Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Abstract

As part of a five-year systematic sur­
vey of the techniques of English
medieval wall paintings, the highly
important late Romanesque and ear­
ly Gothic paintings in the Holy
Sepulchre Chapel in Winchester are
being examined. The use of red lake
in the Romanesque scheme is the
earliest recorded use of this pigment
in English wall painting; the identifi­
cation of vivianite, now partially al­
tered to a yellow form, is the first in
any English medieval wall painting.
All aspects of the technique of both
schemes, including their complex
laying out, pentimenti, pigments,
media, and gilding are discussed in
the context of contemporary Euro­
pean painting.

Te chniques of the Romanesque and Gothic

Wa ll Paintings in the Holy Sepulchre Chapel,

Winchester Cathedral

Helen C. Howard

Leverhulme Research Fellow

Conservation of Wall Painting Department

Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House

Strand, London WC2R ORN

United Kingdom

Introduction

The exquisite Romanesque and Gothic paintings in the Holy Sepulchre

Chapel constitute what is arguably the finest medieval painted interior in

England. Dating from circa 1175 and circa 1220, respectively, their iconog­

raphy and style have been discussed exhaustively by Park (1). From the tech­

nical point of view, they provide fa scinating insight into the execution of two

schemes of exceptionally high quality, separated in date by scarcely fo rty years,

but painted in very different techniques. Although the technique of the earlier

decoration is rooted in the tradition of painting a fr esco, an additional pro­

teinaceous binding medium and also lead pigments have been identified,

which, together with the sweeping compositional changes made at an ad­

vanced stage of the painting process, suggest that significant portions were

completed a secco. The Gothic painting is perhaps more typical of English

medieval wall painting; though carbonation of lime is still the principal mech­

anism of binding, the use of large plaster patches, inclusion of additional

organic binding media, and incorporation of pigments unsuitable fo r appli­

cation in alkaline conditions preclude describing the technique as fr esco.

Investigation of the painting technique was undertaken as part of a compre­

hensive five-year study, fu nded by the Leverhulme Trust, of English medieval

wall painting techniques and in conjunction with a conservation campaign

in the chapel undertaken by the Courtauld Institute of Art and sponsored by

the Skaggs Foundation (2).

The paintings

The most striking area of late twelfth-century painting is on the east wall of

the Chapel, comprising a Deposition in the upper register and, below the

dividing geometric border, an Entombment with the Maries at the Sepulchre and

the Harrowing of Hell. Uncovered when the overlying thirteenth-century

scheme was detached in the 1960s, the painting has escaped the ravages of

multifarious conservation treatments to which it would almost certainly have

been subjected had it been exposed earlier. The surface was severely keyed

in preparation fo r the thirteenth-century plaster, but despite these numerous

damages the superb quality of the painting is evident (Fig. 1 and Plate 19).

Traces of the Romanesque scheme survive elsewhere, as on the south wall

above the western recess where a Resurrection of the Dead with an angel blow­

ing the last trumpet is positioned on either side. Originally situated in the

corresponding position above the eastern recess, but now transferred to the

north wall of the chapel, is a striking mitered head and a sinopia fo r three

scenes set under architectural canopies. To date, this sinopia is a unique find

in the context of English medieval wall painting, and provides important

evidence fo r the technique of the Romanesque scheme.

Extensive remodeling of the chapel in the early thirteenth century, including

the insertion of a rib vault, destroyed large portions of the Romanesque

scheme and necessitated a complete redecoration. The resulting scheme is

also of exceptionally high quality, but has been marred by a series of invasive

conservation treatments. The painting originally decorating the east wall (and

Howard 91