Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73173 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-20
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Review
(A) hugely enjoyable book...big enough to accommodate detailed images of all but the most complex schemes, and as they are printed on quality paper, some of the details are superb. (...) Any church explorer will find...much to delight them. --www.norfolkchurches.co.uk

This is a book to be enjoyed and made use of by every person interested in our church heritage. --The Round Tower Magazine

[The author] has done us an invaluable service with his critical appreciation of this precious heritage. --Oxford Times

SIMON JENKINS, THE GUARDIAN, 21st March 2008
My Easter book of the year...a magisterial compendium of this most elusive English vernacular form.

CHRISTOPHER HOWSE, DAILY TELEGRAPH, 29 March 2008
A splendid book [...] Mr Rosewell knows what he is talking about, and explains how the paintings were made, what they mean, who paid for them, and how they've fared since.

Customer Reviews

A visual feast
Having read a number of works on medieval wall paintings I was looking forward to another detailed exploration of this overlooked artform. When I first opened this stunning book I realised that everything that had gone before paled into true insignificance. The images, over 250 of them, are all reproduced in full colour and are, quite simply, superb. In particular, the images of Ewelme and those from Eton College Chapel, neither of which have truly been seen before, are breathtaking. The author has also done something that no other author dealing with the subject has previously managed. Not only is the text well constructed and scholarly - it is also highly entertaining and evocative. Chapter six, in particular, brings alive the troubled sixteenth century reformation of the English parish church in a way that makes it both moving and saddening. One of the other great glories of this work, and it has many, is the fact that the whole work is accompanied by a gazetteer and subject guide. Invaluable for anyone wishing to actually see these medieval masterpieces in their original setting. This book will, without doubt, become THE reference work on the subject.

The best book on the subject
Inspired by the art, and the history, rather than the religious context, I was intrigued by the first amazon review of this book. When the book arrived the praise was confirmed. The quality and quantity of colour illustrations - some of subjects not photographed properly before - is astonishing in a book of this price. After practically inhaling the illustrations, I then took time to start reading. What might have been a dry academic survey, is instead a lively and informative text that sets the paintings in the context of their times, covering their history, subject matter, the patrons and painters, how the paintings were made, the symbols employed and their meanings,through to the terrible effects of the Reformation, and finally the rescue of those that we can see today. The book is inspiring: it makes me want to jump into my car and drive about the country visiting these churches that hold such a wealth of vernacular art. One small cavil: maps showing their locations would have made this a one-volume companion on such trips, but I own an atlas so that lack is easily remedied. And even my other constant companion for such drives, the great 'England's 1000 Greatest Churches' by Simon Jenkins is deficient in that area. This book is a marvel: a perfect marriage between text and illustration.