned, is everywhere in
Montreal.
Multi-colored glass panels – pink, yellow, blue, red, green, orange –
make up the front wall of the Convention Center. The reflected light lends a
rainbow’s worth of hues to the interior space while at night, the
illuminated wall virtually sparkles.
Across the street, the Centre CDP Capital building, home to financial
firms, features a public atrium, known as The Parquet, dominated by a
351-foot-long and 138-foot-high wall of fritted glass which diffuses and
scatters the light streaming through it. The wall has been described as a
glass bridge between Square Victoria and Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle.
 To the
right as one enters the Mont Royal Hotel Sofitel, a brilliantly-hued glass
mural covers a good part of the wall. Images of old Montreal intermingle
with trees, flowers, muses and a Harlequin figure strumming a mandolin.
 While most
of us concentrate on the contents, liquor and wine bottles can make an
eye-catching display, particularly when arrayed before illuminated colored
glass. Nizza Restaurant in
 downtown
Montreal utilizes this design touch to good effect. More interesting glass
is found on the ceiling where delicate flower-shaped fixtures provide beauty
as well as light.
 Espace Verre,
as its name suggests, is a space for glass: its creation, display and sale.
Here, students and professional artists fashion glass pieces ranging from
bowls and vases to beads and other jewelry forms. Several exhibitions are
hosted annually and a variety of items are displayed and available for
purchase year-round.
And Crystal, of Course
 What would
a grand ballroom be without its glittering crystal chandelier? In Montreal,
fortunately, we ordinary folk can stroll beneath such symbols of wealth
without attending a gala. We can visit Les Cours Montreal Royal Shopping
Center, for example, where a glistening chandelier hangs from the Moorish
ceiling of what was once a Sheraton hotel, or check out the crystal jewelry
at the Swarovski branch in the Complex les Ailes shopping center.
One of the loveliest and most unique chandeliers to be seen anywhere
hangs in the public space of the Bourse de Montreal (stock exchange).
Crafted in Murano, Italy, the cut-glass squares and rectangles taper as they
near the top of the chandelier’s almost-four-story length.
The Windsor Hotel, one of the earliest of Canada’s grand properties, is
no more but its North Annex remains as part of what is now Le Windsor office
building. The Annex’s famed “Peacock Alley,” named for the designs in its
stained-glass windows, remains, as well, as do the many chandeliers
illuminating the corridor’s entire length.
 A huge globe
composed of hundreds (more likely, thousands) of small crystal balls hangs
in the lobby of the well-named Hotel le Crystal, one of Montreal’s newest
properties. Floor-to-ceiling windows ensure its beauty can be admired from
outside, as well as within. Another glittering chandelier, this one long and
tapering, serves as a focal point for the hotel’s La Coupole restaurant.
City of Glass, 2010 and Beyond
Though the 100 or so special exhibitions and events scheduled for 2010
will end when the year does, Montreal promises to continue as a City of
Glass far into the future. Every site mentioned in this article, along with
its glass, is a permanent part of the city’s attractions and will be waiting
for your visit, whenever that happens to be.
Images by Joyce Dalton
For further information….
City of Glass 2010:
www.villedeverre.com/en
Tourism information:
www.tourisme-montreal.org
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts:
www.mbam.qc.ca/en
Notre-Dame Basilica:
www.basiliquenddm.org/en
Chateau Dufresne Museum:
www.chateaudufresne.com
Espace Verre:
www.espaceverre.qc.ca
Hotel le Crystal:
www.hotellecrystal.com
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