RELIGIOUS STAINED GLASS
For the creation of religious stained glass, the studio works with a number of artists including Catherine Roch de Hillerin, François Rouan, David Tremlett, Jean-Paul Agosti and Imi Knœbel. The reputation of the studio is rooted in its ability to support artists throughout the creative process in order to transpose their artworks into pieces of translucent glass.
Currently
Catherine Roch de Hillerin
The artist Catherine Roch de Hillerin and the Atelier Simon-Marq have been commissioned by the Association des Amis du Patrimoine Religieux Givetois (an association supporting the conservation of religious cultural heritage in the town of Givet in the Ardennes) to provide the church of Saint-Hilaire in Givet with eighteen new stained-glass windows. Participation in this major project is made possible via a crowdfunding platform. accessible ici
Recent creations
Jean-Paul Agosti
In 2014, Jean-Paul Agosti and the Atelier Simon-Marq created all the stained glass windows for the chapel of the Lycée Saint-Joseph in Reims and for the Church of Saint-Gildard in Longuesse.
Imi Knœbel
In 2011, four stained glass windows were made to be placed either side of those designed by Marc Chagall in the apse of Reims Cathedral. This project in a city once ravaged by war was a powerful symbol of peace and culture in Europe.
François Rouan
The Atelier Simon-Marq and François Rouan worked together to create stained glass windows for the Abbey of Saint-Jean-aux-Bois, the Cathedral of Saint Cyr in Nevers, the Church of Saint Jean-Baptiste in Castelnau-le-Lez and the Chapelle de Montrond.
Hans Erni
The Swiss artist Hans Erni designed the stained glass windows for the Sihlcity Church in Zurich in 2007 and for the Protestant Church in Martigny, also in Switzerland, in 2014.
David Tremlett
In 2003, the English artist David Tremlett and the Atelier Simon-Marq won a tender competition for the creation of stained-glass windows organised by the Ministry of Culture for the Church of Villenauxe-la-Grande, a listed historic building. A total of 200 sq.m. of stained glass was installed in the windows of the monument.
Earlier collaborations
Here are some of the artists most involved with the Simon-Marq studio in the creation of stained glass windows during the 20th century.
Joan Miró
Joan Miró réalise neuf baies pour la chapelle Saint-Frambourg de Senlis dans l’Oise, inaugurées en 1977. Ce sont les seuls vitraux de son œuvre gigantesque. « J’ai pensé toute ma vie à faire des vitraux, mais l’occasion ne s’était jamais présentée. Cela m’a passionné. Cette discipline de la Chapelle m’a dicté, ma entraîné à avoir une très grande liberté, m’à poussé à faire quelque chose de très libre en approchant cette virginité. (...) ».
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall commissioned the Atelier Simon-Marq to produce all but his earliest stained glass work, for religious buildings such as Metz Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, the Fraümunster Church in Zurich, Saint Steven’s Church in Mainz, and Tudeley Church and Chichester Cathedral in the United Kingdom.
Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita
In 1965-1966, the French-Japanese artist Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968) designed the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix in Reims and its interior, with stained glass windows made by the Atelier Simon-Marq. The chapel stands as Foujita’s artistic testament.
William Einstein
In 1960, the American painter William Einstein, who was born in 1907 and died in France in 1972, designed 20 abstract stained glass windows, inspired by biblical scenes, for the choir and apse of the Collégiale Saint-Vulfran in Abbeville in the département of La Somme. Einstein’s intense career was influenced in particular by the time he spent in the studios of the Cubist painters Fernand Léger and Amédée Ozenfant, as well as by his extensive travels.
Brigitte Simon
A member of the dynasty of master stained-glass makers, the painter Brigitte Simon designed stained-glass windows for the Abbatiale Saint-Philibert in Tournus in the département of Saône-et-Loire in the 1960s, and windows evoking fire, earth and air in grisaille (shades of grey) for Reims Cathedral in 1978 and 1981.
Charles Marq
Brigitte Simon’s husband Charles Marq learned the craft of master glassmaker at the Atelier Simon-Marq and developed his artistic talents there. He created stained glass windows, in particular, for the Basilica of Saint Remi in Reims, for the Church of Saint Nicolas in Rethel, and for the choir of the church in Vouziers.
Jacques Simon
In 1936, Jacques Simon (1890-1974) designed the small rose window on the theme of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary above the central doorway of Reims Cathedral. In 1954 he designed the Vitrail du Champagne, a set of three stained-glass windows depicting work in the vineyards.