Peter Dohmen

He retired in 1972 and died in May 1977 in Koenigswinter, Germany. He left behind some of the most extraordinary works of arts for others to enjoy.

In 1961, Dieterich Spahn worked as his apprentice and assisted in the production of two of the Valparaiso windows. In 1971, after Dohmen decided to retire, Spahn and the New York artist Mel Geary bought the Peter Dohmen Studio. Spahn has carried on in the great tradition and has designed many outstanding stained glass windows in his own style over the past 40 years. His studio is in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

The chapel project was completed in phases spanning over five years. The Meier window was dedicated on the same day as the chapel itself, September 27, 1959. The center Munderloh window was dedicated on February 5, 1961. The two flanking Munderloh windows were finally dedicated several years later, on January 10, 1965.

Dohmen married the daughter of a well-known businessman in Cologne. They had two sons just before the war broke out. In the 1950s, he and his wife designed the stained glass windows in the United States and they were fabricated in some of the most reputable fabrication studios in Germany, using only the highest grade glass and materials, such as mouthblown antic glass. This glass gives the windows a crystal-like character. The windows were then shipped in sections to the US for installation.

In 1938, he was offered a professorship at the State Art Academy in Koenigsberg, Germany. However, a few weeks before taking this position, a law was passed requiring that those teaching at a state school had to be members of the Nazi party. Given his dislike of the Nazis, he declined. He wanted to leave Germany, but the government had already made it difficult to leave and eventually impossible.

In 1937, he made an exciting, historic discovery in the dome of the Ursula Kirche, an ancient church in Cologne. He found that underneath the paint of the vaulted ceilings were beautiful religious paintings dating back to the 13th century. The Minister of Culture commissioned him to restore and save the very valuable frescoes.

After completing his studies, Dohmen was briefly an art teacher at the Institute for Christian Art in Dortmund before becoming the manager of a highly regarded art studio in Austria, where he worked in fresco murals, mosaic murals and stained glass windows. In 1936, he returned to Germany to establish his own art studio in Cologne.

The center window, the Redemption Window, tells the stories of the New Testament. The first division of this window shows the rising sun of a new day in Christ. A Messianic Rose, along with symbols of the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Stem of Jesse, all come together to describe the prophetic fulfillment that is Jesus Christ – the word made flesh. The divisions that follow this depict well-known stories of the New Testament, including Christmas, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. The final divisions of the center window look forward to Christ's return to creation. The book with seven seals along with trumpets sounding to the Four Corners of the earth are displayed here. This window is concluded with the Chi-Rho, a symbol for Christ and his eternal presence. Some text also appears interspersed with the images of the Redemption Window. In the center of the window, the mark "IC-XC-NIKA" appears. This early text, which translates as "Jesus Christ, the Conqueror" comes from an Ephesian tomb from the third century AD. Also appearing in the center of this window is the Latin "In Luce Tua, Videmus Lucem"' This text from the 36th Psalm is also the motto for Valparaiso University.

Dohmen became well known as an artist in Germany during the 1930s for his monumental art works, including stained glass windows, large frescoes on major public buildings and Byzantine glass mosaics.

Peter W. Dohmen (1904–1977) was a well-known and highly accomplished German liturgical artist who migrated to the United States with his family after the Second World War. In pre-war Germany, he had won numerous competitions for large frescoes, up to 10 stories high, and art works for public buildings. When he refused several times invitations to become a member of the Nazi party, which recruited accomplished people, he was put on the "black list" and no longer qualified for governmental contracts.

Dohmen was born on May 28, 1904, near Cologne, Germany. At an early age, he showed his talent for art. As a young student he painted some beautiful, religious oil paintings with traditional religious themes. He was eager to learn more from the best art teachers in Europe and applied for scholarships to some of the leading art academies. His efforts paid off when he received a scholarship from the German government. He then attended some of the most prominent art academies of Europe, including Cologne, Düsseldorf, Aachen, and the Higher Institute of the Royal Art Academy in Antwerp, Belgium.