What is a vidimus?
A vidimus is a design drawing for a leaded light or a stained glass window that was submitted to the client for approval before the work was carried out. In Dutch it is also called a vidimus. The word is Latin and literally means “we have seen”. With it, the client confirmed that he had seen and approved the design.
Outside glass art, vidimus is also used for a certified copy of a charter or deed. In architecture it almost always refers to the glass design drawing.
Vidimus and working drawing
Historically, two kinds of drawing were used in making leaded lights:
- The vidimus: a smaller, often coloured design showing the image, the distribution of colours and the composition. This was mainly intended for the client.
- The cartoon: the full-size drawing on which the glazier worked out the shape of each piece of glass and the course of the lead lines. This was the working drawing for the workshop.
Surviving vidimuses are valuable to art historians, because they show how a window was originally intended, even if the window itself has been lost or later altered.
Application in restoration
- Look for original designs in the archives of the church, the municipal archives or museums before having a damaged window reconstructed.
- Document it yourself: during restoration or replacement, have the existing window recorded at full size (photograph and drawing of the lead lines). That is in effect a modern vidimus for future repairs.
- Monument permit: in the Netherlands, for a national or municipal monument you usually need an environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning) to replace or substantially alter historic leaded light windows.
Related terms
- Leaded light
- Stained glass
- Tracery
- Rose window
- Gothic
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