The purpose of the Romanesque painting is didactic trying to teach religious topics to the illiterate population. So, the main themes represented were religious – Pantocrator, Evangelists, Virgin and the Child, scenes from the Gospels, etc)
The colours are plain and the scenes painted did not have any depth. The figures are represented in a hierarchical way so size shows importance – the more important is a figure, the bigger is represented.
As it happened in sculpture, painting is integrated in architectural elements mainly to decorate the walls inside the churches.
The characters are painted in rigid poses and their faces do not transmit emotions. There were different types of romanesque paintings:
- Mural painting was done using the fresco technique. Fresco i a technique in which colors are disolved in water and applied to a wet plaster wall.
- Illustrated manuscripts with miniatures were painted with tempera. Tempera is a technique in which colors are diluted in glue or egg yolk.
- Painting on wood for altar pieces also used the tempera.