South West Bay 3 | The Windows of Rowan LeCompte

Photo – Peter Swanson

Southwest, Bay 3

1961 – Church of the Incarnation, Washington, DC

Located on the eastern edge of our nation’s capital, this modest, unassuming church is completely illumined by windows crafted by Irene and Rowan. To this space they impart a moody, almost mystical light. We think that Irene may have been the principal designer here, since friends of the family have told us that in creating windows, she really loved to let the glass be its unadorned self. Like much of Rowan and Irene’s glass, the glass in all of these windows is exquisite artisan glass, and the colors are warm and rich.

This bay of windows is the third from the altar, on the southwest side of the church. Here the reds are really starting to take over as the color transition on the wall continues; however, the reds are also getting darker. There is definitely an intentional shift in the amount of light being let into the space. In two panels of the left lancet, it almost feels as if the red is literally pushing the yellow out of the window.

Iconography

These are abstract windows, and we have not yet found any documentation to explain why they were created in this simple style. Some of their beauty comes from the ever-changing patterns that are generated by changes in the world outside the windows. It may be that providing a backdrop of ever-shifting shades of color amid the beautiful transitions in hue was the principal thing Irene and Rowan had in mind.