Conversion and Baptism of Saint Alban | The Windows of Rowan LeCompte

Photo – Peter Swanson

The Conversion and Baptism of Saint Alban

1961 – The Little Sanctuary, Saint Albans School, Washington, DC

This is the second in a series of five windows by Rowan and Irene that depict events in the life of Saint Alban. Although this window is boldly divided into four quadrants by large lead lines running through the middle of the window, like the others in the series, it is really a window divided into two halves. The colors and shapes on the right and left sides serve to help tell the story of Saint Alban. The glass in the window has wonderful texture, and in the Details below you can see air bubbles permeating almost every piece.

Iconography

The school’s brochure about the window, by Allie Benson and Lynne Mitchell, informs us, “The composition of the window, vertically split into two distinct sides and themes in which the human figures seem to reach for each other, illustrates Alban’s spiritual journey from the pagan into the Christian world.” The bubbles present in the glass evoke the liveliness of flowing water and underscore the ebullience and joy inherent in conversion and baptism. The Saint Alban story tells us that for several weeks, Alban and the priest spoke daily of matters of faith and belief. Alban was so impressed with the priest’s prayers and devotion that he asked to be baptized.

Alban is the red kneeling figure on the left. Behind him, Rowan and Irene have created a background of Roman arches and oak leaves “suggestive of the Druids’ oaks, sacred groves and mistletoe.” The darker left side of the window, representing Alban’s pagan life, is sharply divided by the heavy vertical lead line from his life in Christ on the right side of the window, with Amphibalus the priest, clad in purple, reaching across the divide. Amphibalus pours water from a shell onto Alban’s head, and he reaches up with his right hand as if calling down the Holy Spirit on Alban. Amphibalus is set against a background of crosses, which The Rev. Eder described as “some triumphant and some the red of martyrdom. Between the Roman arches on the left and the crosses on the right, Baptismal Water, like light, pours down from above, as Amphibalus ushers Alban into a new way of life through baptism.”