Tracing Artistic Practices: Comparative Material and Technical Analysis of Mediaeval Mural Paintings in Central-Eastern Europe around 1400

The research focuses on mural paintings dating to around 1400, located across a broad Central-Eastern European region now divided among Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia. At the turn of the 15th century, this area was a key crossroads linking the South (Italy) with the North (Austria, Hungary, Bohemia), fostering extensive political, economic, and artistic exchange. A particularly compelling phase of synthesis emerged at this time, marked by a blending of northern and southern influences in both style and technique. One central figure exemplifying this transitional moment is Johannes Aquila, the earliest artist in the region known by name, who signed and dated several of his works. His style influenced a number of followers and can be traced across a wide geographical area. The surviving murals, however, were executed by different—mostly anonymous—painters. Some can be directly linked to Aquila’s workshop, while others only loosely share stylistic affinities. This raises a central research question: to what extent can these murals be attributed to a single workshop or master, and to what extent do they represent the work of multiple centres that simply reflect similar stylistic tendencies of the era? While their visual similarities are striking, technical and material analyses reveal notable differences in composition, methods, and quality.
This study therefore concentrates on the technical and material aspects of the paintings, building on previous art-historical analyses. Investigating materials, painting techniques, and procedures (such as preparatory drawings, underpainting, and modelling) offers crucial insights: it can confirm workshop affiliations, trace artistic developments, or challenge attributions based solely on style. Approximately thirty monuments across the five countries have already been studied in situ, and small samples of plaster, pigments, and paint layers were extracted and analysed using a variety of laboratory techniques. Some samples still await analysis, and the results must be studied and compared. Addressing this task is the principal aim of the current research stay at the Institute of Art and Visual History (HU). Consulting the Institute’s library and experts will greatly support these objectives, while the outstanding chemical analyses will be carried out at the Rathgen Research Laboratory.
Ultimately, the project seeks to deepen our understanding of the materials, techniques, and artists of this Central-Eastern European region. By integrating technical evidence with stylistic study, it aims to support or challenge existing art-historical hypotheses and to shed new light not only on stylistic influences, but also on the material and technical foundations of mural painting around 1400.