Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Abstract
It is rare for ancient external paint
to survive the English climate, particularly
in the original location of
the paint. It is vital that evidence of
color be documented, and studied
current recognition of this need has
created opportunities to survey
the fabric of important historic
buildings for evidence of paint.
Analysis of paint fragments fo und on
the richly sculpted west front of Exeter
Cathedral has revealed evidence
of a magnificent polychromy on
both architecture and sculpture, giving
vital information on fourteenthand
fifteenth-century materials and
techniques. A similar investigation on
the west front of Salisbury Cathedral
has just commenced. An initial look
at surviving evidence of polychromy
enables some comparisons to be
made, in addition to other relevant
examples.
The Polychromy of Exeter and Salisbury Cathedrals:
A Preliminary Comparison
Eddie Sinclair
10 Park Street
Crediton
Devon EX17 3EQ
United Kingdom
Introduction
There has been in recent years an increasing awareness of the historic importance
and vital role of color in medieval architecture, as there is at last
recognition that our ancient buildings, and not just the artifacts within them,
were painted as an integral part of their overall design.
The Reformation in England in the sixteenth century resulted in the destruction
or obliteration of much polychromy. Where any evidence of color still
exists it is frequently only fragmentary, but those fragments retain much valuable
information.
Conservation work on the west-front image screen of Exeter Cathedral carried
out from 1979 to 1984 revealed much evidence of a rich polychromy
in the form of paint fragments surviving in the most sheltered corners of
both architecture and sculpture. Although the study of this polychromy is
discussed in detail elsewhere, the establishment of a large archive of paint
samples has created an invaluable resource that can be used with other emerging
fragmentary evidence (1, 2). As well as providing useful reference material,
these samples contain much information not yet explored that future similar
proj ects may yet discover (3) .
The work on the Exeter polychromy, while not the first English cathedral to
receive such attention, was on an unprecedented scale (4). As conservation
work is carried out on more cathedrals and other important buildings in
England, investigations into the color become a vital element of the work
undertaken. Similar investigations in other European countries have provided
a wealth of detailed information, summarized by Rossi-Manaresi and more
recently by Brodrick (5, 6). Each cathedral adds its own invaluable evidence
to the complex picture of materials, techniques, and workshop practice of
medieval times.
With conservation work due to commence on the west front of Salisbury
Cathedral in winter 1994, an inspection fo r polychromy was requested. A
preliminary investigation with access to only part of the facade has shown
evidence of color. Some analysis has been carried out to date, with further
work anticipated in 1995.
Exeter Cathedral west front
Figure 1. Exeter Cathedral, west front,
showing image screen. Photograph courtesy of
the Cathedral of St. Peter in Exeter.
The west-front image screen of Exeter Cathedral dates from the fourteenthand
fifteenth-centuries, although much of the crenellated parapet and some
portions of the architectural elements, along with six sculptures and the heads
of four others, have been replaced over the years (Fig. 1). Most of the fabric
is built from Beer stone, a local compact, close-grained limestone.
Much vital information on the materials and techniques of the medieval
period are provided in the Exeter Cathedral fabric accounts for the period
1279-1353 (7, 8). Although the fabric accounts are missing for most of the
period during which the west front was being constructed and decorated,
they provide a wealth of information relating to the polychromed bosses of
the high vault which, combined with an examination of the fabric discussed,
Sinclair 105