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

BRUGES, St JOHN’S HOSPITAL 385 12. Adriaen Isenbrant (entourage), Triptych of the Trinity with Intercessors . Closed: St Wilgefortis ; St Mary Magdalen. Open: wings: St Eligius ; St Barbara , early 16th century Inv. O.SJ0187.I Bibliography: Lobelle and Van Cleven 1976, 571-572, S.70. Panels: the central panel consists of three boards, bevelled on the reverse; each wing is made of a single board. The panels have been painted in the frame. The central panel is 1 cm thick, the wings 0.6 cm. Frames: grooved; with slotted joints, cut square on the outside and mixed on the inside, and each reinforced with a single peg. Inserts in the rails. A two-part cornice is nailed to the frame. It has two hanging/holding holes. Two pegs in the underside of the frame and traces of circular rubbing under the wings indicate that the triptych must have been placed on a pedestal. Traces of a hanging bracket on the frame suggest that the triptych was hung after removal of the pedestal. The polychromy has been redone: black on the outside, black and gold inside. Traces of gilding can be seen on the barbe. Possibly the inclined sill was originally gilded.