Color and Devotion in the Late Middle Ages: A Scientific and Technical Study of the Wall Paintings in the Hermitage of Sant Roc de Ternils (Carcaixent).

Abstract

This paper presents a scientific and technical study of the Gothic mural paintings of the Last Supper preserved in the hermitage of Sant Roc de Ternils (Carcaixent, Valencia), one of the few surviving examples of rural Valencian mural painting from the Late Middle Ages. The research provides the first comprehensive material, technical, and chronological characterization of the ensemble through an interdisciplinary methodology combining art-historical analysis, optical microscopy, FESEM-EDX, and radiocarbon dating (¹⁴C).

The principal contribution of this study lies in the integration of material and contextual evidence to reconstruct painting procedures, identify the pictorial palette, and refine the chronology of the ensemble, making it possible, for the first time, to distinguish which pigments and techniques belong to the original execution and which result from later degradation processes or subsequent interventions. The results demonstrate the predominant use of a mixed technique on lime mortar, combining extensive al secco applications over partially carbonated plasters, together with a palette composed of natural earth pigments, vermilion, carbon black, lead white, and traces of indigotin, revealing a chromatically more complex rural production than traditionally assumed. Radiocarbon dating places the execution of the paintings between the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (1277–1392 AD), reinforcing their attribution to the early development of Valencian Gothic mural painting.

Contrary to the historiographical perception of Valencian Gothic mural painting as austere or chromatically limited, this study demonstrates that colour played an essential role in rural contexts in constructing theological meanings, visual hierarchies, and religious emotions. The iconographic programme integrates Eucharistic references, local devotions (Saints Abdón and Senén), and a heraldic background composed of red bars over a golden field, demonstrating that colour functioned as a vehicle of territorial identity and visual prestige even in non-elite contexts. The integration of technical, material, and iconographic data allows the ensemble to be reinterpreted not only as evidence of local devotional practices, but also as proof of the technical and visual sophistication of medieval Valencian mural culture, contributing to a reassessment of established knowledge concerning this heritage.