PAINTERS' WORKSHOPS IN THE
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY NETHERLANDS
Chair: Molly Faries,
Indiana University and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
This session is intended
to reveal key issues that have arisen in recent investigations
into the painter's workshop: the recognition that
the workshop is an entity larger than the surviving
works; new visual material, specifically that provided
by technical studies (e.g. infrared reflectography);
encouragement of more synthetic interpretations. Various
questions can be pursued, such as the extent and range
of shop production, the amount and types of collaboration,
the fundamental importance of copies and compositional
replicas, and actual practices related to the creation
and repeated use of workshop models. Shop routine
can also be realted to historical contexts, such as
a particularly large commission or the opportunities
provided by the ar tmarket, collecting, and export.
The session will focus
on the sixteenth century and centers of artistic commerce
such as Antwerp, though some painters had multiple
workshops in more than one city. The activities of
the Antwerp mannerists and related retable production
is a central concern in this period. As yet the investigation
of serial production is still in its beginning stages,
but information does exist that can shed light on
the possible uses of cartoons, either for replication
in one shop or for rental out to several shops. A
good amount of technical documentation exists for
the mid-century shops of Aertsen and Bueckelaer, although
other production strategies, such as 'prestige collaboration'
require further investigation. Painting specialties,
such as landscape painting, or copies after Hieronymus
Bosch, also provide interesting material for the point
of view represented by this session.
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