The Westminster Retable: History, Technique, Conservation (PAINTING AND PRACTICE)

The Westminster Retable, now in the Museum of Westminster Abbey, is widely acknowledged to be one of the central masterpieces of late 13th-century European art. Its importance has been enhanced after its conservation by the Hamilton Kerr Institute, completed in 2005, and exhibition at the National Gallery. Yet the fate of the Retable - both historically and in the literature - has been haphazard: no proper monograph has ever been devoted to it. This book offers as full as possible an account of the art history of the Retable, and publishes the data that emerged from the conservation in a form appropriate to the very high levels of investigation involved. The conservation has added greatly to our knowledge of the panel's history, date, function and manufacture. The consensus is that the Retable was the high altarpiece of Henry III's Abbey church, in place for the dedication in 1269. The wide-ranging conclusions will be of great interest to the community of scholarship of medieval panel painting and art generally. Its contributors are the leading experts in the field. The plan falls into four parts, following a synopsis and general introduction: Art History; History and Historical Treatments; Manufacture, Technical Analysis, Treatment; Documentation.