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

LARGE WORKS 121 11. Lefève 1962, 135; Marijnissen and Grosemans 1982-1983, 124, 130. 12. Verougstraete-Marcq and Van Schoute 1987, 73-76. This blend of horizontal and vertical boards, sometimes referred to as “a gross technical error” by commentators, 11 in fact is part of a tradition. Having the longest possible boards and the smallest number of joins was the rule governing the construction of large-format works. We can note that, also following the tradition of the craft, the two boards forming the centre join in the support of the Erection of the Cross meet on their sapwood side. Moving away from here, the boards are arranged in a regular and symmetrical manner with respect to their heart-sapwood position. D. The influence of the Van Eyck brothers’ Ghent altarpieces Thanks to their considerable success, the famous Ghent altarpieces played a vital role in the development of Flemish art. Their influence can even be seen in the evolution of the shapes of large altarpieces. As explained in the chapter dedicated to the Van Eyck brothers’ altarpieces in this publication, we believe that there were originally two separate altarpieces. Altarpieces with central panels wider than they are high, as was the lower Van Eyck altarpiece, continued to be produced during the 15th and 16th centuries: Hans Memling, St John Altarpiece (Bruges, SJH , no. 1 ); Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Triptych (Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi); Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Triptych of the Descent from the Cross (Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga). The iconographic programme could call for a raised central portion, as in the upper Van Eyck altarpiece . Our examination of the joinery of the frames of the wings in this altarpiece has shown that these frames have been amputated in their upper parts. 12 In their original condition, the wings when folded back completely covered the central part. There is reason to believe that, early in the history of the upper altarpiece, the weight of the wings, and in particular of the raised portion of the wings acting as a lever, led to their collapse, this being the reason for the amputation. Any problem related the Ghent altarpieces would certainly have fed into the construction of subsequent large altarpieces (fig. 68).