Paint and Culture in Medieval England: a study of medieval English art and culture using archives of paint samples.

中世纪英国的绘画与文化：利用绘画样本档案对中世纪英国艺术和文化进行研究。

• 批准号: 2593231
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2593231
• 关键词: Paint; Culture; Medieval; England; study

This research aims to explore how the study of English medieval art through the medium of paint samples can contribute to a wider understanding of culture and society in medieval Britain. Combining the complementary perspectives of technical inquiries and the research communities at Oxford and Cambridge, it explores how previously-collected technical data can be harnessed to answer existing, and generate new, questions. It represents a step towards my longer-term goal of raising the profile of vulnerable medieval art and encouraging its preservation. The research draws on the archive of over 7000 paint samples, including samples from independent conservators' archives, housed at the Hamilton Kerr Institute (HKI, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge). The HKI is a centre of excellence in the conservation and technical study of medieval painting. Its sample collections include material from panel and wall paintings and polychrome sculpture from across the country, throughout the medieval period. The study of cross-sections of paint yields information on the pigments and layer structures of paintings and informs conservation treatments. Studies combining technical analysis with historical research have shown how extraordinary insights into medieval painting arise. For example, certain materials or techniques can characterise the work of individual painters or workshops or support evidence for foreign craftsmen working in England. The choice of pigments can reflect global and local patterns of trade and particular geographical locations, their natural resources and relative prosperities. Such data may also be used to interrogate long-held assumptions about the quality and quantities of locally-produced versus imported art across a region. Medieval artisans commonly operated in multiple media, but technical studies often focus on one genre or medium, such as panel painting. This reflects modern specialisms of conservators and academics within their own fields of work, and obscures crucial aspects of medieval craft practice such as knowledge transfer. In addition to bridging disciplines such as conservation, art history, geography and social history, this research will help develop and sustain relationships with the communities in which the artworks (such as those in parish churches) are rooted, thereby involving wider audiences. Possible themes for exploration include medieval trade, immigrant communities, organisation of craft labour, artistic patronage, and urban and rural contexts. Given the diversity of the sample set, theoretical frameworks in the history of art and related disciplines will be essential for guiding the use of the material evidence to address such themes. These frameworks might incorporate, for example, discussions around the tangible, intangible and immaterial aspects of an object's place within a community. There is potential to focus on artworks from a specific geographical region in England, which would complement previous research on medieval painting in East Anglia, particularly rood screens. Research and physical viewing of artworks, along with the written records of where, when and why the paint was sampled will be essential to contextualise the samples. Documentary sources including conservation records, antiquarian literature, wills and churchwarden accounts will be consulted regarding the conception and history of individual artworks. The HKI also holds samples from European medieval paintings, which will provide valuable technical comparisons. Demonstrating the potential of these samples to answer cultural questions opens opportunities to display the significance of surviving English medieval painting on national and global stages. In uniting the study of paintings in different media, it also answers pleas for greater communication between academic and conservation specialisms, with implications for more integrated and sustainable conservation practice.

本研究旨在探讨如何通过绘画样本对英国中世纪艺术的研究有助于更广泛地了解中世纪英国的文化和社会。结合牛津和剑桥的技术调查和研究社区的互补视角，它探索了如何利用以前收集的技术数据来回答现有的问题和产生新的问题。它代表着我朝着提高脆弱的中世纪艺术的知名度并鼓励保护它的长期目标迈出了一步。这项研究利用了汉密尔顿·科尔研究所(HKI，剑桥大学菲茨威廉博物馆)保存的7000多个油漆样本，其中包括来自独立保护人员档案馆的样本。香港理工大学是中世纪绘画保护和技术研究的卓越中心。它的样品收藏包括来自整个中世纪时期全国各地的板画和壁画以及多彩雕塑的材料。对油漆横截面的研究提供了有关油漆的颜料和层结构的信息，并为保护处理提供了信息。结合技术分析和历史研究的研究表明，对中世纪绘画的非凡洞察力是如何产生的。例如，某些材料或技术可以表征个别画家或作坊的工作，或者支持在英国工作的外国工匠的证据。颜料的选择可以反映全球和当地的贸易模式和特定的地理位置、其自然资源和相对繁荣。这样的数据也可能被用来询问长期持有的关于一个地区本地生产的艺术品与进口艺术品的质量和数量的假设。中世纪的工匠通常在多种媒介上操作，但技术研究往往集中在一种流派或媒介上，如板画。这反映了文物保护者和学者在自己的工作领域内的现代专长，并掩盖了中世纪手工艺实践的关键方面，如知识转让。除了在保护、艺术史、地理学和社会史等学科之间架起桥梁外，这项研究还将有助于发展和维持与艺术品扎根的社区(如教区教堂的艺术品)的关系，从而涉及更广泛的受众。可能的探索主题包括中世纪贸易、移民社区、手工艺劳动组织、艺术赞助以及城市和农村背景。鉴于样本集的多样性，艺术史和相关学科中的理论框架将是指导使用材料证据来解决这些主题的关键。例如，这些框架可能包含关于对象在社区中的位置的有形、无形和非物质方面的讨论。有可能把重点放在英格兰某个特定地理区域的艺术品上，这将补充之前对东安格利亚中世纪绘画的研究，特别是路屏。对艺术品的研究和实物观看，以及关于油漆在哪里、何时和为什么取样的书面记录，将是将样品联系起来的关键。关于个别艺术品的概念和历史，将咨询文献来源，包括保护记录、古董文献、遗嘱和教堂典狱长的描述。HKI还收藏了欧洲中世纪绘画的样本，这些样本将提供有价值的技术比较。展示这些样本回答文化问题的潜力，为在国家和全球舞台上展示幸存的英国中世纪绘画的意义打开了机会。通过将不同媒体上的绘画研究统一起来，它还回应了学术界和保护专业之间加强沟通的呼吁，并对更综合和可持续的保护实践产生了影响。