Painting the Light: Stained Glass in the Sarthe, 19th–21st Centuries

The Musée Jean-Claude Boulard – Carré Plantagenêt is hosting a temporary exhibition on stained glass in the Sarthe, from the 19th to the 21st century. The story begins in the mid-19th century, when the restoration of the Le Mans cathedral's stained-glass windows rediscovered the techniques of medieval master glassmakers. Le Mans then became one of France's leading capitals of painted glass, a craft that spread well beyond the Sarthe and beyond France's borders.

Organized in five sections, the exhibition highlights the great figures of Sarthe stained glass as well as the contemporary artists who have reinvented this technique, long used as a “book of glass” meant to instruct the faithful. Among the 20th-century master glassmakers featured are Maurice Denis, Auguste Alleaume, Gabriel Loire and Max Ingrand. The tour shows how the Le Mans region remains a land of innovation in stained glass, with many bold contemporary creations.

The exhibition runs January 23 to November 2, 2026, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 AM–12:30 PM and 2–6 PM, at 2 rue Claude Blondeau in Le Mans.