Elmelunde Workshop paintings
Type:
Churches,
Wall paintings
Date:
ca. 1500–1520
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Denmark
Description:
Denmark has the highest concentration of surviving late medieval and early modern church frescoes. Many were concealed under limewash during the Reformation but later revealed again. The Elmelunde Workshop, named after the paintings in the Elmelunde Church (rediscovered in 1885), was the most important workshop at the turn of the sixteenth century. The workshop churches are scattered across a group of Baltic Sea islands: Lolland, Falster, and Møn. Their decorative programs share in common not only stylistic elements but also specific models, many of which can be traced back to early printed books. The paintings frequently include Old Testament scenes, specifically because the painters had in their possession two printed works of popular theology, the Speculum humanae salvationis (Mirror of Human Salvation) and the Biblia pauperum (Paupers' Bible), both of which arranged their illustrations as typological pairings of Old and New Testament iconography.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
11
Repository and Online Resources:
• Explore a map of Danish churches with wall paintings dating from 1100 to 1775.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
