Westminster Retable
Encyclopedia
The Westminster Retable, the oldest known panel painting
altarpiece
in England, is estimated to have been painted in the 1270s in the circle of Plantagenet court painters, for Westminster Abbey
, very probably for the high altar. It is thought to have been donated by Henry III of England
as part of his Gothic redesign of the Abbey. The painting survived only because it was incorporated into furniture between the 16th and 19th centuries, and much of it has been damaged beyond restoration. According to one specialist, the "Westminster Retable, for all its wounded condition, is the finest panel painting of its time in Western Europe."
In 1998 the Hamilton Kerr Institute
in Cambridge, with support from the Getty Foundation
and the Heritage Lottery Fund
, began a six-year project to clean and conserve what remained of the work. Upon completion, it was displayed at the National Gallery, London
for four months in 2005 before being returned to Westminster Abbey, where it is on display in the museum.
panels using thin glazes of colour in linseed oil
on a gesso
ed ground. The construction is complex, with six main flat panels, and several other wooden elements. The retable is divided into five sections by gilded wooden arcading, with elaborate glass inlays, inset semi-precious stones and paste gemstones, to imitate the lavish goldsmith's metalwork found on some surviving retables and shrines on the Continent, and the now destroyed Shrine of Edward the Confessor
installed in the Abbey in 1269.
The composition has a central section with three tall narrow openings defined by tracery containing full-length figures of Christ
holding a globe as Salvator Mundi
, flanked by the Virgin Mary holding a palm, and St John the Evangelist. To the sides are two sections each with four small medallions containing depictions of the Miracles of Christ, those to the right missing completely and those to the left showing the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the healing of the blind man, the feeding of the 5,000 and another subject, too defaced to identify. The outermost sections contained single figures, to the left St Peter, dedicatee of the Abbey and the best preserved single figure, with the figure to the right now missing completely; according to George Vertue
this was St. Paul. These sidemost panels were evidently added when most of the retable had been completed, and are of German rather than local Thames Valley
oak, and the grain runs vertically, rather than horizontally as on the four panels making up the central three sections. The back of the retable, which would have been invisible, is painted as imitation porphyry
. Much of the retable is lost beyond recovery.
The painting is of very high quality, probably by an artist used to working on illuminated manuscript
s, to judge by the fine detail of the work, and some stylistic details. In its position on the high altar the detailed images would only have been clearly visible to officiating clergy, and no concessions were made to more popular taste. The tiny globe held by Christ is painted with four registers of scenes showing animals, trees, and a man in a boat.
at the English Reformation
, the retable panel was made into the lid of a chest, with the main painted side facing down. The chest was used to store wax funeral effigies of English monarchs, and the painting was not rediscovered until 1725, when it was drawn by Vertue (British Library
). In 1778 serious damage was caused when the chest was modified into a cupboard or display case to show the funeral effigy of Pitt the Elder. Not until 1827, when the Retable was seen by the architect Edward Blore
, then Surveyor of the Abbey, published in The Gentleman's Magazine
and removed from the chest and set in a glazed frame, was it regarded as anything other than a curiosity by the Abbey. Since its rediscovery, the piece has been further damaged by attempted restoration efforts, which included a coating of glue intended to hold together painted layers. Watercolours of the Retable were made for the Society of Antiquaries of London
; a conjectural restoration was included in Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français and plates accompanied William Burges
's essays on painted objects at Westminster Abbey.
It is currently housed in a glass frame to protect it from further deterioration and shown in the Westminster Abbey Museum, along with Pitt and the other wax effigies.
Panel painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
in England, is estimated to have been painted in the 1270s in the circle of Plantagenet court painters, for Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, very probably for the high altar. It is thought to have been donated by Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
as part of his Gothic redesign of the Abbey. The painting survived only because it was incorporated into furniture between the 16th and 19th centuries, and much of it has been damaged beyond restoration. According to one specialist, the "Westminster Retable, for all its wounded condition, is the finest panel painting of its time in Western Europe."
In 1998 the Hamilton Kerr Institute
Hamilton Kerr Institute
The Hamilton Kerr Institute is a branch of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridgeshire, England. It is also part of the University of Cambridge.- Facilities and logistics :...
in Cambridge, with support from the Getty Foundation
Getty Foundation
The Getty Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California, at the Getty Center, awards grants for "the understanding and preservation of the visual arts". In the past, it funded the Getty Leadership Institute for "current and future museum leaders", which is now at Claremont Graduate University. Its...
and the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, began a six-year project to clean and conserve what remained of the work. Upon completion, it was displayed at the National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
for four months in 2005 before being returned to Westminster Abbey, where it is on display in the museum.
Description
The retable measures 959 x 3330 mm (approximately 3 feet by 11 feet) and is painted on several joined oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
panels using thin glazes of colour in linseed oil
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
on a gesso
Gesso
Gesso is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these...
ed ground. The construction is complex, with six main flat panels, and several other wooden elements. The retable is divided into five sections by gilded wooden arcading, with elaborate glass inlays, inset semi-precious stones and paste gemstones, to imitate the lavish goldsmith's metalwork found on some surviving retables and shrines on the Continent, and the now destroyed Shrine of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
installed in the Abbey in 1269.
The composition has a central section with three tall narrow openings defined by tracery containing full-length figures of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
holding a globe as Salvator Mundi
Salvator Mundi
Salvator Mundi, or Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an orb surmounted by a cross, known as a globus cruciger...
, flanked by the Virgin Mary holding a palm, and St John the Evangelist. To the sides are two sections each with four small medallions containing depictions of the Miracles of Christ, those to the right missing completely and those to the left showing the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the healing of the blind man, the feeding of the 5,000 and another subject, too defaced to identify. The outermost sections contained single figures, to the left St Peter, dedicatee of the Abbey and the best preserved single figure, with the figure to the right now missing completely; according to George Vertue
George Vertue
George Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.-Life:...
this was St. Paul. These sidemost panels were evidently added when most of the retable had been completed, and are of German rather than local Thames Valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
oak, and the grain runs vertically, rather than horizontally as on the four panels making up the central three sections. The back of the retable, which would have been invisible, is painted as imitation porphyry
Porphyry (geology)
Porphyry is a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals, such as feldspar or quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained feldspathic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts...
. Much of the retable is lost beyond recovery.
The painting is of very high quality, probably by an artist used to working on illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s, to judge by the fine detail of the work, and some stylistic details. In its position on the high altar the detailed images would only have been clearly visible to officiating clergy, and no concessions were made to more popular taste. The tiny globe held by Christ is painted with four registers of scenes showing animals, trees, and a man in a boat.
History
After the Dissolution of the monasteriesDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
at the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the retable panel was made into the lid of a chest, with the main painted side facing down. The chest was used to store wax funeral effigies of English monarchs, and the painting was not rediscovered until 1725, when it was drawn by Vertue (British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
). In 1778 serious damage was caused when the chest was modified into a cupboard or display case to show the funeral effigy of Pitt the Elder. Not until 1827, when the Retable was seen by the architect Edward Blore
Edward Blore
Edward Blore was a 19th century British landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland ....
, then Surveyor of the Abbey, published in The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
and removed from the chest and set in a glazed frame, was it regarded as anything other than a curiosity by the Abbey. Since its rediscovery, the piece has been further damaged by attempted restoration efforts, which included a coating of glue intended to hold together painted layers. Watercolours of the Retable were made for the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
; a conjectural restoration was included in Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français and plates accompanied William Burges
William Burges
William Burges may refer to:* William Burges * William Burges...
's essays on painted objects at Westminster Abbey.
It is currently housed in a glass frame to protect it from further deterioration and shown in the Westminster Abbey Museum, along with Pitt and the other wax effigies.
Further reading
- Binski, Paul ; Ann Massing (eds); The Westminster Retable: History, Technique, Conservation, Turnhout: Harvey Miller, 2008, ISBN 9781905375288
- Macek, Pearson Marvin. 'The discoveries of the Westminster Retable, 'Archaeologia, 109 (1991), 101-11. Publisher: Society of Antiquaries of London. ISSN 02613409 (and his unpublished thesis at Michigan Univ, Ann Arbor, 1986)