All Saints, Lowesby, Leicestershire
Address
Church of All Saints, Church Hill, Lowesby, Leicester, LE7 9DDRecommended by
Highlight
Semi-abstract, south aisle, west window. Commemorative window for Gytha Nuttall and her second husband. Donated by her son of adjacent Lowesby Hall, hence its position in the church.Artist, maker and date
Patrick Reyntiens, 1977Reason for highlighting
A surprise in a very rural part of East Leicestershire. A semi-abstract window which is not easy to summarize but it is loosely based on Psalm 23 and shows the three paths to heaven. It provides a contemporary response to the more conventional window on the same theme by Jones and Willis, which shows a pastoral scene and Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
I have used it for meditation for several groups including some on retreat since I first discovered it. For me it is a brilliant window recognising that people have very varied spiritual journeys.
Artist/maker notes
Patrick Reyntiens OBE (1925-2021) studied fine art at Edinburgh College of Art. He began his career in stained glass with an apprenticeship with Eddie Nuttgens, and flourished when he met and collaborated with John Piper.
Together they redefined the medium in the post war era, working on the Baptistery Window, Coventry Cathedral and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral as well as numerous ecclesiastical and secular commissions in Britain and USA.
He has also been an influential teacher both through the arts centre he ran at Burleighfield House, with his wife, Anne Bruce, from 1963 to 1976, and through the 10 years he spent as Head of Fine Art at the Central School of Art and Design.
Sources:
Patrick Reyntiens’ website at patrickreyntiens.com
From Coventry to Cochem: The Art of Patrick Reyntiens, DVD, Reyntiens Glass Studio
Patrick Reyntiens Catalogue of Stained Glass by Libby Horner (Sansom &Co, 2013)
Other comments
Reyntiens wrote extensive notes to explain the windows symbolism and the many literary sources on which he based his ideas, which were summarised by Libby Horner in ‘Patrick Reyntiens Catalogue of Stained Glass’, which can be read here.