The Elmelunde Master, Danish ''Elmelundemesteren'', is the designation given to the nameless 16th-century artist who painted the

frescos Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becom ...

in the churches of Elmelunde, Fanefjord and Keldby on the island of

Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg Municipality, Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langeb ...

in south-eastern

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The naves of these three churches were furnished with Gothic cross vaults at the end of the 15th century providing an ideal surface for frescos of the

Biblia pauperum The (Latin for "Paupers' Bible") was a tradition of picture Bibles beginning probably with Ansgar, and a common printed block-book in the later Middle Ages to visualize the typological correspondences between the Old and New Testaments. Unlike ...

(or people's bible) based on popular stories from the richly illustrated medieval manuscripts of the Old and

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

s. The artist can be recognised from his distinctive emblem present in one or more of the frescos in all three churches. His warm colours ranging from dark red and russet to pastel shades of yellow, green, grey and black are distinctive as are the faces of his figures who all have sleepy eyes whether in scenes of heaven or hell. Vines, flowers and tree branches complete the images. In the 16th century, following the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the frescos were covered with coats of whitewash which hid them from view until quite recently. It was in the 1880s that they were first rediscovered in the church at Elmelunde with the result that the artist became known as the Elmelunde Master. It is however the frescos in

Fanefjord Church Fanefjord Church (''Fanefjord kirke'') is on the Danish island of Møn. It is located in an open setting overlooking the Baltic Sea inlet of Fanefjord between Store Damme and Hårbølle. Standing on the top of a small hill, the church's red-til ...

uncovered in the 1930s which are considered to be the most interesting and comprehensive. The Elmelunde Master's school is also credited with the frescos in churches on the neighbouring island of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

at Tingsted,

Nørre Alslev Nørre Alslev () is a town with a population of 2,363 (1 January 2025) ...

, Kettinge and Åstrup. ElmelundeFresco

External links

Elmelundemesteren from the Insula Moenia site
Retrieved 4 August 2007.

Retrieved 4 August 2007.

Retrieved 4 August 2007.
Tingsted Church site with articles on the frescoes and numerous photographs and explanations (in Danish).
Retrieved 4 August 2007.

Retrieved 4 August 2007. And the following images from Fanefjord Church:

* ttp://www.sognekirke.dk/devils/htm/sf/fanefjrd.htm Fresco of Eve tempting Adam in the Garden of Eden from Synde.dk
Fanefjord Church: slideshow from Bierman Consult

Sources

* Pastor Helge Buus: ''Fanefjord Kirke'', Fanefjord menighedsråd, Askeby, 1978, Fanefjord menighedsråd, 19 p. * Birgit Als Hansen: ''De Mønske Kirker'', Møns Turistforening, Stege, 1967, 11 p. (translated 1976 as ''The churches of Møn'') * Annett Scavenius: ''Elmelundemestern i Fanefjord Kirke'', Forlaget Vandkunsten, 2010, 121 pages. . {{Møn Denmark 16th-century Danish painters Fresco painting Anonymous artists Church frescos in Denmark Møn Year of birth unknown

See also

External links

Sources