Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

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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
Figure 2. Infrared rriflectogram assembly if the cherub standing 01'/ the throlle (lift side, area if rriflectogram: 23 X 10 C/'I'/). Type I drawing is visible, characterized by an even, relatively narrow width. Rriflectograph by M. Faries. The underdrawing Infrared reflectography reveals distinct campaigns of underdrawing that can be described in four groups (12). Type I is characterized by a narrow, even line that skips over the surface of the ground. It is the first drawing stage in all three of the main panels and the St. Nicholas predella panels. There is only a small area of type I drawing in one of the St. Anthony predella panels. The drawing made using this material is summary. An example of this drawing type in the cherub on the throne is illustrated in Figure 2. This underdrawing 128 Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice
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Historical Painting Techniques, Mat
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Contents vii viii Foreword Preface
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Foreword One of the first events or
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The discussions in this volume pres
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Plate 2a, above right. Attributed t
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Plate 4a, above. Jacques Louis Da
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Plate 7a, above. Valerio Mariana da
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Plate 9. Marco Palmezzano, Mystic M
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Plate 13, right. Surya in his Chari
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Plate 16. The Fifth King of Shambha
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Plate 20. Cross section oj Sample 3
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Plate 26, top. Titian, Venus and Ad
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Plate 29. Cross sections of the St.
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Plate 33. Paul Delaroehe, The Execu
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Plate 35, right. Detail Jrom the lo
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Abstract This paper argues for an i
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we find a description of the affini
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2. A Practical Treatise on Painting
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knowledge and understanding of the
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Table 1. Scientific methods used Jo
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the painting together, share backgr
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y distance with "the aid of the air
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ected, shadows would appear matte a
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The differences in saturation, clea
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19. White, R. Personal communicatio
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occupation agreable pour charmer l'
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DE PEJN'FURE PRATIQUE. Par demit::
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In spite of the laments of certain
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While cooking their eggs, two young
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some used for painting (i.e., amber
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ange of artists' materials, books o
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Figure 3. Personal account book, 18
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paper resulted in a volume of corre
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4. HKI MS 865-1993, 497. The move i
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[1] How to make a gold ground. Take
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into a glass, and put in a bit of w
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[37] To make crude verzino for writ
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it on what you are working, with a
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28. On these "clothlet colors," see
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it also includes instructions fo r
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Ricordi di belli colori Initially i
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Figure 4. Gherardo Cibo, "Fusaina [
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The treatise is typical for the lat
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Filza CXLIII, fols. 1122r, 1125v, 1
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that is, plaster of Paris, which ha
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100 80 60 40 a 3500 30.00 2500 2000
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process described by Cennini for ge
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Abstract The frequent use of verdig
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strating that spreading this glaze
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10. Thompson, op. cit., 61. 11. Ber
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Tingry, in 1830, gives a recipe for
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elonged to William Mallord Turner (
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500 450 As Ph As 400 350 Fe Co 300
Page 110 and 111: 19. Merrifield, op. cit., 745-6. 20
Page 112 and 113: Table 1. Tibetan color names, trans
Page 114 and 115: J Figure 3. Three-dimensional spect
Page 116 and 117: Figure 5. Detail IR-reflectogram fr
Page 118 and 119: Abstract Icons preserved in the Nil
Page 120 and 121: I )--------------------------1 I i
Page 122 and 123: The understanding of an icon and it
Page 124 and 125: Abstract As part of a five-year sys
Page 126 and 127: later transferred to an artificial
Page 128 and 129: Winchester Cathedral Holy Sepulchre
Page 130 and 131: Gilding. Gold leaf was applied for
Page 132 and 133: Winchester Cathedral Holy Sepulchre
Page 134 and 135: scanning electron microscopy I ener
Page 136 and 137: Notes 1. Park, D. 1983. The wall pa
Page 138 and 139: Abstract It is rare for ancient ext
Page 140 and 141: Sa. Location : Salisbury west front
Page 142 and 143: sheltered eye on the southernmost c
Page 144 and 145: Abstract Extensive examination of A
Page 146 and 147: create surface gloss and could be v
Page 148 and 149: Figure 3. Andrea Mantegl1a, The Pre
Page 150 and 151: Abstract In September 1992 the J Pa
Page 152 and 153: arrow in Adonis's right hand ends a
Page 154 and 155: For the early works are executed wi
Page 156 and 157: J Figure 3. Fluorescence spectrul1'
Page 158 and 159: This property was deliberately used
Page 162 and 163: Figure 3. Infrared reJlectogram ass
Page 164 and 165: Figure 5. Irifrared niflectogram as
Page 166 and 167: followed by modeling layers and gla
Page 168 and 169: Abstract Based on extensive informa
Page 170 and 171: o . (Vv..-.< 1 2. underdrawing, and
Page 172 and 173: The key position of Lamentation in
Page 174 and 175: Figure 1. Workshop of Jan Bruegel,
Page 176 and 177: Figure 3. Camelis Vroom, Landscape
Page 178 and 179: Figure 5. Infrared photograph of Es
Page 180 and 181: at the beginning of the seventeenth
Page 182 and 183: artist like Vermeer had to use all
Page 184 and 185: Figure 1. Perspective drawing of Ve
Page 186 and 187: Hague, 1996). The author is also gr
Page 188 and 189: Abstract The paper presents some re
Page 190 and 191: Summary We can conclude after this
Page 192 and 193: the product, a salesman motivated b
Page 194 and 195: complaints, have been strictly adhe
Page 196 and 197: F(gure 8. Illfrared rriflectograph
Page 198 and 199: 13. Hunt, W. H. 1905-1 906. Pre-Rap
Page 200 and 201: Figure 1. The Execution of Lady Jan
Page 202 and 203: Figure 3. The Execution of Lady Jan
Page 204 and 205: Figure 5. Detail of Lady Jal1e Grey
Page 206 and 207: Figure 6. Paul Delaroche, The Execu
Page 208 and 209: 38. Merimee,J.-F.-L. 1830. De la pe
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F(gure 1. J. M. W. Turner, Goring M
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Figl/re 3. Detail if lower left, s/
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Figure 5. J. M. W. Tumer's The Dawn
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TabLe 1. Dates of manufa cture of i
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Kennedy of the Ulster Museum, Viola
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Figure 2. James Whistler, Nocturne
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5). There are many such examples of
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Abstract This paper discusses aspec
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1960s in North America. Requiring b
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2. Eder, ]. M. 1945. History of Pho
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Figure 1. Jan Baptiste Collaert, Co
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sudden increase in the dimensions o
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lacks. Passages painted with mixtur
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8. It is not clear when people firs
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Errata for Historical Painting Tech
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PAGE 159 Figure 2. Image source: Pe
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