The murals of the old church in Moster. A typical Norwegian post-Reformation wall decoration?

In Norway, 34 of the around 160 medieval stone churches have preserved mural decorations from the post-Reformation period (ca. 1537 1800). The old church of Moster, situated on the west coast of Norway, is one of the best-preserved examples of mural decorations from around 1600. Researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) examined the wall paintings and made comparative studies with the other Norwegian murals from the same period, in terms of materials, techniques and iconographic programme. The old Moster church contains murals with typical post-Reformation decorative elements. The walls are decorated with foliage and fruit ornamentations, painted frames, which initially contained inscriptions, and biblical scenes from the Old and the New Testament. Scenes from the Old Testament are scarce in preserved Norwegian murals. The post-Reformation murals in Moster must have been executed in different and subsequent stages. Closer examinations of the murals suggest that the decorations were more colourful and detailed than they appear today.