Stained-glass design: The Gebhart and Rechburger Arms with four allegorical figures and Horatius Cocles at the bridge,

ca. 1579

With the decline of religious imagery during the Protestant Reformation in the second half of the sixteenth century, there was a greater demand for heraldic designs. This example is a presentation drawing for a window made in honor of the marriage of Lucas Gebhart and Elisabeth Rechburger in Basel in 1579. The families’ coats of arms are displayed in an elaborate frame, including a scene of the Roman soldier Horatius Cocles single-handedly defending the bridge to Rome. The artist colored the coats of arms, but not the frame, as was typical of drawings and glass paintings of the period. Examples of glass painting can be seen in the Museum’s medieval gallery.