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

catalogue 462 22. Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Triptych known as the Triptych of the Salamanca Crucifixion. Closed: on black background, texts and dates 1567 (death of Donatrix) and 1581 (death of Donor). Open: wings: Donors Inv. no. 0000.GRO1469.I Provenance: the triptych was placed near the tomb of Francisco de Salamanca and Judoca Pardo a Vlaminc in the Pietà Chapel of the Augustinian Convent in Bruges. Was formerly the property of the Archaeological Society. Bibliography: De Vos 1982, 99-100. Panels: the central panel (1.2 cm thick) was originally slotted into a groove of a frame, prior to painting. On the reverse, the planing of the surface has exposed part of a dowel. Crossing scratches to prepare the panel for a glued reinforcement (not original). The upper curve of the frame has been adapted to fit the panel. Frames: slotted joints, mitred on inside, cut square on outside (strengthening in each case with two pegs) except for the tops of the wings, where the joints are cut square on both sides and reinforced with a single peg. The bottom of the frame of the central panel has peg holes for attaching the triptych to a base. The outer sides of the wings have on one side two pegs, and on the other two holes, which meet when closed. The assembly was further closed with a hook. Contrary to what is suggested in the 1982 catalogue, the frame of the central panel strikes us as original. Its construction corresponds to the 16th century practice. The original hinges are still in place. But the upper rail has been trimmed to accommodate the panel which was too high and therefore not the original centre of the triptych. On the outside, the black wings bear inscriptions. The black and gold polychromy on the inside has been redone, but probes by the museum restoration workshop have shown that the original polychromy remains, with the same distribution.