The modern Catholic wall paintings by Gino Severini in Switzerland: An integrated technical study

This paper describes the objectives and methodology of the ongoing four-year research project Gino Severini in Switzerland: Mural Paintings and Catholic Art Revival of the Groupe de SaintLuc. Through an interdisciplinary approach based on the study of primary sources, in situ visual examination and scientific investigation, the project aims at studying the corpus of wall paintings by Severini in Switzerland, focusing on the artist’s materials and technical choices. This research addresses a little-known period in the career of Gino Severini, an internationally renowned artist whose Swiss religious mural paintings are little known, as well as a particular moment in the history of Swiss art and culture. The study also provides the preliminary results of the investigation of the mural paintings in Semsales, the first church decorated by Severini and the first case study examined.