In the 15th- and 16th-century Southern Netherlands, the wooden support was usually delivered to the painter in finished form, namely with the frame. Only from 1510/1520 onwards, panels were increasingly painted before being framed. This evolution towards detached frames, whose decorative function was more important than the constructive one, is related to the increasing popularity in the 17th century of the use of canvas, a lighter support that required less solid frames. The French edition of this book (1989), with its detailed description of the supports, aimed to contribute to the conservation of frames hitherto misunderstood, as well as to stimulate dialogue between art historians and restorers. The present supplemented edition has a broader ambition: it also describes how the design of the joinery relates to the iconographic programme and includes detailed analyses of a number of masterpieces.(Contributions to the study of Primitive Flemish Paintings, 13).