Gerhard Richter's Stained Glass Windows for Tholey Abbey

Gerhard Richter, the renowned German painter born in Dresden in 1932, has designed three new stained glass windows for the Benedictine Abbey of Tholey in western Germany. The windows were handcrafted by the master glassmakers at the Gustav van Treeck studio in Munich, founded in 1887, under the artistic direction of Katja Zukic and technical direction of Raphaela Knein. Using Richter's digital sketches, the artisans employed a range of techniques including mouth-blown glass engraving, freehand painting on float glass, screen printing, and sandblasting. This project differs from Richter's 2007 window for Cologne Cathedral, which consisted of 11,500 glass squares in 72 colors based on his 1974 work "4096 Colors [CR: 359]." For Tholey, Richter provided playful, detailed, and colorful drafts, posing significant creative and technical challenges to the workshop. The windows were completed months ago and installed in the abbey's choir.