Babson College alumna Maria Serpentino ’78, P’05, and her husband, Roberto Rosa, own Serpentino Stained Glass Studio in Needham, Mass. So far, Serpentino’s favorite project was restoring 13 stained-glass windows designed for a private chapel in the late 1800s by noted American artist John La Farge. When that chapel was razed in the 1930s for real estate development, the windows were installed in a convent in Fall River, Mass. The convent later suffered the same fate, and the windows, then more than a century old, were removed once again. All 13 were purchased by Salve Regina University and shipped to Serpentino studios in 2004 for restoration. The Newport, R.I., university subsequently installed them in its newly constructed Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, designed specifically with the windows in mind.
Three of the five windows housed in the chapel’s prayer and meditation room depict (from left) St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the Madonna and Child, and St. John the Evangelist.
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The Madonna and Child window is the largest La Farge window in the chapel. La Farge created the opalescent technique that subsequently was used by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Opalescent windows incorporate rippled or molded glass to create texture, as well as multiple layers of glass to achieve color and depth. Serpentino says that some of the La Farge windows have as many as five layers. “Because of the artistry, this was not a routine project,” she says. “The challenges were unique and the problems exciting to solve.”
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A large, rough-cut nugget of ruby-colored glass is prominent in this detail from the bottom panel of the Madonna and Child window. La Farge incorporated different types of glass to achieve a rich variety of effects.
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The St. Elizabeth of Hungary window showcases La Farge’s opalescent technique, which uses multiple layers of glass to create folds and varying colors in the saint’s clothing.
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This photo of St. John the Evangelist’s lower arm shows the opalescent effect in the sleeve, the delicate painted detail on the hand, and the three-dimensional effect of the thumb, which has an extra layer of glass to bring it out from the hand.
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An identical pair of somewhat smaller windows flanks the three center windows in the chapel’s prayer and meditation room.
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Four colorful Grecian-styled windows are in a separate space on the side of the chapel. The quartet comprises two sets of twin windows.
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This close-up is of one of the Grecian-styled windows, which feature multiple glass nuggets.
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A small window with a floral and leaf motif on the side of the chapel has several berry-like glass nuggets.
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Shown here is one of two identical recessed windows, each near one of the chapel’s entrances. The book is for the intentions and prayers of all who visit.
