Ottin, Léon, stained glass

 

 

Impressionism, a historical reconstruction:

Léon Auguste Ottin

(1836-1918)

Stained glass windows

 

Léon Ottin was a verrier:
Léon-Auguste Ottin also was a glass-maker or verrier. He wrote a book about stained glass windows, called: ‘Vitrail, son histoires, ses manifestations diverses a travers les ages et les peuples’ (aR7). In this book he rendered many reproductions of stained glass windows, signing with ‘L. Ottin’, like in his other works. He also exhibited several (drawings of) stained glass windows at the Salon (=S) and it’s successor the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français (=SdAF) , but never did so at the ‘impressionist’ expositions in 1874 + 76 (iR1; see account). But it seems he mostly restored old windows, I’m not sure if he ever made new windows. In this sense Ottin is more a craftsman, than an artist. What is curious is that in all the information of the stained glass windows he worked on and that are now in several churches, there is no reference to Léon Auguste Ottin at all. With the about 23 (drawings of) stained glass windows he exhibited at the Salon throughout the years, it seems he was a very important glass-maker.
First I will mention works exhibited without a location mentioned, then the works with an indication of the location. There I will also render references / links.

 

Stained glass windows exhibited without locations:
Here below you will find the titles of the stained glass windows that Léon-Auguste Ottin exhibited at the Salon, without rendering a location. From his book ‘Vitrail’ (aR7) I render 4 reproductions.

S1869-3011, La roue de la fortune ; vitrail
S1879-4294-1, Donateurs avec leurs patrons, saint Roland et saint Georges ;
S1879-4294-2, Donateurs avec leurs patrons, saint Mathieu et sainte Adélaide ; vitraux
SdAF-1883-3079, Le placet ; vitrail
SdAF-1883-3080, Carnaval ; vitrail
SdAF-1884-3063, L’Ecu de la ville de Bâle, d’après Holbein ; vitrail
SdAF-1897-3653, Projet de vitrail, pour plafond lumineux de théâtre
SdAF-1898-4420, Le vitrail en l’an 950 ; Restitution du plus ancien vitrail français mentionné dans les chroniques ; sainte Paschasie (Xe siècle) (Ecole bourguignonne) ; dessin d’architecture.

Saint-Quentin basilica:
The basilica of Saint-Quentin formerly was called a collegiate church in Saint-Quentin, Aisne and lies about 150km north of Paris (iR9). For more information see (iR3).

S1870-3877, Décollation de sainte Barbe ; vitrail
S1870-3878, Mélancolie, allégorie ; vitrail
S1870-p753, Collégiale de Saint Quentin. Restauration des légendes des saintes Catherine et Barbe
SdAF-1901-3904, *Dessin de l’ancienne verrière de sainte Barbe, de la collégiale de Saint-Quentin
SdAF-1901-3905, *Dessin de l’ancienne verrière de sainte Barbe, de la collégiale de Saint-Quentin (iR1)

I assume the title of SdAF-1901-3904 should be ‘de sainte Catherine’, compare S1870-x. These two windows are beside each other, with Saint-Catherine on the left for the viewer.

 

Église Saint-Nicolas in Châtillon-sur-Seine (Côte-d’Or):
The Saint-Nicolas church in Châtillon-sur-Seine lies about 230km south-east of Paris (iR9). For information in French see (iR4) and more also about the stained glass windows see, in this source there is no reference to the restaurations Léon Auguste Ottin made on these windows from the 16th century. First I will render the titles from the Salon database (iR1), then I will render some pictures.

S1870-p753, Restauration d’un vitrail représentant l’arbre de Jessé ;
S1872-p337, Eglise Saint-Nicolas, à Châtillon-sur-Seine (Côte-d’Or)
S1872-p337-1, Restauration de la Légende de saint Jacques ;
S1872-p337-2, restauration de L’Arbre de Jessé.
SdAF-1896-4308, L’arbre de Jessé de l’église Saint-Nicolas, à Châtillon-sur-Seine (Côte-d’Or) ; dessin de vitrail du XVIe siècle, restauré

Église de Ploërmel:
Meant is the église Saint-Armel in Ploërmel, which lies about 420km south-west of Paris in Brittany. For info see (iR4), for pictures see (iR10).
SdAF-1902-3248, Dessin d’un vitrail ancien représentant l’arbre de Jessé, de l’église de Ploërmel

Église Notre-Dame-de-Cléry (Loiret):
The basilique Notre-Dame de Cléry-Saint-André lies about 150km south of Paris (iR9). For more information in French see (iR4; note: the name of Léon Auguste Ottin is not mentioned), for pictures of the stained glass windows see (aR9), for more pictures see (iR10).

S1876-p337, Eglise Notre-Dame-de-Cléry (Loiret); 4 vitraux:
S1876-p337-1, Le voeu de Dieppe
S1876-p337-2, Installation du roi Louis le onzième comme premier chanoine de Cléry
S1876-p337-3, L’Adoration des bergers
S1876-p337-4, Attaque du pont de Meung par Jeanne D’arc

 

Hôtel Dieu de Beaune (Côte-d’Or)
Beaune lies about 310km south-east of Paris (iR9). The Hôtel Dieu de Beaune first was a hospice, now a museum (see link for more info in French (iR4) and second link. Note in the article there is nothing mentioned about Léon-Auguste Ottin. For images see (iR10). For an image and info on the window Léon Auguste Ottin worked at see (iR6). Note: this info refers to a chapelle, while the Salon database mentions the ‘Grande Salle’. The meaning of verrière is not quite clear; it can mean glass roof, but maybe it can also mean stained glass window.
S1879-p534, Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune (Côte-d’Or); Grande salle: crucifixion; Mater dolorosa; verrière

Église Saint-Étienne de Beauvais:
Beauvais lies about 85km north of Paris (iR9). For pictures of the église Saint-Étienne de Beauvais see (iR10), for information in French see (iR4) and also (aR10). In this information there is no reference to Léon Auguste Ottin. Note that in the stained-glass window the faces are not rendered as in the watercolour Ottin made and exhibited at the Salon (de la Société des Artistes Français) of 1903.
SdAF-1903- 3640, Fragment du vitrail de Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, à l’église Saint-Etienne de Beauvais; aquarelle

Cathédrale de Quimper:
Quimper lies in the peninsula of Britany (iR9). For information of the Cathédrale Saint-Corentin in French see (iR4) and see. Note: the name of Léon Auguste Ottin is not mentioned. For images see (iR10) and images of the stained glass windows see (iR10). There also is a book about these windows see. I will render some drawings of Léon Ottin from his book ‘Le Vitrail’ (aR7). I suppose these were probably exhibited at the Salon (de la Société des Artistes Français) of 1903.  I could only find one picture of a stained glass corresponding one of those drawings.
SdAF-1903- 3641, Vitraux de la Cathédrale de Quimper, XVe siècle; dessin

 

 

 

Recommanded citation: “Impressionism: Léon-Auguste Ottin, expert in stained glass windows. Last modified 2024/01/29.  https://www.impressionism.nl/ottin-leon-stained-glass/