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

CHAPTER I 24 105. Roubo 1977, 70-80 . 106. Ibid., 82-87. 107. Stroobants 1987, 183. For the frame, the cuts for the joints were traced in the rails and stiles. The different steps of producing the joint are shown following Roubo: 105 tenons are cut in two parallel elements of the frame, either square, mitred or with a mixed cut. Corresponding mortises are cut in the other elements, either with a shoulder to hold the joint in place, or with open (slotted) mortises. Mouldings are fashioned using a combination of gouges and planes, both straight-bladed and profiled. Grooves or rebates are cut into the inner narrow side. For curved frames, according to Roubo, the order of operations was different, 106 with the groove cut prior to the moulding. A wooden batten was then wedged into the groove to prevent the cheeks of the groove being broken by the pressure of the profile plane or gouge. The joiner then returned to the panel, squaring it a final time and thinning its edges to enable it to slot into the groove of the frame. A last check was then made to ensure all the right angles were truly square. Finally, the ensemble was assembled with glue and pegs. With the support now assembled, a locksmith was called in to place the hinges, and the hooks for hanging or closing. In Bruges, locksmiths were one of the oldest specialties in the Guild of St Eligius – probably established in the 13th century – which grouped all iron workers and which developed into 19 sub-specializations. 107 The sometimes rudimentary nature of the notch for the pin of the hinges reflects the intervention here of a trade unaccustomed to woodworking. In a number of cases this intervention was probably not necessary and the joiner himself placed the smaller ironwork.