A painting that can never be moved - only moved around. The mural, a site-specific art form, remains a relatively marginal presence in contemporary London. Yet artists from Banksy to Richard Wright have continued to explore its unique potential.
Julian Bell explores the powerful attraction that the idea of the mural has held for painters in England, above all through their worship of the great Italian frescoists. What attitudes - mental, physical and social - does mural painting typically propose? And how might makers of movable images, such as canvases or prints, adapt and draw strength from the mindset of the muralist?
Julian Bell is a painter who teaches at the Royal Drawing School. 'What is Painting?', his book about theories of art, was published in 2017.