Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Abstract
The St. Anne Altarpiece (National
Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener
Collection) is the largest work attributed
to the Bruges artist Gerard
David (ca. 1460-1523). Several panels
of the altarpiece were examined
to identify the materials and methods
used. The results show that the
center panel was painted using a different
technique from that for the
side and predella panels. There are
distinct groupings of underdrawings
among the panels. The main panel
was laid out more specifically at the
underdrawing stage, with three separate
drawing campaigns and a correction
on top of a paint layer. In
the center panel only, all the major
fo rms were laid out in the first paint
stage with a lighter value of the final
paint color, with multiple layers of
progressively more saturated paint
built up to create the final appearance.
In contrast, the predella and
side panels were painted directly, using
fewer layers of paint. The program
of painting would have allowed
for workshop participation, especially
in the main panel.
Gerard David's St. Anne Altarpiece: Evidence for
Workshop Participation
Catherine A. Metzger and Barbara H. Berrie*
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.c. 20565
USA
Introduction
Gerard David (ca. 1460-1523) is known to have been a member of the painters'
guild in Bruges by January 1484. It is generally accepted that he operated
a workshop, evidenced by the use of pricked drawings and his documented
dispute with Ambrosius Benson over the alleged theft of such drawings (1 ,
2). The recent restoration of the St. Anne Altarpiece provided an opportunity
fo r its reexamination and technical analysis (3). This paper addresses the evidence
for workshop participation in the altarpiece. The full results of the
technical investigation will be published in the future.
The altarpiece
The St. Anne Altarpiece depicts St. Anne with the Virgin and Child flanked
by St. Nicholas (left) and St. Anthony of Padua (right) (Plate 28). John Hand
has described the altarpiece (4). Six pre della panels are accepted as part of the
original altarpiece; the three panels at the National Gallery of Scotland illustrate
three miracles from the life of St. Nicholas, while the three panels at the
Toledo Museum of Art show three miracles from the life of St. Anthony.
Another panel, Lamentation of Christ at the Foot of the Cross (The Art Institute
of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection), is possibly part of
this altarpiece. According to dendrochronological data, David painted the altarpiece
around 1506, but the stylistic evidence for dating is less precise (5).
The stiffness and lack of expression of the figures in certain altarpiece panels,
especially the central panel and the St. Anthony pre della panels, have led to
doubts regarding the attribution to David. Workshop participation in the St.
Anne Altarpiece was proposed as early as 1905 (6) . Marlier suggested the participation
of Ambrosius Benson in the altarpiece (7). Scillia has attributed the
central panel and the St. Anthony predella panels to an assistant (8). Recently,
it has been suggested that the entire altarpiece is by a follower of David (9).
The support
Figure 1. Secondary eiectroll image of the
chalk ground of the center panel of Gerard
David and Workshop's St. Anne Altarpiece,
ca. 1506. The coccolith is typical of
those found in northern European deposits.
The two side panels of the altarpiece, which have been reduced in height,
now measure 214 X 76 cm. If the semicircular upper profile is recreated
based on the truncated arcs still visible at the upper extremity of each panel,
the original height of these panels can be estimated at 236 cm. By comparison
to contemporary Italianate altarpieces, the central panel can be assumed to
have been even greater in height. The predella panels are 56 cm high. The
altarpiece is the largest work in David's oeuvre and one of the largest surviving
from the period (10). The scale alone suggests that David would have
had assistance in this production. The patron fo r such a sumptuous and extravagant
commission is not yet known.
The central panel is assembled from fo ur boards, each side panel from three.
From the relative widths of the central and side panels, it is clear that this
was a fixed, not a closing, altarpiece. The oak panels were prepared in the
traditional manner with coatings of chalk in glue. Coccoliths in the chalk
ground prove a natural, and Northern, source (Fig. 1) (11).
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Metzger and Berrie 127