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

catalogue 300 6. Master of the Magdalen Legend, Triptych with Virgin and Child . Closed: marbling. Open: wings: St Catherine ; St Barbara , late 15th century (?) Inv. no. 0022 Provenance: according to the 16th century inscription on the back of the central panel (“Mastre Alonso de Cantalapiedra Fustero”), the work belonged to a Spanish woodworker in the province of Salamanca, Spain. Purchased in 1900 from Goldberg in Paris as coming from an Italian collection. Bibliography: De Coo 1978, 99-100; Mund et al. 2003, 138-159. Panels: centre and wings consist each of a single radially-cut oak board, inserted in their grooved frames before painting. The mirrored “fleur du bois” grain, typical for a radial cut, is clearly visible on the reverse of the central panel. Frames: slotted joints, square cut on the outside of the triptych, mitred on the inside. The joints each have two pegs on the central panel and one each on the wings. The curved upper elements are each carved out of a single piece of wood; that of the centre presents two hanging/holding holes in the upper edge. The moulding of the central frame is wider and more elaborate than that of the wings. There is no lower sloping sill. On the outside of the wings and on the reverse of the centre, the frames have a flat profile with a bevelled edge towards the panel. The hinges are recent. Old nails from the original hinges are visible on the X-radiograph. Traces of a swivel hook on the outside of the wings. The outside of the wings is covered with an original reddish-brown marbling. The black and gold colouring on the inside of the frames is an overpainting which maintains the original colours.