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

CHAPTER I 14 69. The early restorations to the panels of the Justice of Emperor Otto III can be summarized as follows: Ordeal by Fire : thinning of the reverse, inlay of large buttons and gluing of strips of fabric on the joins, two cross-bars are embedded and screwed to the frame. The upright frame elements were attached laterally to the panel by horizontally placed pegs, blocking any play of the panel. These pegs were later removed, probably when the panels were taken out of the frames. Beheading of the Innocent Count : thinning of the reverse, application of two cross-bars identical to those of the Ordeal by Fire , with canvas reinforcement along the joins, but with not inlaid buttons. There were no horizontally placed pegs. 1958 the frames were stripped. Philippot and Sneyers 1958, 56-60; Sneyers and Thissen 1958, 49-55. 70. We thank Jean-Albert Glatigny for sharing his knowledge of logging practice, of the cutting of oak quarters, the tools used for this, and of lumber marks. to the foot of Riga in the Baltic region. The panels of the Justice of Emperor Otto III preserved today are each made of seven boards. Given that his main task was to decorate the interior of the City Hall, the carpenter Cox was probably not specialized in the manufacture of supports. He failed to remove the sapwood from all boards. The restoration report 69 written in 1958 indicates the presence of sapwood in three boards of the Ordeal by Fire. The mouldings of frames, unusual for the time, may relate to the architecture that the woodwork was intended to decorate. The supports for the Justice of Emperor Otto III were carried one after the other to Bouts’ workshop, where they were painted in their frames. We know this because the painting exhibits a barbe and an unpainted edge which are typical for paintings done in their frames. With respect to the Last Judgement , the rapid intervention of the locksmith after the conclusion of the contract between Dirk Bouts and the magistrate suggests that the support was produced rapidly, with the hinges placed in order to assemble the triptych before carrying it to Bouts. The painting would be completed only in 1470, two years after the locksmith was paid. Note that the use of loose pins in the hinges facilitated the dismantling of the triptych, either because this was deemed necessary for transporting it, or because the artist wanted it dismantled in his workshop. The placement of the “anti-dust” shutters made of canvas mounted on stretchers, over the panels of the Justice of Emperor Otto III , was undertaken at the sole initiative of the City of Leuven, with the locksmith attaching them only after the work had been completed. The same applies to the placing of the lock on the Last Judgement , which took place well after the work had been installed in the City Council Chamber. C. Cutting and drying of the wood 70 It is in winter that loggers in the Baltic region felled trees, using axes, wooden wedges and mallets. They did not use saws. Once felled, the trunks needed to be cut without delay to avoid drying cracks and prevent attack by micro-organisms. After removing the branches and bark, hardwood wedges were driven into the length of the trunk and struck with a mallet. The trunk was then split into two halves and then into