Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Figure 4. Infrared niffectogram assembly of part of St. Anne's red drapery (area of riflectogram: 24 X
21 em). Type III underdrawing, which is characterized by its painterly quality, is illustrated. Riflectograph
by M. Faries.
Miracle of the Dead Child, have wandering marks that recollect the appearance
of the correction in the Virgin's sleeve. The dotted quality of these lines has
led researchers to interpret them as having been produced by pouncing. However,
microscopical examination of the paint surface showed that in these
locations, the black paint protrudes through the uppermost white layers, giving
an impression of a series of dots. These spotty "correction" lines in the
predella panels were not followed in the final paint layers, as they were in the
center panel.
The looseness and lack of formality of the underdrawing in the two side
panels and the predella panels, coupled with the fact that there are many
repositionings from the underdrawn to the paint stage, suggests that someone
with the authority to interpret the sketch and deviate from it, most likely the
master himself, was working on the side panels and the predella panels. The
careful additional delineation of outlines in the St. Anne suggests that someone
who was less intuitive was to work on this panel. The "correction" mark
in the Virgin's sleeve, which is followed in the final paint layer, also suggests
a second hand in this process. The " correction" marks in the predellas, which
are ignored in the final paint stage, suggest the finishing touches were completed
by someone who could and did act independently. Participation of
workshop members at the underdrawing stage has been noted. For example,
Fairies found at least three hands in the underdrawing in the Crucifixion triptych
in the Rijksmuseum Het Catherijnenconvent in Utrecht (14). The master,Jan
van Scorel, drew only in the exterior wings; the drawing in the interior
wings and the central panel was executed by two anonymous assistants.
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Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice