Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

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Figure 4. Infrared niffectogram assembly of part of St. Anne's red drapery (a rea of riflectogram: 24 X

21 em). Type III underdrawing, which is characterized by its painterly quality, is illustrated. Riflecto­

graph 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. How­

ever, microscopical examination of the paint surface showed that in these

locations, the black paint protrudes through the uppermost white layers, giv­

ing an impression of a series of dots. These spotty "correction" lines in the

predella panels were not fo llowed in the final paint layers, as they were in the

center panel.

The looseness and lack of fo rmality of the underdrawing in the two side

panels and the predella panels, coupled with the fa ct 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 some­

one who was less intuitive was to work on this panel. The "correction" mark

in the Virgin's sleeve, which is fo llowed 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 com­

pleted by someone who could and did act independently. Participation of

workshop members at the underdrawing stage has been noted. For example,

Fairies fo und at least three hands in the underdrawing in the Crucifixion trip­

tych in the Rijksmuseum Het Catherijnenconvent in Utrecht (14). The mas­

ter,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.

Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice