17th-century copies of a 15th-century early Netherlandish painting uncovered through technical and art-historical research

Studies of Early Netherlandish panel paintings have long implemented techniques such as dendrochronology, pigment analysis and infrared reflectography. However, knowledge about the production of workshop replicas from fifteenth century paintings, and later copies, remains limited. As a result, the attribution of such paintings poses a challenge to art historians. Here, we present a multidisciplinary investigation into two copies of an Early Netherlandish panel painting attributed to the fifteenth-century Flemish painter Pieter Cristus (or Petrus Christus), active in Bruges (Belgium) between c. 1445 and 1460 CE. Earlier research dated these works to the late 15th century based on dendrochronology and pigment analysis, although alternative hypotheses suggested a 17th-century origin or even modern forgery. To resolve this debate, we applied dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating, MA-XRF, infrared reflectography, Raman spectroscopy, and stylistic analysis. The new dendrochronological results, supported by radiocarbon dating, proved key in refuting the hypothesis of the 15th-century date, revealing that the trees were cut around the mid-17th century. Furthermore, while the pigments identified were largely consistent with 15th-century painting practices, the stylistic characteristics and the presence of the inscription “I.P.C” ( invenit Petrus Cristi ) in one of the paintings supports a production in the mid-17th century or shortly afterwards. These findings challenge the reliability of earlier dendrochronological assessments and illustrate that pigment analysis alone cannot securely date paintings, as historical materials and techniques persisted over time. Overall, our research highlights the practice of copying Early Netherlandish paintings in the 17th-century and the importance of integrated technical and art-historical approaches for accurate attribution.