Resumen de De Meester van Alkmaar en zijn werkplaats, een heroverweging
The writer reconsiders the attribution of a group of paintings compiled around a polyptych, The Seven Acts of Mercy, to the so-called Master of Alkmaar. Research leads to the conclusion that seven of the paintings are from the same workshop, though not always painted by the same artist. On the basis of this core group, Portrait of Hendrik IV van Naaldwijk and a pair of Portraits of Jan van Egmond and his wife Magdalena van Werdenburg can no longer be attributed to the Master of Alkmaar or his workshop. The evidence suggests that, during its 40 years, the workshop, probably composed of a leading artist and some independently producing collaborators, concentrated mainly on production to meet a demand for functional paintings for a largely local market, with this goal taking precedence over innovation.
