Frames and supports in 15th and 16th-century Southern Netherlandish painting

MATERIALS AND MEN 11 59. Sosson 1977, 102-109. 60. “Gheaccordeert ende over een ghecommen dat de voorseide zaghers hebben ende ontfanghen van nu voortaan soo hier volcht : Te weten van het zagen van wit populieren bart van twee voeten nederwaerts, vanden honderde drijentwintich stuijvers ; van eecken planken van twee duijmen, onder halve duijme ende ruelijnck, twee en derdich stuijvers van thondert ; van cleene platen ende rebben, vier duijmen viercant, ses schellingen acht penninghen grooten vanden honderde ; van groote platen, acht schellingen grooten vanden honderde ; van cloofwerk, drij en twintich stuijvers vanden honderde. Ende werckende in dachuren sullen winnen vier schellinghen grooten sdaeghs. Dies en sullen sij maer commen twee mannen in elc werck ofte snede…” Quoted from Van de Velde 1909, 81. 61. Asaert 1973, 314. 62. “on nous amène icy [Anvers] du bois fort beau et bon pour tout ouvrage… on en envoye jusques en Italie.” Guicciardin L. Description de tous les Pays-Bas . Arnhem, 1613, 155 (original edition, printed at Antwerp: Guiccardini, Lodovico. Descrittione di m. Lodouico Guicciardini patritio fiorentino, di tutti i Paesi Bassi . 1567). 63. Des Marez 1904, 215. 64. Roubo 1977, 23-24. (Prussian boards), “Rynsche latten” (Rhenish laths), “Dustbuerchse planken” (Duisburg boards) and “Weselsche balken” (Wesel beams). Certain woods passed through the cities of the northern Netherlands, in particular Zutphen [Zuidveen], with “Zuutveensche planken” (Zutphen boards) mentioned several times between 1354 and 1438. Dordrecht also provided Bruges with much of its wood. Oak was not the only object of this trade, but also beech, pine, ash and yew. 59 The use of different terms characterizing the wood of different origins tends to suggest a specialization in terms of format: beams, boards, laths,… This specialization is related to the type of wood and the specific qualities of various woods, but does not necessarily mean that the wood was cut in the country mentioned. In Bruges, the activity of sawyers was protected by a ban on imports of sawn timber (with a few exceptions including coffin wood and Zutphen boards; see “Woodworkers and guilds ” in this chapter), a privilege that was the source of quarrels between the sawyers and their major customers, the carpenters. In Bruges, the rates due to the sawyers were updated in an ordinance dated 6 May 1602. 60 Prices are designated according to the length, the surface, or the thickness of the wood. The order indicates not only a piece rate, but also the possibility of per diem rates, it being understood that only two sawyers will travel to undertake a task or a sawing job. In the 15th century, Antwerp too imported timber. 61 A century later Lodovico Guicciardini notes: “They bring us here [to Antwerp] very good quality wood for every type of work… and we send it as far as Italy.”  62 This tells us that there was a choice of local and imported wood. Joiners and carpenters acquired the wood personally, 63 selecting it for the specific qualities required by the work for which they intended it, and having it where necessary cut to size by sawyers. For panels for painting, it was necessary to obtain slow-grown wood, less hard and less prone to shrinkage than wood of rapid growth. Fast-grown wood has a high proportion of summer wood, making it heavier and difficult to work. It also takes longer to dry. This wood was set aside for carpentry work, rather than joinery. André-Jacob Roubo 64 recommends a wood that is not too hard for producing panels. A similar quality was probably suited for frames, both for the mouldings and