tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post3819566503033080542..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: Bristol CathedralPhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-69779770856618993632008-10-09T13:17:00.000+01:002008-10-09T13:17:00.000+01:00Mat - I don't know of any photographic evidence of...Mat - I don't know of any photographic evidence of significant amounts of colour from the exteriors of English churches or cathedrals. The trouble is that nearly all the colour has either been worn away or obliterated by iconoclasts in the 17th century or by restorers in the 19th. If you look hard at some of the statues on the West front of Wells cathedral, you can find little fragments of colour and I should think this also applies to other cathedrals. But in many cases not even the statues survive. Scholars have done reconstruction drawings, based on what we know from these little bits of colour plus evidence from medieval manuscripts and interior colour schemes. For example in Jon Cannon's recent book CATHEDRAL there's a coloured drawing of part of the front of Exeter Cathedral showing what it probably looked like.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-52972835069593791172008-10-09T13:05:00.000+01:002008-10-09T13:05:00.000+01:00I am a sculptor interested in the idea of colour b...I am a sculptor interested in the idea of colour being an integral part of the exteriors of english sacred architecture and sculpture. I have been drawn to this after travels in India particularly, where I regularly encountered flamboyant use of colour on temple sculpture and architecture. I have since been told that ancient greek temples and their sculpture would also have been brightly coloured.Is there anywhere that I could find photographic examples of this english colouring?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06691647378948073196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-431147761368231822008-04-08T09:10:00.000+01:002008-04-08T09:10:00.000+01:00The Weald and Downland is a fascinating place, and...The Weald and Downland is a fascinating place, and I too remember being shocked by the red timbers of the North Cray house. In Central Europe, a traditional treatment for external timbers is still something called "ox blood", which presumably contains ox blood and which is a reddish shade of black.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-85563791610737593592008-04-08T09:01:00.000+01:002008-04-08T09:01:00.000+01:00On a similar "bright medieval painting" tip, the N...On a similar "bright medieval painting" tip, the North Cray medieval house at the Weald and Downland house has its timbers painted very red, which is very authentic and very odd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-21221111052668252032008-04-05T15:28:00.000+01:002008-04-05T15:28:00.000+01:00Yes, painting certainly went on outside. For examp...Yes, painting certainly went on outside. For example, when the West Front of Wells Cathedral was restored, traces of medieval paint and gold leaf were found on many of its surviving original statues.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-13057536569608569912008-04-04T17:19:00.000+01:002008-04-04T17:19:00.000+01:00Painting went on outside too, I think. Tattershall...Painting went on outside too, I think. Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire was apparently painted bright red, just to scare the wits out of anybody approaching it across the marshes.Peter Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00027878122724846472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-62864761189748413472008-04-04T11:16:00.000+01:002008-04-04T11:16:00.000+01:00I like the austerity of old churches even if artif...I like the austerity of old churches even if artificial but it would be good to see more restored to something approaching their original multicoloured glory.Thudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18320037763190473684noreply@blogger.com