Le retable d'Oplinter | Het retabel van Oplinter
A very well preserved polychromy
This book is devoted to the Passion Altarpiece from the church of St Genevieve in Oplinter (Flemish Brabant), now in the Art & History Museum (Brussels),. The in-depth study this book offers is not only fully justified because the art work is particularly representative of the production of Antwerp altarpieces from the first half of the sixteenth century, but also because of its exceptional state of preservation.
A richly illustrated book for a remarkable multidisciplinary undertaking, of great interest to specialists and enlightened amateurs alike.
The documentary research was patiently carried out by Jaak Jansen and Ria de Boodt, who also wrote the art history chapter. Myriam Serck, who supervised the treatment of the work, was able to reconstruct in great detail the manufacturing technique of late medieval altarpieces. She has thus shown that these liturgical furnishings are the result of close collaboration between tradesmen: carpenters, sculptors, polychromers and painters. The research carried out at KIK-IRPA sheds new light on the succession of their interventions and, in particular, provides information on the order in which the backgrounds and colours were applied.
The laboratories were responsible for determining the structure and composition of the polychrome layers. The results of these analyses are presented by Jana Sanyova. The painted shutters were studied by Nicole Goetghebeur and Leopold Kockaert.
The essay on the scientific aspects of the Oplinter altarpiece forms one of the most important studies to date examining the manufacture of carved altarpieces.
More publications of KIK-IRPA
Early Netherlandish Painting
