Skrivande förnäm dam : Konst som hantverk och handelsvara i renässansens Flandern

Sammanfattning: The painting Seated lady writing has undergone a technical investigation where its material characteristics were unveiled using non-invasive analytical techniques employing different wavelengths of the spectrum. The panel was analyzed from a material and a visual culture perspective. The thesis aimed to answer what the panel has undergone through time, how its materiality relate to its function, and where and when it was created. In addition, the aim was to investigate the objects portrayed and their value within the artwork’s historical cultural context. The panel show diverse damages that might relate to insect activity, carving with a sharp tool in the face area, stabilization methods evident from remnants of a removed cradling and a possible dimensional reduction. Preparatory features including both free hand underdrawing for minor details, and a tracing technique used for the initial rendering of the female figure and some of the textiles were identified. A blend of meticulously rendered detailing with areas of lesser quality in terms of execution together with the use of common pigments, point to an overall aim of producing art in anefficient way. Later interventions are evident such as the turquoise overpaint on the dress covering the original authentic violet or burgundy color. Visible in X-ray, a dense element covering the bust may be interpreted as a painted thin fabric. The lack of the superficial viscous modelling layers reduce the face of its plasticity and many colors have altered and darkened. The setting and the woman’s fashion indicates an early Dutch 16th century courtly aesthetic. The objects in the rich interior alludes to religious symbolism referring to the Magdalene. The paintings attribution to the Master of the Female Half-Lengths was made in the early 20th century according to the panel’s stereotypical motif, despite the stylistic differences of the figure types. The panel differs from the other attributed panels in thesetting, where the woman seems contemplating in front of a diary, whereas the other women areportrayed writing, playing music or reading. This master has been regarded as synonymous with a workshop production, painting for the blooming 16th century art market in Flemish cities such as Antwerp. This thesis proposes that the paintings ought to be understood in the context of a genre The Female Half-Lengths, as opposed to adhering to one and the same attributed master.