The project ‘Archaeology of Colour’ (PTDC/ART-OUT/5992/2020) has been systematically studying medieval polychrome sculptures, mainly from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga collection. This pioneering material culture study aims the thorough understanding of the origins, evolution and significance of polychrome technology used to decorate sculptures in Portugal. This knowledge is crucial to understand these artworks and the societies who produced and used them (Pombo Cardoso, 2021).
Here we will present the results of the study of seven sculptures attributed to the workshop of master João Afonso. In this collaborative study, information from art history and material studies of their original polychromies are being crossed aiming to enlighten on medieval workshop practices.
João Afonso was an important sculptor who worked in Portugal in the mid-15th century. His workshop, based in Coimbra, testifies the resurgence of an intense production of sculptures in this city, an attractive location for sculptors for several centuries due to factors such as the proximity to soft limestone quarries and to the Mondego River. Some signed or dated artworks document the activity of João Afonso, who notably identified himself has the “master of the bells” in the inscription of the tomb of Fernão Gomes de Góis. Based on these artworks, art historians have been able to attribute a vast group of sculptures to this master and his workshop.
Among the group of sculptures attributed to this master, seven objects in permanent exhibitions in Portuguese museums were selected for study. These medieval objects present intricate surfaces due to successive re-application of polychromy over the centuries as well as loss of paint material and uneven removal of repolychromy layers in past interventions. Hence, a multi-analytical methodology was adopted, and the date of production of the polychromies was further confirmed by the application of radiocarbon dating to the polychromies (Sá, Hendriks, et al., 2021; Sá, Pombo Cardoso, et al., 2021).
On the other hand, the study of medieval treatises and recipes regarding paint technology informed on medieval practices and the study of the earliest surviving Portuguese gild regulations (from the 16th century) provided fundamental insights into the operation and organization of these workshops (Sá, 2022).
The comparison of results from these seven sculptures shows a few common aspects that seem to be distinct of the production of João Afonso’s workshop, namely the technique used for the preparatory layers and the recurrent finding of the lead tin-yellow pigment. The knowledge on early workshop practices and these material findings seem to point to certain painters working in close collaboration with the carving workshop, in line with the art history studies of the carving which identify a serial type of production of João Afonso’s workshop.
This study proves the importance of the collaborations between different fields of knowledge, resulting in a better interpretation of these artworks and in a deeper understanding of the production of polychrome sculpture in the Middle Ages.
Keywords: medieval, Portuguese, sculpture, polychromy, limestone
Pombo Cardoso, I. (2021). Medieval Portuguese polychromy on sculptures: an ongoing project. In C. V. Fernandes & M. A. Castiñeiras González (Eds.), Imagens e Liturgia na Idade Média. Criação, Circulação e Função das Imagens entre o Ocidente e o Oriente na Idade Média (séculos V-XV) (pp. 399–418). Sistema Solar (Chancela Documenta).
Sá, S. (2022). A policromia da escultura medieval portuguesa em madeira e em pedra: estudo comparativo dos materiais e das técnicas [Tese de Doutoramento, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa]. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/153011
Sá, S., Hendriks, L., Cardoso, I. P., & Hajdas, I. (2021). Radiocarbon dating of lead white : novel application in the study of polychrome sculpture. Scientific Reports, 11(13210), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91814-y
Sá, S., Pombo Cardoso, I., Vilhena, M. J., & Varela Fernandes, C. (2021). Recovering networks: The polychromy of Portuguese medieval sculpture. In J. Bridgland (Ed.), Transcending Boundaries: Integrated Approaches to Conservation. ICOM-CC 19th Triennial Conference Preprints, Beijing, 17–21 May 2021. International Council of Museums.
Sara Sá, Doctor, Researcher, Department of Conservation and Restoration and LAQV–REQUIMTE, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
Isabel Pombo Cardoso, Doctor, Researcher, Department of Conservation and Restoration and LAQV–REQUIMTE, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
Maria João Vilhena de Carvalho, Phd in Art History, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Sculpture Collection curator; Researcher, Institute of Art History, NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
The project ‘Archaeology of Colour’ aims the understanding of the origins, evolution and significance of polychrome technology used in medieval sculptures in Portugal. Here we present the results of the study of seven sculptures attributed to the workshop of João Afonso, an important sculptor who worked in Portugal in the mid-15th century. The comparison of results from these sculptures shows some common aspects that seem to be distinct of the production of his workshop. This collaborative study, which bridges information from art history and material studies of the original polychromies, proves the importance of collaborations between different fields of knowledge.