Marc Chagall designed the blue stained-glass windows of St. Stephan in Mainz, Germany.
Chagall created the windows late in his life, beginning the project in the 1970s. Their intense blue color gives the Gothic church a distinctive luminous atmosphere, especially when daylight passes through the glass.
The windows show biblical figures and scenes, including prophets and other subjects associated with Jewish and Christian scripture. Chagall’s floating forms, dreamlike scale, and saturated color connect the installation with his broader artistic language.
The Mainz windows are sometimes confused with Chagall’s windows at the United Nations in New York or at All Saints’ Church in Tudeley. Those are separate projects. St. Stephan is particularly identified with its extensive blue glazing.