A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

and the smaller James the Great ( X032299), both part of the apostle beam in St Lambert’s Church in Neeroeteren; the St Agnes, the Virgin and Child, St Elizabeth, St Lucy, St Catherine and St George from the Church of St John the Baptist in Siersdorf; and the St John the Evangelist in the Victoria and Albert Museum, see Williamson 2002: 56, no. 10. 17 S ee also the description of the hollowing out of Jan van Steffeswert’s sculptures in Truyen 2000: 81. 18 E xamples of statues hollowed out but not sealed include the Holy Woman Seated near the Calvary in St Anne’s Chapel in Geistingen, the Crucified Christ in St Martin’s Church in Meeuwen, St Monulphus and St Gondulphus in the Church of St Monulphus and St Gondulphus in Maasmechelen, the Christ on the Cold Stone in St Lambert’s Church in Neeroeteren, the Virgin and Child on the Crescent Moon in St Lawrence’s Church in Bocholt and the Virgin and Child on the Crescent Moon in a private collection (formerly in Opoeteren). Examples of statues hollowed out but sealed with a wooden panel include the St Quirinus and the Virgin and Child on the Crescent Moon in the Church of Our Lady in Gerdingen, the St Lambert in a private collection, and the Virgin and Child and the St Lucy in the Church of St John the Baptist in Siersdorf. 19 S ee KIK-IRPA photograph s X039957 an d X039942. 20 T he backs of the Virgin and Child from L iège and the two figures of the Virgin and Child of the Neeroeteren Marianum were only observed using KIK-IRPA photographs. Other examples might be the St Monulphus and St Gondulphus from Maasmechelen, but here only tactile examination of the backs could be done. 21 S ee KIK-IRPA photograph s X044748, X046444 a n d X038092. 22 F or this apostle, see KIK-IRPA photo- grap h X032245. 23 T he pith was always at the back of statues of the Virgin and Child that come ( or may come) from a Marianum, such as those in Bocholt, Liège (St James’s Church) and Neeroeteren. The backs of the Liège and Neeroeteren figures were only observed on photographs, see n. 20. 24 T his is obviously undesirable for sculptures that were originally non- polychromed, but also for those that were. Knots react differently to fluctua- tions in relative humidity than the wood immediately around them and thus have a negative influence on the conservation of the polychromy. Whether under paint or gilding such defects will become visible over time because they will cause cracks outlining the shape of the knot. In none of the sculptures, moreover, were the knots drilled out and the cavity filled with a piece of wood. An example of this technique can be found on the St Crispin or Crispian in Gronsveld by Jan van Steffeswert, see Truyen 2000: 80, fig. 3. 25 T he way light behaves on the sculpture’s surface depends on its finishing. Smoothly carved surfaces, such as areas where skin is intended, will appear shiny whereas surface areas that were handled with techniques such as Tremolierung ( mainly used for the evocation of grass or fur) and punching will cause the incident light to reflect diffusely and will therefore appear to the viewer as less shiny or even matt. 26 S ee KIK-IRPA photograp h X039780. 27 S ee KIK-IRPA photograp h X039865. 28 I n the following examples from the Elsloo group the iris and/or pupil has also been accentuated. Engraving of the iris and/or pupil: two Angels with Instruments of the Passion in Ellikom ( small) and James the Great from Neeroeteren (large). Staining of the iris and/or pupil: Apostle Peter and the larger James the Great from the apostle beam in Neeroeteren (KIK-IRPA photograph X032439), St Anne with the Virgin and Child from Sint-Truiden (medium); St Sebastian and St Reineldis of Saintes from Neeroeteren and Bishop Saint, St Agnes, Virgin and Child, St Elizabeth, St Catherine and St George from Siersdorf ( large). Engraved and stained iris and/or pupil: Apostle Philip, the smaller James the Great (KIK-IRPA photograph X032307), Apostle Andrew and the apostles 3 (X032238), 4 (X032253), 9 ( X032426), 1 0 (X032458) and 11 (X032414) from Neeroeteren (medium); St Anthony and Christ on the Cold Stone from Neeroeteren (large). The Neeroeteren apostles are numbered from left to right, according to their present position in the church, seen from the nave. 29 T aubert 1978: 73-88; Baxandall 1980: 44; Rommé 1996; Serck-Dewaide 2002. 30 P erhaps additional analyses of paint samples could lead to new insights in this respect. 31 O n subcontracting, see for example Jacobs 1998: 216 ff. 32 A t least insofar as no standard sizes were used for manufacture. 33 T he same workbench clamp can leave holes of different depths and thus of different diameters. But the distance between the mid-points of two related holes made by the same clamp should be constant, irrespective of the hole’s depth. 34 S tuttgart 1993; Truyen 2000. 35 P resumably a similar workbench type was used for the statue of St John, although this could not be confirmed due to extensive restoration of the sculpture’s base. 36 O n this workbench type, see also Marc Peez, article 12 in this volume. 37 F or the apostle, see KIK-IRPA photo- grap h X039737. 38 F or the unidentified apostle, see KIK-IRPA photograp h X039720. On the other apostles and Christ the Saviour from Ellikom traces of clamps were lost when the height of the base was reduced, presumably to adjust the height of these sculptures. 39 A postles Simon, Andrew and Peter and the apostle who holds up his cloak with his right hand and has lost the attribute he once held in his left (see KIK-IRPA photograp h X032230). 40 O n the stylistic relationship between the statues in Neeroeteren and Siersdorf, see Famke Peters and Vincent Cattersel, article 5 in this volume. 41 T hese sculptures have already been connected by Williamson 1992. 42 S ee also Famke Peters, article 17 in this volume. 43 F or more information on the polychromy of this statue, see Emmanuelle Mercier and Delphine Steyaert, article 14 in this volume. 44 F or more information on the polychromy of this work, see Vincent Cattersel, article 13 in this volume. 45 O ther possible reasons for the lack of detail on this sculpture could be its unfinished state or its creation by an inexperienced hand. 46 T ruyen 2000: 78-79. 47 R ief 1996: 39. 48 J an van Steffeswert also used boxwood to create a statuette of the Virgin and Child, see Maastricht 2000: 136-138, no. 4.