Stories from the Old Testament

The history of Milan Duomo's stained-glass window V04 is similar to that of stained-glass windows V02 and V03 found along the Duomo's southern flank. In fact, they contain 15th and 16th-century panels originating from apse windows V19 and V21 and do not follow precisely the narrative progression of the Bible. The relocation of the panels took place in the 1830s, when Giovanni Battista Bertini and his sons Pompeo and Giuseppe began a huge project for the restoration and reconstruction of new windows for the apse area. Many artists and master glassmakers collaborated in the creation of the panels (some ascertained and others hypothetical): Franceschino Zavattari, Maffiolo da Cremona, Niccolò da Varalllo, Corrado de Mochis, Biagio and Giuseppe Arcimboldi, Giovanni Luini, Cornelio Fiammingo, Battista “de Putheo”, Dirk Crabeth, Giorgio d’Anversa, and Antonio da Pandino. Amongst others, episodes such as The Gathering of Manna, Samson and the Lion, and Joshua Stopping the Sun are easily recognisable.