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

CARVED AND PAINTED DECORATION 99 33. Bermejo 1994, 74-77. 34. Verougstraete and Van Schoute 1989, 317-318. In Narbonne (Musée d’Art et d’Histoire), a 16th century triptych with The Holy Family has wings with donors (fig. 53). While the central panel is typical for Pieter Coecke or his workshop, the wings are unmistakenly French, signed and dated 1603 twice, once on each wing, by a certain Florent Despêches, to whom a Narbonne conservator has attributed the whole triptych. In another case a text has been added in Spain on a Flemish triptych; in the text of the prayer, written in golden letters on the wings, one word spells Bulneratus instead of Vulneratus ( Triptych of the Man of Sorrows , Cathedral of Burgos, Capilla del Condestable). 33 Illustrations of this practice of additions can still be found in the 17th century. Only a few 14th century panel paintings from the southern Netherlands have survived. We observed a uniform red colour on reverses in a few cases (Anonymous, Triptych of the Reliquary of the Virgin’s Veil , late 14th century, Tongeren, BOL , no. 1 ; Anonymous, two fragments of wings known as The Walcourt Annunciation and Visitation , late 14th century, Namur, PMAA , no. 1 ). 34 This observation is consistent with the numerous altarpieces represented with red surfaces in 15th century and older miniatures. Although red remained in use on frames throughout the 15th century, black was progressively preferred and outsides were no longer red but many were painted uniformly black. The latter colour would remain common on frames for many centuries; its appearance in the 15th century is nevertheless remarkable. It is generally associated with a gilded moulding towards the painted panel. It also often covers the entire reverse of wings – frame and panel together. The black colour seems neither to bear any relationship with the subject, nor to have any liturgical significance. One finds it on the reverse of Annunciations, Ecce Homo’s, Crucifixions, portraits and the like. In the 15th century, black became fashionable for clothing at the Burgundian court and this probably influenced the painters. In the first half of the 16th century, Brussels and Antwerp produced large numbers of triptychs with black wings. The small Triptych of the Virgin with the Musician Angels (Lyon, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. no. A 2908) is a rare conserved example with the inside of its wings painted uniformly black without any addition (fig. 54).