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

ASSEMBLY OF PANEL AND FRAME 49 13. Smeyers 1985, 232-233. 14. Bessemans 1985, 247-250. 4. Square tongue-and-groove joint (fig. 13: 10) The tongue-and-groove joint is relatively common. We have observed it more than once in secondary 16th century works: Anonymous, Christ with Reed and Calvary with Donatrix and Female Religious (Brussels, RMFAB , no. 28 ). In a panel having on its reverse the mark of Antwerp, the tongue-and-groove are almost 2.5 cm deep: Anonymous, St Jerome in his Studio , late 16th century (Leuven, M-Museum, inv. no. S/33/0). 13 The tongue-and-groove joint is found with a frame nailed onto the support in a low quality work: Brabant Anonymous, Triptych of the Crucifixion , 1615 (Boechout, Alexian Brothers). 14 How to identify the nature of a join? When the join is open, the open space between two elements enables one to see whether this is a butt joint: dowel pins, keys or little notches also become visible. Pins and keys are also visible in X-radiographs and enable us to conclude that this is a butt joint. In their absence, it is difficult to distinguish a butt joint from a half-lap or a tongue-and-groove joint. A square tongue-and-groove joint is recognizable along the narrow cross-grain side of the panel (fig. 17). A chamfered edge can also help with verifying the nature of a joint. Here the progressive thinning of the panel staggers the different depths of the wood. Fig. 17. Square tongue-and-groove joint: the different depths of the joint are exposed by the thinning of the panel. Pieter Claeissens the Younger, Carrying of the Cross , 1616 (Bruges, SJH , no. 21 ). Many joins have never moved. Where panels are slotted into the groove of the frame, it is sometimes impossible to determine the exact nature of the join.