Wells Cathedral, circa 1250

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I've wanted to work on this project for a long time, since discovering that the magnificent, honey-coloured facade of Wells Cathedral's West Front was once bedecked in Medieval polychromy. I'd no idea any cathedrals were ever painted; so wildly different from the intricate edifices of plain stone we see today.

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After first coming across the exhibit in Wells Museum, I researched the painting with the magnificent book 'Wells Cathedral West Front' by Jerry Sampson as my guide, which chronicles the archaeological evidence from several restorations of the Front - any inaccuracies in the painting are mine!

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I wanted to recreate the West Front as if standing in the Cathedral Green some 800 years ago, gazing at the facade as the 13th century architects, Adam Lock and Thomas Norreys, intended it to be seen. 

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Acrylic on Board

10 x 9.5cm

£850

Pending exhibition at the Royal Society of British Artists: Rising Stars 2024, 24th April – 7th July, at the Royal Over-Seas League, Mayfair.

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Lifesized limited edition prints are available from Wells Cathedral Shop.