The paintings that precede stained-glass windows

The Boston Public Library has posted hundreds of photos of studies and work orders for stained-glass windows in churches, synagogues and cemeteries by the studio of Charles J. Connick in the mid-20th century.

Executed in watercolor and gouache, these studies provide critical insight into the nature and range of an artist’s working process, as well as a valuable glimpse of the artist’s own hand, visible in the minute corrections and methodical plotting of forms often not seen in the finished product. They are also visually stunning works of art in their own right.

Photo posted under this Creative Commons license.