Moses and Joshua by Tiffany Studios, 1904

Moses and Joshua is the subject of this window by the Tiffany Studios of New York. Moses led the Israelites for forty years from Egypt to the borders of Canaan, the promised land. But along the way, Moses had angered God with his impatience, and God told Moses that he would not be allowed to enter the promised land. Moses addressed the Israelites at the border, passed the leadership on to Joshua, and went up to the mountain and died. The story is told in the book of Deuteronomy, with reference to the water from the rock at Meribah (Exodus 17:1-17):

Moses, finishing this address to all Israel, went on to say: At a hundred and twenty years old, I am no longer able to lead the campaign; and the Lord has told me that I shall not cross the Jordan. It is the Lord your God who will cross over at your head and destroy these nations before your advance, and you will occupy their lands; and, as he directed, Joshua will lead you across. Moses summoned Joshua and in the sight of all Israel said to him: Be strong and resolute, for it is you who will lead this people into the land which the Lord swore to give their forefathers; you are to bring them into possession of it. The Lord himself goes at your head; he will be with you; he will not et you down or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged. The Lord said to Moses, "The time of your death is drawing near. Summon Joshua , and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting so that I may give him his commission." That same day the Lord said to Moses, "Go up the mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo in Moab, to the east of Jericho, and view the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites for their possession. On this mountain you will die and be gathered to your father's kin, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his father's kin. This is because both of you broke faith with me at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, when you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. You may see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the Israelites. Moses went up from the lowlands of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah eastwards from Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead to Dan; the whole of Naphtali; the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all Judah as far as the western sea; the Negeb and the plain; the valley of Jericho, city of palm tress, as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over into it." There in the Moabite country Moses the servant of the Lord died, as the Lord had said. He was buried in a valley in Moab opposite Beth-peor; but to this day no one knows his burial-place. (Deuteronomy 31:1-3, 7-8, 14; 32: 48-52; 34:1-6)

This window was given to St. John's in memory of Edmund Dickinson Smith by his widow, Mary Dewing Smith in 1904. Edmund D. Smith was a navy captain who was killed during the Spanish-American War. The window is signed ìTiffany Studios, New Yorkî in the lower right corner and appears on the list of Tiffany commissions published in 1910. The window is located on the south side of the nave, the first window below the transept.

Notes on Louis C. Tiffany and Tiffany Studios

There is no doubt that Louis Comfort Tiffany is America's most well-known, and most prolific, stained glass artist. Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in New York in 1848, the son of the founder of Tiffanyís jewelry store. From an early age, he was interested in the revival in the art of stained glass, but he did not follow the styles then popular in Europe, especially England. Tiffany and his chief rival in the U.S., John LaFarge, pioneered the art and science of favrile or opalescent glass, which can have many layers and many chemicals in it to give it its lustre, opalescence, and unusual colors. They and their followers became the core of what was known as the American School of Stained Glass. They believed that only the hands and faces of figures should be painted to show detail. All the rest of the subject had to be portrayed entirely in the color and texture of the glass itself. To this end, Tiffany often layered many very thin sheets of different colors and fragments to achieve the look he wanted. Glass was rippled to achieve texture, especially to look like flowing fabric.

In the Moses and Joshua window, you can see multicolored layering in the green trees. It has the effect of a glass mosaic inside the glass itself. You can see Tiffanyís use of texture in the waves of fabric in Mosesís robe. The glass is not flat but changes in thickness to represent folding material. The different colors in the sky were produced by introducing different chemicals, metals and substances into the hot glass. Some of Tiffanyís experiments led to explosions and glass that did not hold together.

Tiffany began experimenting with glass and chemicals in the early 1870s, as did John LaFarge, who applied for and received a patent for some of the processes in early 1880. Tiffany applied for a patent in late 1880 for a different process, but his ìinventionî was very similar to LaFargeís. He convinced LaFarge to waive some of his earlier patent claims, perhaps with the promise to work together. However, Tiffany ended up with the greater share of the business and profits. Tiffany had the advantage of his fatherís name and his fatherís wealth. He bought the talents of the best craftsmen from Europe in the 1880s and 1890s, and with his social contacts, his business took off.

The high point in production was the first decade of the twentieth century, the period when both of St. Johnís Tiffany windows were made. After World War I, interest in stained glass waned and tastes changed. Tiffany Studios closed their doors in 1932, a year before Louis C. Tiffany died. After World War II, when so many Americans moved to the suburbs, inner city churches that were adorned with Tiffany windows fell into disrepair. In the 1960ís and 1970ís, many were bulldozed for urban renewal. Many other Tiffany windows were lost in fires in the old churches.