Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hound, Southampton, Hampshire
Address
Church of St Mary the Virgin, 64 Hound Road, Netley, Southampton SO31 5FURecommended by
Highlight
East windowArtist, maker and date
Patrick Reyntiens, 1958-59Reason for highlighting
One of the reasons I think Patrick Reyntiens collaboration with John Piper was so successful was the fact that they were both artists in their own right, with the added speciality of glass in Reyntiens’ case. This can be seen in many of his own works where his own distinctive painterly style is evident including in this intimate yet monumental Virgin and Child.
Considered by Reyntiens as the best work he ever accomplished, (reason enough to visit!), this early work is compelling for the reasons outlined in the Hound Chronicle from June 1959 after it was installed ’…the more I look at it the more I am convinced that it is beautifully conceived in subject, design and colour…it looks as if it had always been in the church, and at the same time has all the marks of originality’ (Patrick Reyntiens Catalogue of Stained Glass, by Libby Horner,2013, p.65)
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
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
There are three more windows by Patrick Reyntiens in the chancel.
The church is supported by a group of local residents, the ‘Friends of St Mary’s, Hound’.