Technical study of Germolles’ wall paintings: the input of imaging technique

The Château de Germolles is one of the rare palace in France dating from the 14 th century. The noble floor is decorated with wall paintings that are a unique example of courtly love spirit that infused the princely courts of the time. After being concealed sometime in the 19 th century, the paintings were rediscovered and uncovered in the middle of the 20 th century and partly restored at the end of the 1990s. No scientific documentation accompanied these interventions and important questions, such as the level of authenticity of the mural decorations and the original painting technique(s) used in the medieval times remained unanswered. The combined scientific and financial supports of COSCH Cost Action and DRAC-Burgundy enabled to study Germolles’ wall paintings using some of the most innovative imaging and analytical techniques and to address some of the questions raised. The study provided significant information on the material used in the medieval times and on the conservation condition of the paintings. The data collected is vast and varied and exposed the owners of the property to the challenges of data management.