Late Gothic Altarpieces as Sources of Information on Medieval Wood Use: A Dendrochronological and Art Historical Survey

Abstract

SUMMARYWooden altarpieces are important features of European medieval material culture, especially of the Late Gothic Fine Arts from the 15 th and 16 th century. Many of them were carved in the Brabantine towns of Antwerp, Brussels and Mechelen in present-day Belgium. Although they were highly esteemed and exported all over Europe, little is known about their production process. In order to understand the context of the creation of the altarpieces, a detailed analysis of the wood has been completed to supplement and test historical documentation and art historical approaches. Tree-ring patterns and anatomical features of 209 wooden sculptures from collections of different museums were analyzed. Tree-ring analysis proved the 15 th -16 th century origin of the sculptures but also allowed a detailed technical characterization of the carversʼ basic material. The striking uniformity of the grain and the sawing pattern revealed that medieval woodcarvers preferred quarter sawn oak lumber, imported from the Baltic area. Stylistic and iconographic hypotheses concerning the current setting of several altarpieces could be founded, based on the wood anatomical and dendrochronological observations. Intensive collaboration between wood biologists and art historians proved to be essential in order to reconstruct the creation process of carved wooden altarpieces.

Doel 2: a second 14th-century cog wrecked in den Deurganck, Doel, Belgium

“…The Vistula River is known to be a highly important transport artery during medieval times, especially for floating timber harvested in dense forests down to the coast (Zwick, forthcoming). Assortments of these Southern Baltic timbers have been shipped all over Europe from the early 14th century up to c.AD 1660 (Ważny and Eckstein, 1987;Ważny, 2005;Haneca et al, 2005aHaneca et al, , 2005bDaly, 2011a). Although the site chronologies from the towns of Gdańsk and Elbląg are composed of timbers that have been excavated locally, their actual provenance could be further inland.…”

Oaks, tree-rings and wooden cultural heritage: a review of the main characteristics and applications of oak dendrochronology in Europe

“…Such objects have been the subject of many wood anatomical and dendrochronological surveys (e.g. Bauch, 1968Bauch, , 1978aBauch et al, 1978;Bauch and Eckstein, 1981;Eckstein et al, 1975a;Fletcher, 1986;Fraiture, 2002;Haneca et al, 2005a;Hillam and Tyers, 1995;Klein, 1986;Klein and Wazny, 1991;Klein, 1993;Lä ä nelaid and Nurske, 2006;Lavier and Lambert, 1996). Panel paintings were chiefly produced during the 15th-17th centuries, since from the 16th century onwards, wooden panels were increasingly replaced by canvas.…”

“…Wooden sculptures are another example of fine arts that have high potential for tree-ring dating (e.g. Fraiture, 2000;Haneca et al, 2005a). The wood species used for carving greatly depends on where the craftsman was working.…”

“…There was a shortage of high quality oak at that time and some artists started to reuse older oak panels, which can now lead to conflicting dating reports. It has been observed that the time between felling of the oak tree and making the sculpture is rather short for the creation of wooden sculptures, approximately 1-4 years (Eckstein, 2005;Haneca et al, 2005a).…”

Dendrochronology and Past Human Activity—A Review of Advances Since 2000

“…Examples of successfully investigated oak sculptures from northern Europe are the triumphal cross with a number of statues in the Cathedral of Lübeck (Eckstein 2007) and sculptures in the late Gothic Brabantine altars from Belgium (Haneca et al 2005a).…”