Some unusual woods may be found. Raphael’s Transfiguration,^9
painted on cherry wood (Prunus arium L.), is a very large panel (Mancinelli
1990:150). Italian panels are usually associated with white poplar (Bomford
etal. 1989:11), linden (Tiliaspp.) (Klein and Bauch 1990), and perhaps wil-
low (Salix spp.),^10 so a very large panel of cherry is unusual.
Figure 4a–c shows an Italian painting on white poplar consisting
of six vertical planks cut to a round top. Though it seemed slightly heavy,
the wood density is within poplar’s rather broad range ( Jobling 1990:66).
This panel would originally have been about 40–50 mm thick. Poplar has
been justly preferred for large panels because of its high strength-to-
weight ratio, ease of tooling and preparation, and moderate movement
(Lincoln 1986:221).
In rare examples, one or two large planks may suffice for a
support. Figure 5a, b shows a painting by J. M. W. Turner on a single
mahogany plank. Its “sister” painting is similarly constructed.^11 Both panel
paintings remain in extremely good condition, which is not unusual for
sound mahogany panels^12 in a near-original state—that is, unaltered by
thinning, cutting down, and so forth. Neither is restrained by an auxiliary
support. If excessive, such restraint can be detrimental, particularly for
larger panels. Movement of mahogany is small (Lincoln 1986:159), an
advantage for preservation. With radially sawn planks and sound prepara-
tion, such panel paintings tend to be durable.
In “portrait” format, vertical planks are a more structurally sound
arrangement than horizontal planks. Generally, rectangular panels have450 Brewer
Figure 4a–c (4c on next page)
Marco Palmezzano,The Mystic Marriage of
Saint Catherine,1537. Oil and egg tempera on
poplar panel (visual identification), 2560 3
1805 3 20 mm thick. Property of the Marquess
of Northampton. Before treatment, front with
frame rubs along the curved edge (a); back (b);
and a diagram of reinforcements and splits
viewed from the back (c). Some splits were ini-
tiated or aggravated by screw tips protruding
from the framework and into the panel back
inthe lower right corner, and especially by a
cross-grain insert at the middle of the bottom
edge, where the splits zigzag abruptly.
a b