The Blue Virgin Window

This is probably the most famous window in Chartres, and one of the most famous stained glass windows in all of Europe. It is known for its beautiful and vibrant colors.

 The Virgin is shown with the Christ child seated on her lap; angels surround them with censers (incense devices). The color blue symbolizes divinity. Mary, who was a human, is usually a different shade of blue than Christ, who was fully divine and also fully human. The different shades of blue signify Christ's full-fledged divinity, while Mary was not divine but gave birth to a divine being.

Below this scene are scenesof the devil's temptations. These are not shown in the slides.

A detailed image of the virgin and Christ child.

copyright © Dr. Deborah Vess 1998-2001, Georgia College & State University and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. All rights reserved. Rights to chapters authored by contributing faculty members reserved to Georgia College & State University, to the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at GC&SU, and to the individual faculty authors.