Christ in Majesty, Sacrementary of
Saint-Étienne at Limoges, ca. 1100.
Lat. 9438, fol. 58v. Courtesy of the
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
of the 12th c.) and Pierre Saint-Audemar (late 12th c.) describe the process of wall
painting as true fresco with lime later added to dry walls to fix the color by carbonization.
Pierre Saint-Audemar writes about the use of oil and tempera on walls, possibly a later
development in technique. Variations of binders for certain colors may have given rise to
a style of wall painting that favors flat areas of color and no modeling. Contemporary
sources do not mention the application of paint, but generally western European mural
paintings have thin layers of paint and are more opaque than Byzantine murals.
Many of the Romanesque mural cycles in French churches followed a set
iconographical scheme. A Christ in Majesty or enthroned Virgin with either Magi or
Holy Women frequently adorned the apse, the longitudinal focal point of the basilican
church. The vaulted ceiling often received a celestial design, in contrast to the lower part
of the wall surface, which was painted in trompe l’œil with architectural motifs or with
other earthly decorations ranging from embroiderylike designs to grotesques. Crossings
tended to carry more architectonic designs, and the tran
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