The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter
7.5 × 3.5 m
Mouth-blown antique glass
Designed & created by Annemiek Punt in 2003–2006
Unveiled 8 September 2006
THE JAÏRUS WINDOW
You are standing in front of one of Annemiek Punt’s most significant monumental works: The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter.
Created for the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, this monumental stained-glass window measures 7.5 × 3.5 metres. It was designed and made by Dutch artist Annemiek Punt and unveiled by HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands on 8 September 2006.
Made entirely from mouth-blown antique glass, the window brings a contemporary visual language into the centuries-old church.
LOOK CLOSER
What do you see?
At first, the window may appear almost abstract: a movement of colour, light and ascending forms. Look longer, and images begin to emerge.
A face. A hand. The wings of a butterfly. A cocoon. Perhaps another face.
At the bottom, a hand appears to guide the face of a child upwards, towards the light. Elsewhere, forms suggest protection, transformation and new life. Punt deliberately avoided making every element explicit.
The window offers various layers of viewing, allowing each observer to discover their own meaning within it—for there is far more to see. The viewer’s imagination is constantly stimulated, creating a stained glass window that remains intriguing over the years.
A WINDOW THAT NEVER LOOKS THE SAME
Look at the light. It is part of the artwork.
The appearance of the Jaïrus window changes throughout the day. Sunlight, clouds, seasons and weather bring different colours, lines and details to the foreground. In effect, a different window is ‘born’ each day; depending on the seasons, weather conditions, and time of day, shifting light highlights different elements. Light creates a new version of the window every day.
DRAWN, PAINTED AND MADE BY HAND
Punt developed the design at full scale in her studio. The original drawing measures 7.5 × 3.5 metres, and is still preserved at her gallery in Ootmarsum.
What followed was an enormous undertaking: transforming a design on paper into a monumental window consisting of dozens of individual sections. She selected the glass, cut the individual pieces and painted details onto the glass before firing them in the kiln. The window was made using traditional stained-glass techniques and mouth-blown antique glass — material whose subtle irregularities give the light and colour their characteristic vibrancy.
Annemiek Punt designed and created the window herself, and the project took several years: from the competition in 2003 to its completion in 2006.
UNVEILED IN 2006
On 8 September 2006, the completed window was officially unveiled by HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands. Twenty years later, it remains a striking contemporary presence within the historic architecture of the New Church.
ANNEMIEK PUNT
Annemiek Punt (1959) is known for her distinctive painterly approach to glass and her large-scale architectural works. Throughout her career, she has created more than 120 monumental works for churches, public buildings and other architectural settings in the Netherlands and abroad. Discover her artwork on her website.
