medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Something we had to think about when we were redecorating St Teilo's Church at our National History Museum - would it ever have been that pristine all over? Would not some of the decoration have begun to look faded by the time later elements were completed? Paul Barnwell wanted to take a bucket of soot to some of the St Teilo's paintings to make them look more authentic.
Maddy
Madeleine Gray PhD, FRHistS, FSA
Professor of Ecclesiastical History/Athro Hanes Eglwysig
School of Humanities and Social Sciences /Ysgol Ddyniaethau a Gwyddoniaethau Cymdeithasol
University of South Wales/Prifysgol De Cymru
Caerleon Campus/Campws Caerllion,
Newport/Casnewydd NP18 3QT Tel: +44 (0)1633.432675
http://www.southwales.ac.uk
http://twitter.com/penrhyspilgrim
http://twitter.com/HeritageUSW
http://twitter.com/USWHistory
'Let the victors, when they come, When the forts of folly fall, Find thy body by the wall!'
________________________________________
From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of James Bugslag [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2014 7:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] What is happening at Chartres?
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The newspaper report that Paul provided a link to is not particularly well informed. Although, inevitably, the restoration of the cathedral's original polychromy has received mixed reviews, it is not, as the article suggests, a modern reno job. Careful analysis has reveal several layers of painted plaster, and what has been restored is the oldest layer, dating from the early 13th century, consisting of faux masonry in a light ochre colour, with white joints; shafts and window surrounds are white, as well. As one of the photos in the newspaper article shows, there have also been uncovered traces of later medieval paint on various piers, which accompanied the images and altars that proliferated in the cathedral before they were all cleared out in the mid-17th century. The refurbished vault bosses in the choir have been dated, on heraldic grounds, to the mid-13th century, and attempts have been made to relate them to the consecration of the cathedral in 1260. Even more intriguing, in the blind tracery in the western bay of the nave, the oculi, which correspond to those in the clerestory windows, were found to have been painted with figural subjects, including Elders of the Apocalypse, emulating the effect of stained glass; the figure style seems to indicate an early 13th-century date. Together with the campaign of cleaning the stained glass in the windows, this new polychromy effect does indeed change the interior appearance of the cathedral, and it certainly sets off the stained glass far more effectively. It is, indeed, perhaps unfortunate, that the lower walls of the choir were also restored to their polychromy, which dates from a Philistine "classicization" of the choir by the cathedral canons in the mid-18th century; it would have been wonderful if they could have simply removed the faux marble and classical details to get back to the original 13th-century piers and the detailing of the early 16th-century choir screen, but I guess that was either not possible or deemed impracticable.
Perhaps even more surprising than the interior effect, evidence for original polychromy has also been found on the exterior walls around the clerestory windows, not to mention traces on the sculptures of the transept portals. For afficionados of the former gloom, it should be noted that most of that followed on from the installation of a very inefficient heating system in the cathedral in the late 19th century. One exception is the bay surrounding Notre-Dame du Pilier, the darkening of which was exacerbated by the many candles which used to be lit around this early 16th-century cult statue, which is now, after the destruction of the much older "black Virgin" at Chartres, Notre-Dame de Sous-Terre, along with the cathedral's relics, at the French Revolution, the principal devotional focus within the church (one unfortunate consequence of the restoration is that the lighting of candles to this image has now been displaced to an adjoining bay of the transept). The silly nonsense spouted in the newspaper article about this well-documented polychromed wood statue takes no cognizance of the now-recognized fact that many such images of the Virgin and Child were intentionally blackened during the 18th and 19th centuries, and Notre-Dame du Pilier is certainly not alone in having had the shoe-polish removed.
In any case, for better or worse, the re-establishing of the cathedral's polychromy and the cleaning of its stained glass is now in its final phase, with scaffolding up in the nave and work progressing on the vaults, upper walls and clerestory. The east end and transepts, and the west bay of the nave have all been finished, and I, for one, think they look glorious.
For those wishing to follow up the interior polychromy of the cathedral, I would suggest:
Jürgen Michler, 'La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres: reconstitution de la polychromie originale de l'intérieur', Bulletin monumental, 147 (1989), 117-31 (a pioneering study);
several articles in the Bulletin monumental, 169-1 (2011);
there are also some good chapters on various phases of the cathedral's restoration in the recent collective book entitled Chartres. La Grace d'une cathedrale (Strasbourg, 2013)
Cheers,
Jim
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From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of George FERZOCO [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: December 15, 2014 5:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] What is happening at Chartres?
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture The debate is an important and fascinating one, Paul; thank you for bringing this to our (well, MY) attention. There are many issues at stake here, but the main one appears to be the extent to which we need to preserve the monument as WE have been used to it, rather than restore it to what likely was its original appearance. Perhaps with the new paint there will be new, more sympathetic lighting, making the new paint less glaring.
I’ve witnessed examples of the opposite extreme, in which important medieval churches have had everything they had accumulated over the centuries stripped down to the level of the stone: the ultimate in cultural barbarism.
Best to all, George
--
George FERZOCO
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
On 15 Dec 2014, at 00:13, Paul Chandler <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Apparently the cathedral at Chartres is getting an interior paint job:
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/dec/14/scandalous-makeover-chartres/
--
Paul Chandler, O.Carm.
Holy Spirit Seminary | PO Box 18 (487 Earnshaw Road) | Banyo Qld 4014 | Australia
office: (07) 3246 9888 | home: (07) 3246 9894
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