Technical developments in a 16th-century Netherlandish altarpiece by Maarten van Heemskerck and Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem

Restoration of a large 16th-century altarpiece was carried out in the Frans Halsmuseum between 1989 and 1991. The wings were commissioned from Maarten van Heemskerck in 1546, and a later centrepiece was commissioned from Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem in 1590. Treatment was preceded by a preliminary investigation of the materials, techniques, and conditions of the paintings, carried out by an interdisciplinary team. Since the altarpiece was a civic commission, archival sources recorded the provenances of the paintings and frames, as well as the cources of the materials used and the division of labour. Scientific examination of the paintings was carried out using such techniques as stereomicroscopy, stereo and normal X-radiography, and paint sample analysis. A comparison of Cornelis van Haarlem's centrepiece, with the wings which Van Heemskerck had painted less than fifty years earlier, showed that important technical developments had taken place. -- CAL