Discoveries from Bouts' atelier

Bouts created his masterpieces in a Leuven studio more than 500 years ago. Exactly how he went about his work has long been a mystery but, fortunately, we still have the artworks. If you look closely, they reveal the secrets of the old master, his collaborators and later restorations. Today, researchers are making many remarkable discoveries with the help of new technologies.

Triptych of the Descent from the Cross

In the bottom right corner of the central panel of this triptych, you can look back into the past through a number of 'trial windows'. A number of later paintings as well as dirt had already been removed during the preliminary examination of those small frames. That made entirely different colours suddenly emerge. A brown-green coat is, in fact, a proper green and a dull burgundy-looking fabric turns out to be fresh lilac. That is promising.

By the 16th century, people had grown tired of the 'old-fashioned' triptych form with its rectangular frame. Michelangelo's friend and collaborator Jacopo Florentino adapted the piece and reframed it in a new monumental retable in the Spanish plateresco style. During the late Baroque, more than two centuries later, they took this one step further and the top of all of the side panels were sawn off. They were given a new frame again, but in 1945 the work was refitted into the plateresco frame.

‘Triptiek van de kruisafneming’ (centraal paneel), Dieric Bouts, ca. 1450-1458, Cabildo de la Capilla Real de Granada — ‘Triptiek van de kruisafneming’ (centraal paneel), Dieric Bouts, ca. 1450-1458 © Cabildo de la Capilla Real de Granada, foto: Armando Bernabeu Granados

Christ Crowned with Thorns

Bouts’ ‘Christ Crowned with Thorns’ now has eight corners, but did you know that this work originally was rectangular? Tastes change and at some point, perhaps in the 18th century – the century of rococo and more frivolity – someone wanted this work in an octagonal frame. There was only one thing to do, saw the rectangular artwork into an octagon.

Is this the work of Dieric himself, or one of his employees? Bouts certainly made the basic composition, but devotional portraits like this one were reproduced on an assembly line in his studio. Thanks to a nifty copying technique, an employee simply had to follow the dotted lines.

We can study the underlying outline of the painting, or signature, by using infrared radiation. But with this Christ, we do not really need technology as the layer of paint has partially worn off and in some places, the outlining has become visible.

‘Christus met doornenkroon’ voor restauratie, Atelier van Dieric Bouts, ca. 1470, Collectie M Leuven © KIK-IRPA, Brussel

‘Christus met doornenkroon’, tijdens restauratie, na reiniging Atelier van Dieric Bouts, ca. 1470, Collectie M Leuven © KIK-IRPA, Brussel

Mater Dolorosa

Dendrochronology, the study of the annual rings of wood, can tell us a lot about a painting. The distance between the rings of the wood indicates when the tree was cut down, and thus also gives an approximation of when the painting was made. Dendrochronology has told us that this 'Mater Dolorosa' – unlike the 'Christ with crown of thorns' – with certainty cannot be by Dieric Bouts, because the tree used for the planks was not felled until after his death. It is probably a painting from the studio of his son Albrecht Bouts.

Incidentally, in Bouts's studio, the Christ Crowned with Thorns and the Mater Dolorosa were often made as a duo. The intention was to show them side-by-side so that they could be adored together.

‘Mater Dolorosa’, Albrecht Bouts, na 1490, privéverzameling © KIK-IRPA, Brussel

Triptych with the Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus

In the 19th century, they used a somewhat peculiar restoration technique: the so-called transposition. In 1840, Emile Mortemard, a Parisian restorer attached to the Louvre, removed the entire layer of paint of 'The Martyrdom' from its wooden base. He then reapplied the layer to a new wooden support, fitted with a linen cloth. Sadly, the signing was largely lost in the process.

‘Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus Triptych’, Dieric Bouts, ca. 1460-1464, M Leuven / Saint Peter’s Church, photo: artinflanders.be, Dominique Provost

Triptych with the Martyrdom of Saint Hippolytus

Dieric Bouts was never able to complete this work. Dieric died in 1475, and in 1479 Hugo van der Goes finished the panel with the donors of the triptych. We know the year thanks to the 18th century travel writings of the adventurous Johanna Schopenhauer. During a visit to Bruges, she noted the year 1479, which she had seen on the original list.

‘Triptiek met de marteling van de heilige Hippolytus’, (Atelier van) Dieric Bouts en Hugo van der Goes, ca. 1475 (centraal paneel en rechterluik) en ca. 1479 (linkerluik), Brugge, Sint-Salvatorkathedraal © KIK-IRPA, Brussel

Triptych with 'The Last Supper'

The central panel of 'The Last Supper' has always remained in Leuven, but the side panels have lived an eventful life. They were dismantled and sold in the 18th century but remained in Brussels until 1814 when they were brought to Aachen. Later on, the top two panels ended up at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and the bottom two at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

The side panels were finally returned to Belgium in 1920 as a form of compensation for damages in the war. But not for long. In WWII, the German occupiers took them back to Germany. They ended up in the salt mines of Altaussee, along with numerous other stolen masterpieces of art. In 1945, they were recovered by the so-called Monuments Men, and returned to Belgium.

In the 19th century, 'The Last Supper' and 'The Martyrdom' were thought to be works by Hans Memling, Bouts' famous Bruges contemporary. However, towards the end of the 19th century, the diligent Leuven archivist Edward van Even found the contract for 'The Last Supper' in the city archives. Since then, this work has been attributed to Bouts.