How to understand the ceiling? Perception possibilities of stencil paintings within a medieval church
Abstract
In the Middle Ages stencil painting was used for the decoration of the flat wooden ceilings in the churches. The principle of this technique lies in the multiplication of motifs with the aid of a stencil, through which the color has been applied to the decorated surface.
The individual motifs were often conceived as infinite, so their pattern was designed to be expanded vertically or horizontally indefinitely. During the decoration process, each ceiling board could be considered as a separate area that was assigned its own motif applied over its entire length.
However, there are also examples where the board is decorated with more alternating motifs, or where a different motif is inserted into the decorative strip. In the decoration motifs of purely ornamental character, motifs taken from contemporary textiles or motifs imitating the architectural style of late Gothic churches were used.
Rarely, there are stencils with vegetative, zoomorphic or anthropomorphic themes, which give the viewer the impression that their choice has symbolic meaning, which interpretation can be attempted. The paper deals with the question of how to understand the ceilings decorated with the template painting within the church space.
Is it possible to suppose that the stencil paintings beared - similar to other elements of the decoration - the artistically expressed religious program? Can it be expected during the process of perception and evaluation of decoration that there was a well-thought-out iconographic program for the decorated areas, or at least the intention with which the painting was realized? Did the performing artists put a deeper meaning into the use of individual motifs or is it merely attributed to it by contemporary interpretation, and the template painting had a purely decorative function?