What is the cardinal of Cologne’s secret gripe?
Gerhard Richter, Cologne cathedral (Photograph: Hermann Knippertz/AP)
He’s bonkers to criticise his new stained glass window for Islamic overtones - there must be something else going on.
The sacred precincts of Cologne cathedral have this month become the setting for an unholy row about modern art.
The city’s Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, is complaining about a stained-glass window created by the artist Gerhard Richter. The window, in the south transept of the building, is made up of roughly 11,200 coloured squares, creating a pixelated effect. It’s an appropriate monument for the computer age and many locals have welcomed the return of a bit of colour to this part of the cathedral. Since the second world war the gothic tracery had been filled with plain glass.
Not everone is happy, though. Richter, an elder statesman of the German art scene whose paintings sell for millions, was probably thought of as a safe pair of hands for the job. Choosing an abstract design must have seemed like a sure way to avoid controversy but, quite unexpectedly, comments from the cardinal have stirred interfaith tensions. He has said that the window’s lack of human figures is a nod to Islamic art and that it would be more suitable for a mosque than a church.
Read full article (Guardian Art & Architecture blog, September 5, 2007)
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