Mercure Winchester Wessex Hotel, Winchester, Hampshire
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Mercure Winchester Wessex Hotel, Paternoster Row, Winchester SO23 9LQRecommended by
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Green Man series of 12 backlit panelsArtist, maker and date
Designed by John Piper and interpreted in glass by Patrick Reyntiens, 1964Reason for highlighting
Visiting the Mercure Hotel for my aunt’s 90th birthday I stumbled across a delightful surprise. Twelve back-lit stained glass panels arranged in a grid by the reception desk in the classic 1960’s building. They glowed with vitality and energy. There was no information on display but I was pleased the receptionist knew enough about them to confirm my suspicions that they were by John Piper.
I hadn’t brought my sketching materials so I found an art shop and purchased a new sketchbook and watercolour set and then spent a happy couple of hours studying a couple of them properly. What struck me most was the depth of the dark glass he chose and the heavy use of paint to block and modulate the light, giving a real sense of drama to the artwork.
What a fabulous commission it must have been for Piper! He could explore his recurring fascination with the Green Man motif (a legendary symbol of nature and rebirth) in a free and expressive way for a glamorous location. Finding secular glass of this quality is a rare joy.
Artist/maker notes
John Egerton Christmas Piper CH (1903–92) was one of Britain’s leading artists, who worked in a variety of media. He began working in stained glass in partnership with Patrick Reyntiens, whom he had met through John and Penelope Betjeman, in 1954.
Sources:
John Piper and stained glass by June Osborne (Sutton Publishing, 1997) which includes the text of John Piper’s book Stained Glass: art or anti-art (Studio Vista, 1968)
John Piper on Wikipedia
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)