St Stephen's Chapel Wall Paintings
- Gallery: Room 40
- Culture: Late Medieval
- Made in: England
- Date: 1355-1363 (approximately)
- Object type: wall-painting
- Materials: stone; oil; gesso; gold
- Museum number: 1814,0312.2
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a fragment from the "St Stephen's Chapel Wall Paintings," a work of Late Medieval art created in England between 1355 and 1363. These wall paintings once adorned St Stephen’s Chapel at the Palace of Westminster, a royal chapel built under King Edward I, who dreamed of matching the grandeur of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. Though unfinished during his time, the chapel was completed in the reign of his grandson, Edward III.
The fragment presents scenes from the Book of Job, rendered in tempera and oil on stone, with gilded gesso work. These paintings reflect an Italianate influence—using vibrant pigments like ultramarine and vermilion. In one scene, Job’s children tragically lose their lives when a powerful wind destroys their home. Nearby, Satan stands in a central arch, representing the test of Job’s faith. The artwork is remarkable for its mix of European styles and its luxurious materials, showing the chapel's high status and the court’s artistic ambition.
See it in person
St Stephen's Chapel Wall Paintings is on display in Room 40 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
