Here’s a window to cheer on a Monday morning. You’ll find it in Chichester Cathedral, and it’s designed by Marc Chagall the Jewish Modernist painter, who enjoyed working with stained glass too. You’ll find his windows in churches in France, Germany, England and the USA, as well as in Jewish settings. Essentially, this window illustates Psalm 150, a hymn of praise to God suggesting He be praised – noisily – with every instrument to be found, as well as by singing and dancing. That’s what this window illustrates.
Chichester Cathedral came with surprises. This quintessentially English place of worship was built, as so many English cathedrals were, between the 11th and 14th centuries. So it was unexpected to find so many works of art from recent years there: a startlingly bright tapestry designed by John Piper; ‘Noli me tangere’ by Graham Sutherland; murals by Hans Feibusch, exiled from Nazi Germany in 1933; the ‘Reconciliation Tapestry’ designed by German artist Ursula Benker-Schirmer and woven partly in Germany, partly in England tells the story of Saint Richard and is a symbol of reconciliation between Britain and Germany after WWII.
For Ludwig’s Monday Window, hosted this week by PR
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
I love that window! We had a weekend in Chichester a couple of years ago, primarily to visit Pallant House but the cathedral alone would have been well worth the journey. It also has lovely gardens.
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It does. Overall we found Chichester a little disappointing, but the cathedral was more than worth a detour.
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Hello Margaret.
A great selection of pictures, I like them very much. Especially the last one.
Unfortunately, I noticed a small mistake in the last picture: it’s not John Piper, but Graham Sutherland.
Many greetings, Robert
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Grrr! I was labelling late at night. I’ll be over in a minute to correct it. Thanks so much!
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We have south coast friends (Bognor Regis) who always sing Chichester’s praises but I’ve never been. The cathedral certainly looks worth a visit xx
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It definitely is.xx
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Interesting an colorful art on the window and on display.
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It’s vey rich and colourful, illuminating a shady corner.
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Chichester Cathedral is quite amazing Margaret. The last Chagall window Sue posted had more of the trademark blue. Having other artworks is most unusual I thought as well
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Yes, it does seem to be. Chichester Cathedral looked vibrant and inviting with all that colour. I posted the window with Sue in mind!
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You have me wondering why I’ve not visited Chichester cathedral already. I generally make time if we’re in a cathedral city and I’ve been to Chichester more than once. I suppose I’ll just have to visit again…
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Why not? There are worse fates ….
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Absolutely
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This is great, and you made beautiful photographs. Thank you dear Margaret, Love, nia
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Thank you! It was an easy place to like.
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So uplifting!
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It is!
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One of my nephews lives in Chichester but would you believe we’ve never been?! We always see him when he’s visiting his parents for family gatherings 🙂 That window is beautiful and I like all the other modern pieces too. By the way, you can add Switzerland to your list of countries with Chagall stained glass as there’s some in the Fraumünster in Zurich (strict rules against photography however).
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Thanks for all that. Zurich isn’t on my list at thenmoment, but who knows?. Yep, you have to visit your nephew and get that cathedral visited! By the way, did you catch ‘Illuminated: The Frozen light’ on BBC R4 this morning at 9.30? All about the experience of living in Svalbard and observations on the community there. Good stuff!
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Thanks for that tip. I’m not really a big radio listener but I’ll definitely check that out!
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I had you down as a R4 listener!
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Beautiful photos!
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Thanks Ludwig.
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Wonderful to see a Virtual image of that Chagall window, I wish I had seen when I was in Chichester a couple of years ago
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Me too. What a shame. Malcolm missed it too, so you’re not alone.
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Well, things happen….
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What a wonderful church! Your photos show its beauty very well.
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It’s a very lovely place. Thanks Egidio.
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I love visiting cathedrals – though I have never been to that one. I like the idea of including the new with the old.
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It really works so well. It’s got a light, fresh feel compared with many cathedrals of the period.
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I do like both the design and the concept of the reconciliation tapestry.
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Brilliant stuff, I thought.
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It’s been years since I was in Chichester. I rather liked the place, but don’t think I took any photos in the cathedral.
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We didn’t get much chance to explore te town. But tye Cathedral was definitely Worth a Detour.
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Oh wow, that stained glass is very impressive and so are the other art pieces too! Great finds Margaret.
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Once in the cathedral, they were hard to miss.
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Church windows can be amazing.
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They can indeed. This one’s a winner.
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