R S OPERIBVS CREDITE

"Measuring 14ft by 32ft and painted on oak planks, Lambert Barnard’s two great panels of history painting were commissioned by Bishop Robert Sherburne in the 1530s and depict two vignettes, alongside a set of portraits of English monarchs. The scenes take as their subject a history of the Cathedral in miniature, from Selsey to Chichester, and the current monarch of the age, Henry VIII, confirming the rights and royal protection of the bishopric. Its portrayal of royal authority and protection is a rare and valuable example of propaganda painting from the era and confirms its importance as among the most important Tudor ecclesiastical art anywhere in the country."