ABSTRACT
The medieval mural scheme in the former refectory of St Anne’s Charterhouse, Coventry, is among the finest and most important wall-paintings of the first half of the 15th century in England. It is also the only surviving monumental painting from an English Carthusian priory and is therefore of great significance for the understanding of the artistic and devotional concerns of the order. However, despite its importance and impressive nature, the mural has not been the subject of a detailed modern study. This paper offers a reconstruction of the original painting and reconsiders its date, which has been assumed to be c. 1411–17. A discussion follows of the probable reasons behind the choice of the mural’s subject matter, as well as an analysis of some of its more unusual iconographic features and their visual and textual sources. The place of the work within the context of the devotional concerns and artistic tastes of the Carthusian order is considered, and a reassessment is made of suggestions that a local family may have been commemorated in the painting.
