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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

From: Dr Jim Bugslag <[log in to unmask]>

> I'm far from being knowledgeable about it, but there are ways of knowing 
how old the painting is.  There are now all sorts of high-tech ways of 
analysing the content of paint, which can determine chemically when the 
paint may have been applied, and both restorers and polychromy experts 
can take micro-cross-sections of the paint, in order to ascertain 
layers: many portals have been repainted many times since the Middle 
Ages, sometimes renewing original schemes, sometimes changing the 
colouring rather dramatically.  


ah, Mother Science.

whatever would we do without Her Omnicient Hand?

have to resort to using our eyes, i suppose.

>In this case, based on just eye-balling the photograph, I'd say there is a
chance that all the black-and-white painting in the spandrels above the portal
is likely to be early modern.  


well, anything can be chancy, but some things are more chancy than others.

if you can show me *any* examples of "early modern" rinceaux --or beasties--
that look anything like those ones, i'll begin to believe that the Shroud of
Turin is a late 13th painting, just because Momma Science tells me so.

>As for the "wyverns" (or whatever), it is still debatable, in 
my view, just how to characterize them in terms of "symbolism"; they 
might equally have been considered appropriate decorative elaborations.

yep, just put there to look pretty, "pure" decoration.

and to stimulate discussions between otherwise bored 21th c. "experts."

c

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