MEDI.EVAL. The mediaeval decorative mural work in Europe did not begin to take shape until the close of the eleventh century; its usual media were extremely simple, merely fresco painting and sculpture in stone. The multiplicity of styles makes any unity of characterization such as was possible in other previous styles, quite impossi ble. In some parts of Europe there was prac tically no attempt at mural decoration till the Gothic period, as in parts of Germany and Eng land. in Central and Southern France the entire exterior facades were often compositions in sculp ture; in Tuscany and Northern Italy effects of color on the exterior were given by the use of marbles, terra-cotta, and brickwork in patterns ur courses. In certain regions. such as f!icily, Rome, and the Byzantine and Oriental rich color scheme, especially in the form of mosaic work, prevailed. (See Ro NI AN ESQ E ART.) When. however, European art became thoroughly nationalized and indigenous in the Gothic period, Italy took a decided lead in the development of painted mural decoration in fresco which superseded all other methods. The
reason for this was that the more logical Gothic art of the North. under French leadership, prac tically suppressed wall surfaces, and consequently mural decoration, in favor of letached ornamen tation in stone, stained glass, and the like, due to the framework system of Gothic architecture. Italy, almost alone, did not abolish wall sur faces; consequently her painters, like Ciinalme and Giotto and their contemporaries and suc cessors, could develop the primitive fresco-work of the Romanesque type into a really artistic scheme of mural decoration such as we see at Assisi, Florence. and Siena. Grand figured com positions, harmoniously grouped. were the char acteristic of this Italian sehool. Rich borders sometimes followed, sometimes eontrasted with the architectural lines. Above all the coloring was light and clear and the effects flat and sym bolic. the figures being rather like silhouettes on a flat ground. (See GOTHIC ART.) Sometimes there were also grand exterior effects both of color and form, as at Orvieto.