Fragments of colour: Challenges and Opportunities in the Study of Romanesque Mural Painting

Abstract

This article addresses the challenges posed by the study of colour in Romanesque mural painting from the perspective of the fragment. This concept is understood as a methodological tool for breaking the chromatic range down into its units to analyse them separately. To this end, the study begins with a specific case, the Romanesque paintings of Sant Quirze de Pedret, which are examined through two complementary approaches: on the one hand, the colorimetric analysis of the backgrounds; on the other, the study of pseudoverdaccio in the construction of the flesh tones, drawing on medieval technical treatises. The results show that breaking the painted surface down into its units of colour and artistic practice reveals aspects of the techniques used by medieval painters that examination of the work tends to blur. Green takes centre stage: both approaches revolve around the structural function it plays in the construction of Romanesque chromatism, perceptible in the pictorial skin of both the backgrounds and the flesh tones. In sum, it is suggested that the concept of the fragment, far from being limited to its material condition, can serve as a productive analytical starting point.