Stained glass regains its color

At Les Franciscaines, the work "Those Who Cross" by Clara Rivault (2026) © Naïade Plante

Long confined to churches and cathedrals, stained glass seems to have left the sacristy and entered our living rooms. In recent years, this ancient art has experienced a resurgence of interest. The controversy surrounding the future stained-glass windows of Notre-Dame served as a reminder of just how vibrant a creative medium it remains. At the same time, architects, decorators, gallery owners, and collectors are rediscovering the power of this material, capable of transforming light into emotion. HotelsShops, buildings, restaurants, private homes, and art centers: everywhere, stained glass is making its way in as an antidote to the standardization of interiors. Whether it's a work of exceptional craftsmanship, contemporary art, or simply a decorative object, stained glass is experiencing a renaissance.

1/ A contemporary artist: Clara Rivault

“Lidagat” by © Clara Rivault (Stained Glass France Glass, 2023)

History was written in glass: just after completing her first stained-glass window, Clara Rivault discovered her family ties to the renowned master glassmaker Didier Alliou. This late-in-life inheritance illuminates the journey of this artist in her thirties, fascinated by light since her years in a studio suspended above the city. Blending photography, glass, and lead, she creates works where her family memories and mythology intertwine. This year, she signed the monumental " Those who cross ", the first permanent stained-glass window in the building, a vast portal of light opening onto the city. She is also preparing the new stained-glass windows for the church of Saint-Paterne in Saint-Pair-sur-Mer, Normandy, expected in 2027. clararivault.com

Clara Rivault @Adrien Thibault

2/ A historical trace: Claire Tabouret at Notre-Dame

The exhibition "In One Breath," at the Grand Palais, featured models of the six stained-glass windows intended for the cathedral. ©Simon Lerat

Six stained-glass windows, each seven meters high, and already thousands of comments. And the gargoyles haven't finished talking about it yet… At Notre-Dame, Claire Tabouret's future stained-glass windows have sparked a national controversy even before their installation. Inspired by Pentecost, her monumental compositions in vibrant colors celebrate harmony between peoples and the diversity of languages. Created with the Simon-Marq workshop, they will replace six 19th-century stained-glass windows in the south aisle of the nave. A historic commission that reminds us that stained glass remains, nine centuries after the cathedral's construction, a very much alive art form. clairetabouret.com

Claire Tabouret © Claire Dorn

3/ A glass artisan: Sophie Toporkoff

In Sophie Toporkoff's studio, in the Nouvelle Athènes district of Paris ©DR

After a decade as creative director at Hermès, and previously at Maison Margiela, Sophie Toporkoff is embarking on a new chapter in her career by founding a workshop in Paris dedicated to contemporary stained glass. More than a career change, she is pursuing the same creative approach through a different medium: light. Her creations, notably seen in the boutiques À La Mère de Famille (rue Saint-Placide and avenue Victor Hugo, in Paris), at the Villa Junot, and at the Palm Beach in Cannes for Chrome Hearts, demonstrate a distinctive vocabulary that blends modern geometries with reinterpretations of historical motifs. True to the collaborative spirit she cultivated in fashion, she regularly invites illustrators, graphic designers, and artists to create works together. Influenced as much by the modernist glassmaker Louis Barillet as by the minimalist stained glass of Aurélie Nemours at Salagon, her work asserts a contemporary vision of an ancestral craft.

Sophie Toporkoff © NB

At work in the studio… ©Tiphaine Caro

Stained glass window by the Toporkoff Workshop for a private residence ©AgatheBoudin

Directed by Sophie Toporkoff for the Chrome Hearts brand ©Pablo Gonzalez

4/ A visit: The Stained Glass Museum in Troyes

Here, stained glass windows are no longer viewed with one's nose in the air. Opened in Troyes in 2022, the Cité du Vitrail (Stained Glass Museum) invites visitors to discover this ancient art at eye level, within the majestic setting of the former Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte. From the Middle Ages to the most contemporary creations, the exhibition brings together ancient masterpieces and works by today's artists: Fabienne Verdier, Gérard Garouste, Kehinde Wiley, Aurélie Nemours, and the illustrious René Lalique. A wonderful way to understand why stained glass is no longer confined to cathedrals. Until October 31, the exhibition " Passavant the Best! "Immerses visitors in the golden age of medieval Champagne through nearly 300 works of art." cite-vitrail.fr

Detail of "Madonna and Child" by Kehinde Wiley (Czech Republic workshops, 2016)
© Arch. Dép. Aube - E. Viollet © Kehinde Wiley Studio

Test panel of "The Genesis of the Word" by Gérard Garouste for the Notre-Dame church, in Talant (Pierre-Alain Parot Workshop, 1995-97)
© Arch. Dép. Aube - E. Viollet © ADAGP, Paris, 2025

Test panel for "Millennium stained glass window depicting fruit" by Véronique Ellena, Notre-Dame de Strasbourg (Parot Workshop in Dijon, 2015) © Aube Departmental Archives / Elsa Viollet