Restoration of the Wheel of Fortune
We are grateful to David Perry, of The Perry Lithgow Partnership, both for his excellent restorations of this important painting, and for this article. Featured in The Friends of Rochester Cathedral Annual Report for 1993-1994.
This magnificent example of mid-thirteenth century English wall painting, is without doubt one of the great extant treasures of that period and its survival a fortuitous blessing.
Discovered in 1835 when the pulpit was removed, it shows clearly that all the painting would have been destroyed had not the pulpit been in that position, saving about 60 per cent of the plaster.
The Wheel of Fortune and related subjects to do with pride, were customarily painted above the Abbot's seat for obvious reasons and that 'his monks might ever have before them the spectacle of human vicissitudes' (Emile Mále). The rarity of this subject in English wall painting adds greatly to its historical importance and in its present condition, is close to the original concept of the artist.
English medieval paintings are too often thought of, rather romantically, as dingy atmospheric fragments of the past but, as can now be seen here, they can be as vibrant in colour and as artistically skilful as any in Europe. If we are to consider the didactic element in terms of appreciation of our art, an important reason for preserving paintings, we must show them to their best advantage.
The Conservation Treatment
The work was started on 19 April 1993 and completed nine weeks later. After extensive analysis of the pigments and medium was carried out by Jo Darrah of the V&A Museum, a detailed pre-conservation photographic record was completed.
Condition Prior to Conservation
Although the painting was in a reasonably stable condition, some physical damage had occurred to the lower section due to abrasion and the effects of rising damp.
Further damage, in the form of screw holes to attach plaques was caused, unbelievably, during this century. A coating of wax as a 'preservative' was also applied during this time.
During the Reformation, presumably, the painting was covered with lime wash and painted with a linear decorative scheme - much of which was removed when the painting was discovered in 1835. At that point some of the painting would have been visible through channels in the lime wash eroded by rain water running down the wall. Attempts to further remove the lime wash were fortunately abandoned due to the difficulty of the task, but some damage did occur during the process.
Conservation Treatment
The pigment analysis revealed the probability of a form of varnish on the oil bound pigments (a very early use of this medium) and a delicate substructure on the crown and medallion on the figure of Fortune where tin foil had been applied. The wax coating, darkened through dirt absorption had to therefore be removed extremely carefully using turps substitute applied with cotton wool swabs. When this process was completed the overpainted lime wash presented the next problem.
Easily soluble in water, this method could not however be used as the moisture permeated and destabilised the gesso-like ground of the painting. It was decided to remove the lime wash dry by paring it down to avoid any loss of the underlying varnish. This proved to be extremely exacting and only approximately 20 square inches could be cleaned in a day's work, but revealing once more the almost perfect original colour was most rewarding. The rosettes which cover both the green and red backgrounds were probably once gilded and further complicated this process as their colour closely resembled that of the lime wash.
The cement pointing of the stonework around the painting was removed and damaged areas within the painting were replaced with a sympathetic lime mortar.
The tiny areas of pigment loss were toned down using raw umber powdered colour mixed with water, but no other colour or medium was used thereby preserving the integrity of the painting.
The painted shield on the upper east side of the painting has an incised trefoil ended cross as its emblem and probably represented the arms of the donor.
Although it is clearly painted over the green background, its pigment and medium are similar to that of the painting which would suggest that it was added shortly after completion.
Pigments
Nine pigments have been identified in Jo Darrah's analysis. These include Vermillion, Red Lead, Brown Ochre, Purple-Brown Ochre, Lead White, Chalk, Orpiment, Pastel and Bone Black.
Finally, I hope that my work has contributed towards a better general understanding of English medieval art, this wonderful painting in particular and helped to maintain the fund of exemplary work of art in the Cathedral.
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral were founded to help finance the maintenance of the fabric and grounds. The Friends’ annual reports have become a trove of articles on the fabric and history of the cathedral.
Keeping the Cathedral standing, warm, lit, beautiful and ready to receive worshippers and visitors is a never-ending task.
Fragments of mural paintings date back to the 13th century and collections of portraits of previous bishops and canons.