A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

273 Emmanuelle Mercier and Delphine Steyaert 14 272 Conclusion The Virgin and Child on the Crescent Moon of St James’s Church in Liège certainly is a work of great importance in our understanding of polychromed sculpture, as well as a valuable chronological landmark, since it bears a painted date. Comparison with contemporary sculptures shows that its polychromy is the work of an accomplished artist with a perfect mastery of the ornamental repertory and techniques in use in Brabantine altarpieces and statuettes. ­ Nevertheless, the Virgin’s polychromy cannot be considered a simple transpo- sition from altarpiece figures or statuettes to a large-sized sculpture. The poly- chromer exploited the large surfaces perfectly, as shown by the refined punch- work with a changing orientation that creates a subtle vibration, and by the rich use of brown glazes that produce a very delicate camaïeu effect on the gold. Was it carried out by a polychromer from Antwerp or Mechelen who was contracted just for this task? Were this the case, the Virgin would not be representative of the production of the Elsloo group. Or was it carried out by an experienced Mosan polychromer who developed his own style by integrating elements from the Brabantine repertory? This would explain the presence of the dot-and-star punches, for example, an element that could indicate direct contact with workshops in Limburg and the Lower Rhine region. In this case it could be that the Virgin from Liège and the Blessing Christ in a private col- lection are the only two surviving examples of a type of polychromy that was more frequently used in the Elsloo group around 1525. A comparative investiga- tion of works from the Lower Rhine region would be an interesting field of research. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Simon Laevers for the French to English translation of our text and both Lee Preedy and our colleague Famke Peters for their ­ valued individual re-reading of the English text. We are also grateful to Emile van Binnebeke, curator of sculpture and furniture at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, who allowed us to examine the St Odile statue, and to Sophie Guillot de Suduiraut, chief curator of the department of sculp- tures at the Louvre, for the documentation of two statuettes.