In Pigments of English Medieval Wall Painting, the author demonstrates that the techniques of wall painting in medieval England were far more complex than had previously been supposed. This is the first systematic analysis of the pigments employed in medieval wall paintings in northern Europe, covering an extensive selection of schemes from a variety of sites including parish churches, cathedrals and abbeys (Canterbury, Westminster, Norwich, Winchester, St Albans, Sherborne and Durham). The nature and extent of the palette used is revealed as well as the sophistication with which pigments were applied to achieve differing effects. Thirty pigments are detected including four previously unknown in the context of English medieval wall paintings - vivianite, salt green, kermes lake and madder lake. Also discovered are three alterations of pigments: the lightening of red lead; alteration of vivianite to a yellow form and the transformation of verdigris to a blue chloride-based alteration product. The use of different binding media employed for particular pigments in a single paint layer demonstrates the complex manner in which paintings were executed.The findings, discussed in the context of wall painting, sculptural polychromy and panel painting techniques in medieval northern Europe, show the broad chronological development in the choice, fabrication and application of materials linked to changes in artistic intent, technology and workshop practice. Beautifully illustrated with more than 200 colour plates, Pigments of English Medieval Wall Painting has significant implications for the conservation methods of such paintings and is an important source of information for all those interested in pigments and paintings.

The medieval wall paintings that remain in English churches are for the most part shadows of their former selves – the rare fragments of this beautiful art to have survived not only the Reformation but also successive waves of iconoclastic zeal and unsympathetic restoration. The whitewashed walls of most parish churches belie the riot of colour and decoration that once adorned them, but the remnants of paintings tucked into corners or rescued from later layers of paint help us to understand the role of art in medieval religion. Roger Rosewell here offers a guide to the role played by medieval wall paintings, as religious, didactic and commemorative works of art, telling the stories of those who created them and those who used them on a daily basis. He also compares and contrasts religious and domestic wall paintings, using beautiful colour photography throughout.

Surveying the images and iconography that made the medieval church a riot of colour, this book brings together many of the best surviving examples of medieval church wall paintings. It uses new technologies to allow us to visualise these works as the artists first intended. Rosewell's text accompanies the images.

This text of analytical and art historical research on medieval painting and polychromy is published to commemorate the 70th birthday of Unn Plahter.

A fascinating guide to decoding the secret language of the churches of England through the medieval carved markings and personal etchings found on our church walls from archaeologist Matthew Champion. 'Rare, lovely glimmers of everyday life in the Middle Ages.' -- The Sunday Times 'A fascinating and enjoyable read' -- ***** Reader review 'Superb' -- ***** Reader review 'Riveting' -- ***** Reader review 'Compelling, moving and fascinating' -- ***** Reader review ***************************************************************************************************** Our churches are full of hidden messages from years gone by and for centuries these carved writings and artworks have lain largely unnoticed. Having launched a nationwide survey to gather the best examples, archaeologist Matthew Champion shines a spotlight on a forgotten world of ships, prayers for good fortune, satirical cartoons, charms, curses, windmills, word puzzles, architectural plans and heraldic designs. Here are strange medieval beasts, knights battling unseen dragons, ships sailing across lime-washed oceans and demons who stalk the walls. Latin prayers for the dead jostle with medieval curses, builders' accounts and slanderous comments concerning a long-dead archdeacon. Strange and complex geometric designs, created to ward off the 'evil eye' and thwart the works of the devil, share church pillars with the heraldic shields of England's medieval nobility. Giving a voice to the secret graffiti artists of Medieval times, this engaging, enthralling and - at times - eye-opening book, with a glossary of key terms and a county-by-county directory of key churches, will put this often overlooked period in a whole new light.

The present book considers the development of figurative wall painting in the southern Low Countries over a period of two centuries, between circa 1300 and 1500. The region had a long-standing tradition of monumental figurative painting, of which the earliest, romanesque, examples are still preserved at Tournai and Ghent. Despite the central role that figurative wall painting clearly continued to play in the art, propaganda, and liturgy of the courts and churches of the late medieval southern Low Countries, the medium has been largely overlooked in comparison with the attention paid by art historians to other contemporary art forms. A variety of factors have contributed to this neglect, of which the most significant are undoubtedly the random survival, and the often damaged condition, of extant wall paintings, as well as the frequently remote locations and difficulty of access to the buildings housing them. Benign neglect and active vandalism have ensured that only a fraction of the great wall painting ensembles of the late medieval era have survived. Today, only fifty or so individual murals or ensembles of the Late Gothic period -not including a large number of tomb paintings -once in the churches and monasteries, town halls and guild chapels, castles and hotels of the southern Low Countries, have survived the passage of time, wars, iconoclasm, and changing fashions of interior decoration. These include many previously unrecorded wall paintings discovered beneath layers of whitewash in churches and private residences within the last twenty-five years or so, and restored by conservation staff.