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

CHAPTER X 264 109. Verougstraete and Van Schoute 1997b, 269-286. 110. De Vos 1994b. 111. De Vos 1994b, 52-55, 72-79, 80-83, 86-91, 106-111, 130-135, 155-157, 248. 112. Drost 1941. 113. Hinz 1859, 60, quoted in De Vos 1994b, 34-41. D. Frames and supports of Memling’s works 109 Numerous works by Hans Memling have preserved their original oak frames. The exhibition dedicated to the artist in 1994 (Bruges, Groeninge Museum, 12 August to 15 November) provided an opportunity to study them. 110 Ideally one ought to have examined the reverse of the paintings, the sides of the frames, accidental damage, traces of hinges, joints and polychromy. A major exhibition of the size of the Bruges one did not permit this type of exploration. Nevertheless, the observations made during and after the exhibition, added to useful information taken from the exhibition catalogue, 111 are gathered here. Examination of the mouldings, construction and polychromy of a small number of frames enables us to establish chronological groupings. As some of these features are found also on the frames of other Bruges paintings of the late 15th century, they do not serve as evidence for attribution of works to Memling. Rather, examination of some of the frames raises questions as to the allocation to the Bruges master of the paintings they contain. We examined the mouldings, the joints and the polychromy. 1. Mouldings (fig. 135) Five frames present a moulding with a flat band and a body of mouldings on the inside of the frame. Three of them are dated between 1467 and 1472 (fig. 135: 1-3). The Triptych of the Last Judgement , 1467-1471 (Gdansk, Narodowe Museum, inv. no. SD/413/ M) (fig. 135: 1). 112 It used to be believed that the frame had been renewed. 113 Generally it is reported that the original frame has been enlarged and embedded in a modern mitred frame and the entire assembly then gilded. In fact, all that has happened is that a large pinewood moulding was nailed onto the flat front part of the frame, and the polychromy entirely redone. The nailed addition may directly cover the original polychromy. Exploration would be interesting, especially to see whether there might not be an inscription. The rest of the frame is oak and original. We were able to see the frames without their current modern hinges, and did not see traces of old hinges. Perhaps traces are simply hidden under the paint layer. The Nativity , c. 1470-1472 (Cologne, Museum für Angewandte Kunst, inv. no. AI1060) (fig. 135: 2). A fairly recent dating has sometimes been proposed for this work but the frame invites us to opt for an early date. In the black and gold polychromy, the black simulates a listel, an element that will develop in later frames. On each side, at the top and bottom of the uprights of the frame, we observe a hinge location which seems original. The work was therefore part of a triptych.