Caspar Gsell – A Swiss Pioneer of Historicist Glass Painting

Johann Julius Caspar Gsell (1814-1904), an artist from Sankt Gallen, established himself as a stained glass artist in Paris in the 1840s, and thus in one of the most important centres for the revival of stained glass in 19th century Europe. Gsell participated in church restorations in Île-de-France and the surrounding regions, while at the same time creating an extensive body of work of his own: by the end of the century, he had decorated several hundred churches in France and neighbouring states with historicist stained glass.

Gsell’s career and his work as a stained glass artist, which is still little researched, are the focus of the research project. His works in Basel and St. Gallen – very early monumental glass paintings of the 19th century for Switzerland – and his main works preserved in France will be inventoried, examined and contextualised with regard to their history of origin, pictorial content and artistic realisation. The question of whether and to what extent Gsell contributed to the artistic and technical development of stained glass in the Historicist period will also be examined in depth. The research results will be published as a monograph in the book series of the Vitrocentre Romont (De Gruyter).

Durée du projet : 2022–2024