Non-invasive study of the wall paintings of the priory of Saint-Jean-l'Evangeliste of Trizay (Charente-Maritime, France)

The Saint-Jean-l'Evangeliste priory of Trizay (Charente-Maritime) is a Saintongean monastery located on the banks of the Arnoult. Priory belonging to the Chaise-Dieu, whose historical sources are incomplete, it is the object of a global study from its construction to its decline in the 18th century. Some wall paintings are preserved in different parts of the monastery: in the dormitory, the refectory and the central apse of the church. The paintings in the dormitory, the best preserved in the corpus, were attributed to the 17th century according to their style and some figurative elements, these paintings are also almost by default similar to those of the refectory vaults representing the tetramorph. This paper focuses on these sets through a non-destructive approach using several imaging techniques: visible, infrared and ultraviolet photography as well as hyperspectral imaging (400-1 000 nm). One of our aims is to be able to understand from a technical point of view the decorations of the Trizay priory both in their designs and manufacturing processes (materials and pigments used). Through these new data, it can be possible to discuss the chronology of its pictorial ensembles, while contextualizing them in the building and the history of the site.