This handsome, lavishly illustrated, three-volume boxed set is the culmination of research by an international team of art historians and scientists.
Painted altar frontals from the Middle Ages are rare. Thirty-one painted altar frontals, tentatively dated on stylistic criteria to the period 1250-1350 and originating from parish churches in Norway, are still preserved - mainly in the museums of Bergen and Oslo. The frontals, the largest group of medieval panel paintings in northern Europe of the period before 1350, were apparently painted in Norway following contemporary practice in other European countries. The models appear to have been mainly English, with iconography and style following other general contemporary developments in France and Germany.
This multi-volume book is an exhaustive survey, covering both art history and technology. It is an important source for everyone interested in Northern medieval painting. The first volume is the co-operative work of three authors, E.B. Hohler, N.J. Morgan and A. Wichstrom. It presents the history, style and iconography of the paintings and discusses their art historical and liturgical significance in a European context. The second, written by U. Plahter with contributions from B. Kaland, K. von Salis, S. Stos and R. White, presents the carpentry and the painting techniques, with analyses of the materials, their composition and their origin. The thorough studies of these paintings in Norway have established new facts about European medieval oil painting in general and are presented here for the first time in their complete context. The third volume, compiled by U. Plahter, contains the illustrations.
This study of the iconographical, stylistic and technical aspects of these panels is a major contribution to the study of early European painting.
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Volume 1: Artists, Style and Iconography
Introduction
Nigel J. Morgan
Norwegian altar frontals in a European context: form and function
Nigel J. Morgan
Research history
Erla B. Hohler
Dating, styles and groupings
Nigel J. Morgan
Iconography
Nigel J. Morgan
The frontals in their contemporary society
Erla B. Hohler
General description of the panels
Anne Wichstrøm and Erla B. Hohler
The catalogue
Bø Church
Dale I
Dale II
Eid Church
Hamre Church
Hauge Church
Heddal ('Hiterdal') Church
Kaupanger Church
Kinsarvik Church
Kvæfjord Church
Möðruvellir Church
Nedstryn Church
Nes I
Odda Church
Røldal Church
Samnanger
Skaun
Tingelstad I
Tingelstad II
Tingelstad III
Tjugum Church
Tresfjord Church
Trondheim
Ulvik Church
Vanylven Church
Volbu Church
Øye Church
Årdal I
Årdal II
Årdal III
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
Volume 2: Materials and Technique
Part I: Support: materials and construction
Materials: boards; frames; cross-battens • Construction: frame and cross battens • Pegs, treenails and iron nails • Joining methods • Summary: construction; species of wood; typical features of earlier versus later panels
Part II: Paint: materials and technique
Ground • Pictorial layers • Pigments • Binding media • Varnish • Ornaments in silver and gold leaf • Painting technique; colours and pigments; composition and range of colours • Layered structures • Pictorial elements and their colour: flesh; face and hair
Part III: Analyses: colouring materials and binding media
The palette • Methods of analysis • Colouring materials, their use, characteristics and identification • Chalk analyses ( by Unn Plather and Katharina von Salis) • Lead isotop analyses of lead-based pigments(by Sophie Stos) • Binding media( by Unn Plather and Raymond White)
Part IV: Discussion
General remarks • Support and preparation layers • General and particular features • The carpenter and the painter • Painting materials and technique • Imported or local features • Comparisons with related material: colouring materials and typical trends in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries • Norwegian works of art • Spanish frontals • Frontals and tabernacles • Style, technique and workshop relationships
Part V: The catalogue
See contents listing, Volume 1
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
Volume 3: Illustrations and Drawings
The third volume presents the colour plates and diagrams of panel structures as well as the incised and painted designs.
Reviews
Throughout, a minute attention to detail and an intimate understanding of the Norwegian and wider European contexts make this publication a milestone in the study both of medieval Norwegian art and of the early development of European altar paintings.
The Burlington Magazine 147(1233) (December 2005) 827-828
