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Woodbiological investigations on panels of rembrandt paintings

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Summary

Paintings on 150 wooden panels accepted and not accepted as authentic Rembrandts were investigated using wood-anatomical and dendrochronological techniques. Paintings on 131 panels came from oaks in the coastal area of the Netherlands and 1 panel came from an oak in the interior. The wood of the remaining 18 panels was from beech, poplar and walnut, presumably from the Netherlands, and from cedrela, mahogany and jequitiba imported from Central and South America. In several cases wood of different panels was from the same trunk. By determining the felling date of a tree, a “terminus post quem” could be set for the production of the panel and the completion of the painting, respectively. The art-historical dating of most paintings could be dendrochronologically confirmed. In some cases the attribution was corrected by a few years. In one case an older panel was re-used.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ordinariat für Holzbiologie der Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    J. Bauch & D. Eckstein

  2. Institut für Holzbiologie und Holzschutz der Bundesforschungsanstalt für Forst- und Holzwirtschaft, Hamburg, Germany

    J. Bauch & D. Eckstein

Authors
  1. J. Bauch
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  2. D. Eckstein
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Additional information

We are very thankful to Professor H. Gottwald for the identification of the wood species of some panels, to Mrs. G. Brauner and Dr. P. Klein for their assistance, to Dr. A. L. Shigo for critical reading the manuscript.

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Bauch, J., Eckstein, D. Woodbiological investigations on panels of rembrandt paintings. Wood Sci.Technol. 15, 251–263 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350943

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350943

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