MANILA, Philippines - Just as about when the ship of dreams Titanic was making its fateful voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1912, something equally legendary was taking shape half a world away.
German-born painter Matthias Kraut has started his foray into the production of glass windows in the Philippines by putting up a stained glass studio in Bilibid Viejo in Quiapo, Manila. This would lead to the birth of Kraut Art Glass, the country’s pioneer and leader in stained glass manufacturing.
Arriving in the archipelago a year earlier as representative of Moore Paints, Kraut distinguished himself as a house painter among ilustrados or middle class of central and southern Luzon through the prestigious Standard Paint Co.
Soon enough, he was offering a novel design concept — interiors planned not just with paints, but with decorative windows as well, using his name as the brand for the art glass.
Before long, Kraut Art Glass has become a byword and an industry by itself because of its quality, custom-made windows which has adorned numerous churches, schools, residences and public landmarks in Manila and key cities across the country.
Masterfully handcrafted and baked by artisans, its stained glass windows have found their way in popular houses of worship such as Sto. Domingo Church, Baclaran’s Redemptorist Church and Ellinwood Malate Church, and historic edifices such as the Manila Metropolitan Theater and the Manila Hotel, whose main building is as old as Kraut itself.
Outside the metropolis, Kraut windows radiate in the cathedrals and seminaries in Baguio, Vigan, Cebu, Davao City, Naga City, Borongan, Marinduque, Bohol and Bataan, to name a few. Among its more recent projects can be found in the recently-restored Tuguegarao Cathedral, Kamay ni Hesus Shrine in Lucban, Quezon and the Divine Mercy Shrine in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental.
Painted by and hand assembled by skilled craftsmen, the firm has preserved the old tradition of making quality art glass that do not fade, and which even becomes more brilliant as the years go by.
According to Rochelle Kraut-Barrinaga, a third-generation Kraut in charge of marketing, while stained glass has been synonymous to religious art, it has made significant inroads to upscale residences and villages.