The Portrait of Elisabeth Braderic by Pieter Cristus: A Holistic Multidisciplinary Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Adornes Domein, a preserved medieval family estate in Bruges, houses the Portrait of Elisabeth Braderic, which underwent an extensive multidisciplinary investigation in 2024. This portrait of a prominent patrician woman from fifteenth-century Bruges has long intrigued art historians, sparking numerous hypotheses. Due to its extended absence from public view, questions arose regarding its authenticity, casting doubt on whether it was an original portrait or a copy after a lost original. Recently rediscovered, the portrait was subjected to several technical analyses, including MA-XRF, macrophotography, and infrared reflectography by the International Platform for Art Research and Conservation (IPARC), as well as Raman spectroscopy conducted by the Raman Spectroscopy Research Group at Ghent University. These were complemented by a comprehensive art-historical analysis. This article presents the findings from these diverse yet complementary analyses, unveiling a traditional palette of fifteenth-century pigments, a detailed portrayal of 1450s fashion, and the newly detected presence of a pentimento. The main conclusions of the study affirm that, despite some restorations and pigment discolouration, the portrait has remained relatively intact and was most likely painted around 1450 by Pieter Cristus. This hypothesis, previously suggested in earlier studies, has now gained compelling corroboration.