Historical Overview of Panel-Making Techniques in the Northern Countries

Through manuscripts, as well as through documentation and research in conservation studios, the methods used by old master panel makers to manufacture panels used as painting supports have become much clearer. The guild rules that have been preserved are also an important source of information to the extent that they mention points applicable to the joiners or panel makers. In Antwerp, the earliest documents from the guild of Saint Luke date to the last quarter of the fourteenth century, with the first regulations dated 1442. The guild comprised not only painters, but many members of the various crafts related to art production, including lace makers, instrument makers, and panel makers. Joiners were not members of the guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp, but panel makers were. Both groups made panels, but for different purposes. The sculptors had the specialized bakmakers (box makers) make boxes and panels for their retables; however, joiners were also allowed to make panels. When the production of altars began to slow down in the sixteenth century, the box makers began making panels on a larger scale. Thus, the box makers actually became the new generation of panel makers. During the seventeenth century, when canvas became the preferred support for paintings and the demand for panels decreased, panel making again shifted, this time to the frame makers. During the same time period, frames developed increasingly sophisticated profiles and elaborate carvings, a development that demanded a separate association of frame makers. Aside from producing frames, these frame makers continued making panels for painters who preferred this rigid support. In Germany quality control had already been introduced in the late Gothic period. In Munich the regulations of 1424 stated that four representatives from the guild of cabinetmakers were to control all panels made by fellow cabinet and panel makers. Any irregularities were to be reported to the head of the guild, and the panel maker was to be punished accordingly. However, as the guild rules and the relationships among the different crafts varied from town to town, a comparison is difficult