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

catalogue 562 21. Albrecht Bouts, Triptych of the Assumption of the Virgin . Open: wings: Donor Christiaan de Nausnydere ; Donors Albrecht Bouts and his Wife Elisabeth de Nausnydere , c. 1495-1500 Inv. no. 574 Provenance: acquired from A. Lucq, dealer, Brussels, 1844. Comes from the Chapel of Onze- Lieve-Vrouw-van-Ginderbuiten, Leuven. Bibliography: Pauwels 1984, 31; Henderiks 2011, 45-71, 348-349. Panels: the central panel consists of five boards, the wings of three, and four boards. The joins are strengthened on the back by strips of canvas, possibly original. The central panel has been given a coat of ground outside the frame, but it has been painted inside it. Frames: a curious assembly of a large number of pieces of wood, in particular the accolades at the top. In the wings, the outside stiles are applied to the face of the panels, which are planed on the reverse so that, when the triptych is shut, the panels present a flat surface not interrupted by central stiles. Two narrowing, trapezoidal cross pieces are partially embedded into the central panel at the back and pegged to the stiles. Both are inserted from right to left and strengthen the construction of the central panel. The moulding of the frames, with a flat band between two bodies of mouldings, joins badly with the inclined sill of the lower rail. The imperfect joinery is highlighted by the stripping of the polychromy of the frames. The frames have been stripped, as have the closed wings, where remains of red marbling are visible on the right hand panel.