Stained Glass Image of the Day: Matthew & Mark Windows, St John's and King's Park Church, Dalkeith (William Wilson)
St John's and King's Park Church, Dalkeith contains 4 windows by William Wilson, who has featured several times on these pages already.
The suite of windows consist of two paired lancets approximately 0.5m x 3m each in size, set in sandstone rebates. Each window depicts two scenes from the life of Jesus, capped by the emblem of Matthew and Mark, two of the Four Evangelists. Small graphical motifs link each of the scenes, which outline a chronology of Jesus' life when each is read from from bottom to top and L-R (e.g. Matthew and Mark, Luke and John).
Matthew & Mark Windows, St John's and King's Park Church, Dalkeith (William Wilson, 1939). Photo: Gordon Watt
““They have a distinctive character... in which there is suggested a certain amount of Persian character in richness and method of working out the colour arrangements. The use of detached colour notes gives a jewel-like character to the design, suggesting not so much areas of colour in class as a composition from jewel-like elements...
Bars of blue are introduced in an area of some other colour; and by way of counterpoise bars of the other colour are taken through an area of blue.
One pair of the windows, for example, dealing with the later and more intense episodes of the life of Christ predominate in red, which gives an effect of passion, intensity, and deep spiritual tension.””