As you can see, the stained glass windows are an essential feature of the church. Gaudí gave them the same expressive status as the architecture of the carvings.

From 1999 onwards, the painter and glassmaker Joan Vila i Grau has been in charge of producing the stained glass windows. He employs traditional techniques, setting the glass in lead strips in order to play with the shape and rhythm. Here in the church, he has followed the guidelines set out by Gaudí, who left several documents explaining how the stained glass windows should be arranged in order to achieve a symphony of evocative light and colour.

That is why the windows on the lower part of the side aisles are brightly coloured, whereas those on the upper half are in lighter, almost translucent colours. In the central nave, the windows are a combination of colourless glass of different textures, which makes the geometry of the vaulted ceilings stand out, thanks to the Mediterranean light.

So far, the windows that are in place are those in the apse; the Facade of the Passion, which are dedicated to water, light and the Resurrection; and those in the Portal of the Nativity, which allude to the birth of Christ, poverty and life. In the windows of the side aisles there are texts referring to the parables of Jesus.



(c) (R) 2013, MUSMon com S.L.
Text (a) Diego Laforga Marcos (2013)

Picture:
Source: Own work
Author: Carlos Marcos (2013)