9 The Good Shepherd

CAB, FSWB and EJW Memorial Window

Signed: Tiffany Studios/New York 1900–1905

Window 10 is to the left towards the altar.

In the teachings of Jesus, he refers to himself as a “good shepherd” who would lay down his life for his sheep. These words were a prescient metaphor for his sacrifice on behalf of mankind’s redemption. In this depiction, similar to the “Madonna of the Flowers” (1), Jesus has been transformed into a more universal image expressive of every shepherd. Re-imagined as a shorthaired and bearded man, he appears to be more in the mode of a turn-of-the-century Bostonian gentleman. Seated on a rock while surrounded by his flock, he faces away from the viewer and possesses both a calm demeanor and reflective gaze as he contemplates a distant vista of mountains and “The River of Life." The use of confetti glass in the distant foliage enabled the glass artist to create “impressionistic” effects that resemble those in contemporaneous paintings.

Donated by Mrs. Francis B. Greene (Rebecca Andrews Greene) (1841–1905), this window honors three individuals who, although only recognized by their initials, are most likely Caleb Allen Browne, Frances S. Whitney Browne, and Elizabeth J. Whitney. Mrs. Greene, in turn, was memorialized in the “Blessed are the Meek” Beatitude window in the balcony series (12).