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

CHAPTER I 8 36. Janssens de Bisthoven and Parmentier 1951; Aru and De Geradon 1952; Davies 1953-1954. 37. Lavalleye 1964, 116. 38. Davies 1954, 2: 142-143. 39. Marette 1961, 60. 40. Lavalleye 1964, 73. 41. Ibid., 116. 42. The information contained in the work’s technical file was kindly provided to us by Maryan Ainsworth, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 43. Hollanders-Favart et al. 1975b, 66-81. 44. The Mayer van den Bergh Museum in Antwerp conserves a circular support made on a lathe depicted a Virgin and Child after Hans Memling (Antwerp, MVB, no. 3) . 45. The theme, represented since the 13th century, spread in the form of carvings, paintings, and bronze and other metal objects, used as a talisman especially against headaches and sore throats. These heads also played a role in medieval theatre. In 15th century ‘s-Hertogenbosch, one such head was displayed during the annual procession. The 17th century again saw a revival of the cult of the head of John the Baptist on a charger. Representations, inspired by older models, were again produced in series. Du Colombier 1973; Hollanders-Favart et al. 1975b, 66-81; Henderiks 2011, 290-303. volumes published by the Centre for the Study of the Flemish Primitives mention the use of oak panels in 104 out of 116 panels. 36 In ten cases, the wood is either not identified or these are works transposed onto a non-original support. In two cases, poplar has been used: in the Rhetoric and Music attributed to Justus of Ghent (London, The National Gallery, inv. nos. NG755-756). The attribution of these works from the Palace of Frederico da Montefeltro in Urbino 37 is, however, disputed. 38 Their components are assembled with a spline, a system that has not been observed in the Flemish panels of the time. 39 Three other works by Justus of Ghent or attributed to him are not painted on oak. The first two are on poplar: Communion of the Apostles (Urbino, Palazzo Ducale, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, inv. no. 700) and Illustrious Men (14 panels of which are conserved in the same Palazzo Ducale, inv. nos. 717-730 and the other fourteen at the Louvre, Paris). In this series of 28 portraits, authors generally see a collaborative work between Justus of Ghent and an Italian artist. 40 The third work is the Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro (Urbino, Palazzo Ducale, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, inv. no. 702). It is painted for the Duke’s studiolo and is executed on plain-sawn fir. 41 Two paintings with a head of John the Baptist on a charger of the Bouts group are painted on another wood than oak. One is painted on poplar 42 (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 60.55.2), the other is painted on wood from a fruit tree 43 (Oldenburg, Landesmuseum, Augusteum, inv. no. LMO 15.561). The turners, whose work has already been mentioned, provided some of the circular supports, and this class of craftsman was, in some cities, not permitted to work in oak. 44 The frame and support, both produced on a lathe, were often made from a single piece of wood. Failing that, the frame was painted in trompe-l’œil on a flat support. The explanation of the technical particularities of the Heads of John the Baptist are to be found in their destination. 45 We could place this use as an object walked about in processions in connection with the silhouettes used for the same purpose, such as the large carved wooden effigy representing Charles the Good