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

MASTERS AND MASTERPIECES: The Anchin Polyptych 253 Fig. 125a. The altarpiece closed. In the centre, Christ with His Cross, the Virgin presenting a crown; to the right, the prior and ten monks presented by St Benedict; to the left, Abbot Charles Coguin and two deacons presented by St Charlemagne. The central parts were slightly forward of the side panels, and their frames were black and gold, like those of the lateral parts. Fig. 125b. The altarpiece open. The wings (which corresponded to the two central parts of the closed altarpiece) opened to show the Trinity in the centre; on the narrow lateral parts, the Virgin and St John the Baptist as intercessors; to the left, on the open wing, the apostles St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew; to the right, on the open wing, the martyrs and confessors, St Stephen, St Catherine and St Barbara. In this position, all parts of the altarpiece are perfectly aligned.