A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

219 218 *  Conservator-restorer of sculpture and painted objects, Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg, Maastricht. 11 Technical Study of the St Anne with the Virgin and Child in Elsloo and Some Other Sculptures Associated with the Master of Elsloo Arnold Truyen * Introduction: the ‘Master of Elsloo’ The name given to this anonymous master was derived from a sculpture of St Anne with the Virgin and Child in St Augustine’s Church in Els loo. 1 This statue serves as the reference work for a group of sculptures with similar stylistic features. Prior to its removal to Elsloo in the mid-nineteenth century it stood in the Minster in Roerm ond . 2 Ar chival documents show that at the end of the nineteenth century it was restored by sculptor Willem Houtermans, who had a workshop in Roermond. Technical Examination of the Wood: from Tree to Sculpture The research done in the Netherlands in 2009-2011 in the framework of the international study of the Master of Elsloo’s oeuvre focused on the sculptures in Dutch collections and included a number of works in Germany as well ( fig. 11.1). In the technical part of the research special attention was given to the working process, the tools and equipment used, and the technical or ­ stylistic features characteristic of the artist or his workshop. Here, some ­ general findings will be presented, which will be further illustrated by the technical examination of four key works, including the St Anne with the Virgin and Child from Els loo. 3 Th e results are still incomplete, however; this article is a summary of the observations thus far. Origin of the Wood Dendrochronological examination of a large number of works associated with the Master of Elsloo has shown that local oak was the wood most commonly u sed. 4 No archival evidence has been found of the presence in the sixteenth cen- tury of a timber market in Roermond, the town in which, it has been­ suggested, the Master of Elsloo had his workshop. It is certain, however, that there was a good deal of trading in wood by so-called barge-skippers who could be hired to carry wood along the River Me use. 5 Th ese skippers were mostly found around Liège and Roermond. A list dated 28 May 1593 records the names of seven groups of ten Roermond barge-skippers as members of the Fig. 11.1 St Anne with the Virgin and Child, Rindern, St Willibrord’s Church, detail