thus preserved from the effects of light, and other sources of injury. This covering of whitewash we removed bit by bit with the greatest caution and deliberation in the winter of 1872, when the existence of these long forgotten paintings first came to light.[1]
The paintings are executed on a single coat of stucco laid on the rubble wall, which is so rough and uneven inside that it cannot ever have been intended to be left bare; and I think there can be but little doubt that both the stucco and the pictures are contemporary with the building itself, i.e., somewhere near the year 1100 A.D.
With regard to the technical process by which these paintings were executed. I am convinced that they are not true Frescoes: that is, that they were not painted on the wet stucco with purely earthy Pigments and a lime medium: one reason being that the colour is little more than superficial, and has not sunk into and become incorporated with the stucco, as is the case with true Fresco. Another is the absence of "Fresco edges" as they are called, that is, the scarcely perceptible line that separates the patch of stucco laid one day from that of the next day; for, as it was necessary that the colours should be applied to perfectly wet and unset stucco, it was of course needful that no more should be applied to the wall than the artist could cover with one day's work, or in some cases even less. This being the case, then, that the paintings were executed on the finished and dry surface of the plaster, there remains no doubt that they are in some form of tempera, probably with a medium of egg and vinegar, or perhaps simply size. This latter process is sometimes wrongly called fresco, even by the Italians themselves, who distinguish it by calling it "Fresea secco," and the true Fresco, "Fresco buono;" but it is better to use the word in its true meaning as implying painting on wet or "fresh" plaster.
In the centre of the vault is a figure of Christ in Majesty, more than life size, seated upon a rainbow, and enclosed in a frame of glory; a cruciform nimbus surrounds his head, and resting on the left knee is a book or tablet, with the letters IHC XPC, for Iēsous Christos. The feet are towards the east, and below them, just outside the frame, is a large circle much injured by the crack in the vault. This circle represents the earth made Our Lord's footstool. On each side of this figure is the figure of a seraph, nimbed, with six wings, and bearing a scroll. On either side of the figure of Christ the symbols of the Evangelists are represented—the bull and the eagle on the south side, and the lion on the north side, all holding books. The fourth beast is very indistinct, and is too much injured to be made out. Over the head of Christ are painted the sun and moon—the sun being a yellow roundel surrounded with white rays, and the moon a blue crescent with a small circle inside it. At the sides of these great lights are the
- ↑ The discovery of the paintings was brought about through the thorough examination of the walling previous to the proposed restoration of the church, which Earl Beauchamp, the patron of the living, had determined to commence. Mr. Middleton, the Architect engaged for that purpose, on discovering the existence of the paintings, strongly advised that the restoration should not be gone on with, but that the church should he shored up, the whitewash carefully removed, and the surface of the stucco covered with a solution of water glass to preserve the colouring.—Eds. M.N.
