Church of St Henry, Pyhtää

The Church of St Henry (built in the 1460´s) in Pyhtää (Uusimaa), has paintings by several workshops from late medieval period. The most distinctive are the non-professional paintings on the walls, depicting the apostles, saints Erik and Henry and a calvary group as well as a huge St Christopher carrying the Christ child above the sacristy door. The apostles are difficult to tell apart and their attributes are not all depicted according to convention. These paintings are presumed to date to the beginning of the 16th century, before the reformation period. The three easternmost vaults of the nave are all painted by different workshops or painters. The first vault above the main altar has decorative vines and flowers as well as a Facies Christi. The dating of these paintings, made by a skillful professional, is unsure. The second vault of the nave has evangelist symbols and ornaments in style of the Taivassalo group, made most likely between 1460–1490. The third vault has a peculiar, chaotic ornaments made by an unprofessional painter. Among the ornaments and the coats of arms there are Apocalyptic Madonna, Facies Christi and two men assaulting each other with knives or swords. The human characters resemble those on the walls and this vault may or may not be the work or the same painter. There is also images of ships on the nave walls and ornamental vines on the sacristy vaults, as well as remains of paintings on the outer wall niches. These are most likely a work of the builders, done during the construction of the church in the 1460´s. There are also remains of paintings from the 17th century on the south wall.