Glass act | 26 May 2012

The name of Patrick Reyntiens (born 1925) is indissolubly linked to the recent history of stained glass in this country. Reyntiens bridges the often troublesome gap between craft and art: not only is he a superb and innovative craftsman, but he is also a substantial artist. The second quality is not always recognised. Best known as John Piper’s associate, many assume that Piper was the artist behind their stained- glass collaborations, with Reyntiens as technical expert. Actually, Reyntiens played a more creative role than is generally supposed. Certainly he is a painter and draughtsman of considerable originality, as can be seen in the new DVD, From Coventry to Cochem: The Art of Patrick Reyntiens, a well-made documentary that includes such delightful extras as the 1967 film Crown of Glass about the making of the Piper/Reyntiens windows for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

Reyntiens, an engaging and charismatic subject (‘I think my best invention’s myself’), was born in Cadogan Square before his family moved to Brussels where his nanny read Dickens to him.