Thinking pictures Wissembourg

[… and grab the hem of his robe]. On the way along the stars old realities blow away. In the headwind flows power that carries touchably close.

Text | Photography: Peter Michael Lupp
Photomontage: Elke Birkelbach

49°2'14.082 “N 7°56'29.177 “E

Benedictine abbey church of St. Peter and Paul, Wissembourg (Weißenburg). 11th/12th century High Gothic cloister, Romanesque Peter and Paul Chapel (11th century). Significant medieval furnishings including: Stained glass (12th/15th century), sculptures (15th century), wall paintings (14th century).

Detail of the robe of St. Christopher. Remains of a mural are reminiscent of the “Christ bearer”, who was depicted on the east side of the church tower in the Middle Ages.

One and all

One and all In the weaving of lines, the times intertwine and the infinite light watches at those gates, that connect the past with the future, the worldly with the spiritual, the dark with the light, in time with the moments: Now - Now - Now An eternal coming, going and rebirth. The dark contrasts with the light. Those who recognize their own line and circle in this web, recognizes his very own line and circle in the now, embraces life, gives birth to the eternal circle of the whole, just as the roundness of the horizon and the starry firmament. He understands the line of life as a cycle, which embraces one and renews everything. But the circle of life must be circumnavigated and must be traversed from outside to inside, so that the spaces between the beginning and the end widen and between the poles - out of the center life carries. Being embraced in order to receive, Being integrated in order to give.

Text | Photography | Collage: Peter Michael Lupp

49°2'18.960 “N 7°56'34.116 “E

Protestant parish church of St. John, Wissembourg (Weißenburg). 13th-16th century The origins of St. John’s Church date back to the 7th century and are linked to the founding of the monastery of Wissembourg. The current appearance of the building is characterized by the Gothic architectural styles of the 13th-15th centuries. In the 15th century, the reformer and humanist Martin Bucer preached in this town church in Wissembourg.

“Thinking Pictures” as part of the European model project Starry Path/Chemin des étoiles on the stained glass windows designed by the artist Gérard Lardeur (1931-2002) for the medieval church of St. John in Wissembourg. His stained glass windows filter the light in such a way that the church is bathed in brightness. The abstract, geometrically designed construction of the windows made of lead emphasizes the importance of the line in various lengths and widths. However, Gérard Lardeur emphasizes the circle in the system of these lines as the perfect connection between beginning and end. For him, the circle is one and all. The artist symbolically depicts people during their transitions in life by means of a circle separated horizontally.