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Judith van Puyvelde MA

PhD candidate

Area(s) of interest: Art History, European History, Modern & Contemporary History

Cohort/Start PhD: 2020-2021

The Atelier Glasschilderkunst F. Nicolas en Zonen in Roermond (1855-1968) and the Revival of Stained Glass Production in Western Europe in the 19th and 20th Century

Maastricht University
Overarching project: LIMES Hardening and Softening of Borders
Promotor(es): Prof. Nico Randeraad, Prof. Ad Knotter, Prof. Joep Leerssen
Starting date: 2020

In the wake of the revival of the decorative arts in the second half of the 19th century the production of stained-glass windows also reached new heights. One of the prominent new studios was the ‘NV Glasschilderkunst F. Nicolas en zonen, sedert 1940 Max Weiss’, a company based in Roermond. The archives of this company have recently been catalogued and partly digitized (see the extended catalogue). Both the business archive of the company and cartoons that were used to produce the stained-glass windows are available. The atelier produced stained-glass that found its way to numerous churches and as well as to public and private buildings in the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries. Starting from the company archives, this PhD research project will look into the mobility of commodities and information between the atelier and its environment. The cross-border activity raises the question as to how the atelier positioned itself in the art market. The atelier manufactured designs by Dutch and foreign designers and had contacts with numerous artists, craftsmen and manufacturers. It is interesting to investigate how people, expertise, themes, symbolism and styles travelled between ateliers, and from there to other societal environments. With this study I aim to explain how the Nicolas studio managed to acquire such a prominent position, especially in the interwar years.