Odilon Redon shared Stéphane Mallarmé's fascination for stained glass windows, which he called this ‘monstrance window’. Even before they became stained glass windows, the theme of windows was recurrent in Redon's 'noirs' (works in shades of black). In 1894, while still absorbed by charcoal drawings, he drew a church interior which included a brilliantly illuminated window with a wire mesh. For the artist, the movement from black to colour was a means of taking his imagination even further. Stained glass windows play a remarkable role in this development. The mystical window, an opening towards another place, was also highly liberating, bringing with it the brightness of colour. In the first decade of the 20th century, Redon increasingly referred to mystical architecture; no fewer than fifteen works portray a stained glass window and some twenty others show a face with a background of arches or ribs. In 1908, Redon wrote of this work, 'I painted a kind of Gothic window and from somewhere within it an avalanche of fruits and flowers appears mixed with white clouds. There are two strange figures on either side, not in proportion to the flowers and fruit. One of these figures has wings, just barely visible [...] The other figure is a wizard or saint [...] This is all depicted inexactly and clumsily, without being particularly meaningful, only suggestive. The only thing which is clear is that harmony of colouring is being pursued.'