The Holy Trinity – God the Holy Spirit
The glazing of the choir was planned as early as the beginning of the 20th century, but the realization dragged on due to financial reasons. When Mehoffer returned to the designs in 1918–1919, it was the moment of the end of World War I — and this experience strongly „permeates“ the iconography: the Holy Spirit is not just an abstract symbol here, but a vehicle of peace and renewal.
A story „for ordinary people“: how to read it
This window does something distinctly Mehoffer-esque: the Holy Spirit (the Dove) is not merely a „sign from heaven,” but the director of meaning — linking the New Testament scene with a historical commentary and a very simple message: „Peace is not a slogan, but a gift that must be asked for and accepted.“
1) First, you see the Dove – the axis of the entire story
The white dove descends like an arrow of light. This is the Spirit who „comes“ — not as a decorative bird, but as the energy of the event and the vertical line that binds the whole window together.
2) The Spirit enters the concrete: The Annunciation
Mehoffer embeds the symbol of the Spirit in the Annunciation: Mary and Archangel Gabriel are shown as if the entire event were „hooked“ onto a single vertical line: the Spirit descends from above, and the response and consent are born below.
And here appears an important local meaning: Mary (alongside St. Nicholas) holds the rank of a special patroness in Fribourg — therefore, her presence in the Holy Trinity cycle is something more than „pious decoration. “ It is the inclusion of the community’s patroness into the very center of the grand choir program.
3) „Dictionary of the Spirit“ written in French
A very legible device: personifications with inscriptions:
- PIÉTÉ – Piety
- SAGESSE – Wisdom
- FORCE – Fortitude (Strength)
- PATIENCE – Patience
- JOIE – Joy
It acts like a caption under an icon: do you want to know what the Spirit does? Look at the effects.
4) At the bottom: The same Dove becomes the harbinger of peace
In the plinth field, the Spirit „changes language“ and returns in an Old Testament scene: a dove with an olive branch flies to Noah’s Ark. In 1918, this scene took on a completely concrete sharpness — as a sign of hope for a new order and peace after the catastrophe of war.
5) Additional layer: Allusion to the fire of the Spirit
In the rhythm of reds and golds (ruby, gold), it is easy to read an allusion to the „fiery“ nature of the Spirit — the one associated in Christian tradition with Pentecost. Not as a separate scene, but as the temperature of the image.
Style and Workshop: What is „different“ here than in the naves
The presbytery windows are formally more disciplined than Mehoffer’s earlier realizations: less soft vegetation, more axiality, synthetism, and geometrization — hence the honest description: Late Secession + Symbolism with a tendency towards early Art Deco. Added to this is the „music of lead“: the dense mesh of joints is not just a structure — it is a musical score that sets the light into a vibrating rhythm.
What to zoom in on in the Gigapixel (ready-made list of frames)
- The Dove and the „Halo“ of Light: White against a background of ruby and purple.
- Inscriptions: PIÉTÉ / SAGESSE / FORCE / PATIENCE / JOIE — the semantic key of the window.
- Face of Mary and Hands: The subtlety of modeling and the calmness of the gesture.
- Gabriel (wings, drapery lines): Secession in its pure form.
- Plinth Field: Noah + Ark + Dove with olive branch — „peace“ as the punchline and commentary on 1918.
- Turquoise-Green Ornaments: How decoration becomes the „nervous system” of the entire scene.
Monographs (Core Literature)
- Tadeusz Adamowicz, Witraże fryburskie Józefa Mehoffera: monografia zespołu, Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1982.
The most complete classic study in Polish: iconography, genesis of the program, analysis of style and context (from the perspective of Polish art history).
- Hortensia von Roda, Die Glasmalereien von Józef Mehoffer in der Kathedrale St. Nikolaus in Freiburg i. Üe., Bern: Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte (GSK), 1995 (series Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte der Schweiz, no. 7; ISBN 3-7165-0969-8).
„Window-by-window monograph“: documentation, attributions, description of the program and workshop; the foundation for research on the Swiss/German side.
- Gérard Bourgarel / Grzegorz Tomczak / Augustin Pasquier (eds./contrib.), Józef Mehoffer: de Cracovie à Fribourg, ce flamboyant art nouveau polonais, Fribourg: Pro Fribourg 106/107, 1995 (collective publication; approx. 120 pp.).
The most important volume in French: local reception, Fribourg contexts, workshop themes (including Kirsch & Fleckner), interpretive essays.
- Tadeusz Stryjeński, Vitraux de Joseph Mehoffer à la Cathédrale de Fribourg, Kraków, 1929.
Early, historical perspective (valuable as a testimony of the era and the circulation of opinion).
- Hortensia von Roda, Les vitraux de Jozef von Mehoffer, Fribourg: Pro Fribourg (no. 67), 1985.
Early synthetic publication (preceding the „full“ monograph of 1995).
Gigapixels
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