recommended about 1920 but were rejected in the 1950s (Basch-Bordone
1921:10; Wolters 1952:5).
Loose wooden boards, glass plates, and metal sheets were some
options explored since the 1920s (Achternkamp 1991:25). Hygroscopic
materials such as wooden boards, compressed fiberboards, and plywood
are still used today.The very young history of the conservation of wooden panel supports has
a very long prehistory. The period of the joiner working under the super-
vision of the painter-restorer is concurrent with this long prehistory and
ends in the early twentieth century. In summary, this period can be consid-
ered a period of neglect and suppression of the inherent nature of wood.
During that prehistory, pure aesthetic opinions and preferences for
even, smooth panel paintings heavily influenced treatment methods. There
was no understanding of the wooden support as an integral part of the
picture itself; at that time, only the paint layer was considered to compose
the picture—all the rest could be changed. This attitude is most clearly
demonstrated by the practice of transferring paintings from wooden to
textile supports. There is no doubt that total transfer of a painting was,
for a long time, a technically difficult but ethically accepted procedure.
The practice of sawing a double-sided painting into halves was,
therefore, not uncommon. In the nineteenth century, the concept of the
gallery picture on the museum wall was dominant. It is obvious that other
possible presentation methods for double-sided paintings were not consid-
ered, nor was there any discussion about this method oftransforming
altar wings into gallery paintings.
Finally, the dubious effects of cradling methods were never dis-
cussed. Ifthere were damages, it was assumed that the individual cradle
system was incorrect, the thinning of the original support was not exten-Conclusion
228 Schiessl
Figure 21
Hans Brosamer, Portrait of Wolfgang Eisen,
- Reverse. Oil on limewood panel,
479 3 305 cm. Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
(inv. 128). Sometimes paper sheets were
glued on split or thinned panels to reinforce
them. The treatment shown dates from the
nineteenth century.