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

BRUGES, St JOHN’S HOSPITAL 407 20. Anonymous, Triptych with Scenes from the Life of St Nicholas. Closed: Virgin and Child ; St Nicholas brings back to life the three young men. Open: wings: Donors , 1585 Inv. no. O.SJ0180.I Panels: central panel: six vertical boards, unevenly smoothed, the open central join reveals the presence of dowels. Thickness: 2.5 cm. On the reverse, plane, saw and adze marks; bevel. Restoration with tabs and buttons. Each wing consists of three vertical boards. Frames: central frame rebated; slotted joints, each reinforced with two pegs. Mixed cuts on the outsides of the wings, cut square on the reverse of the central panel, and mitred on the inside of the triptych. Suspension hooks probably original (there are no traces of mounting on a base on the underside of the frame). The differences between the wings and the central panel (mouldings and execution of the paintings) point to a later addition of the wings. The black and gold polychromy has been redone.