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Roger Rosewell.
Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches.

Publisher: Boydell Press.
Publication due: March 2011.
Size: 24.4 x 17.2.
Page count: 380pp.
Illustrated.

Publisher's recommended price
Paperback ISBN 9781843834847, £19.99
Hardback (published 2008) ISBN 9781843833680, £39.99

Description:

Wall paintings are a unique art form, complementing, and yet distinctly separate from, other religious imagery in churches. Unlike carvings, or stained glass windows, their support was the structure itself, with the artist's `canvas' the very stone and plaster of the church. They were also monumental, often larger than life-size images for public audiences. Notwithstanding their dissimilarity from other religious art, wall paintings were also an integral part of church interiors, enhancing devotional imagery and inspiring faith and commitment in their own right, and providing an artistic setting for the church's sacred rituals and public ceremonies.

This book brings together, often for the first time, many of the very best surviving examples of medieval church wall paintings. Using new technologies and many previously untried techniques, it allows us to visualize these images as the artists originally intended. The plates are accompanied by an authoritative and scholarly text, bringing the imagery and iconography of the medieval church vividly to life.

Contents:
1 Introduction
2 A History of Wall Paintings
3 The Subjects
4 Patrons and Painters
5 Making Wall Paintings
6 Meaning and Understanding
7 Reformation and Rescue
8 Gazetteer
9 Subject Guide
10 Select Bibliography.