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

CHAPTER II 64 Fig. 29. Various arrangements of the panel and the frame. 1. Integral frame (panel and frame carved into one board). 2. Frame applied (pegged) to the panel. 3. Panel slotted into the groove of the frame. 4. Panel placed against the rebate of the frame. moistened before placing, for greater plasticity. It is distorted by the difficult passage through the tenon, and remains deformed after drying. This way of forcing the peg increased the strength of the joint. Exceptionally assemblies were glued without any form of reinforcement. We have an example in the wings of the Triptych of the Virgin and Child with St John and St Jerome by Adriaen Isenbrant (Bruges, GM , no. 17 ). Removal of pegs by a restorer is always a delicate task that involves pushing the dowel from the back towards the front. Where the peg is deformed, it cannot be extracted without damage. E. Attachment of the panel to the frame Apart from the case in which the frame and support are cut into the same piece of wood, we can distinguish – from the viewpoint of the attachment of the frame to the support – three frame types: the applied frame, the grooved (or ribbed) frame and the recessed (or rebated) frame. 1. Integral frames (cut into the same board as the panel) (fig. 29: 1) This type of frame is used mainly in the late 14th and 15th centuries. It is still found in the 16th century, especially for small panels, often curved at the top, and tondi . This system is not, however, restricted to supports made from a single piece of wood. There are cases where, in conjunction with the assembly of various pieces of wood, the frame is carved into the same board as the panel. We cite, by way of example: