Analysis of mediaeval Swedish paintings influenced by Russian-Byzantine art

Sweden has several hundred churches with relatively well-preserved mediaeval mural paintings. A few churches possess murals painted in a Russian-Byzantine style, most of them on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Four Gotland stone churches are included in this investigation as well as painted boards saved from three since-long demolished wooden stave churches. Most of the paintings are dated to the 12th century. In total 116 pigment samples were examined by SEM/EDX, and six lead pigments were also analyzed with a MC-ICP-MS mass spectrometer to determine the isotopic composition. The results show that the pigments used agree well with what has been observed for other Gotland murals, but are somewhat different from those commonly used in mediaeval church murals on the Swedish mainland. With the exception of Mästerby Church, the lead isotope measurements indicate a German origin for the lead pigments. It has for a century been argued whether these “Byzantine” paintings were produced by Russians or domestic painters. A contribution to this discussion is made in the light of the analyzed results and from historic and logical arguments.