The first section of this article, (1) Moving away from an attributional methodology, will first examine the pioneers in the study of Netherlandish carved altarpieces. These pioneers were mostly Belgian scholars who conducted iconographic and stylistic research on the artworks. Over the past few decades, however, numerous researchers started to point out the pitfalls of the purely stylistic method. How this persistent stress on the identity of the producing artists had shifted attention away from other important questions is therefore also discussed in the first section. 

The second part of the article then proceeds by analysing the first published primary sources related to these artworks, which laid the foundation for other researchers to provide critical interpretations. It is moreover concerned with the (2) new wave of interest that arose as a result of the 1993 exhibition on Antwerp altarpieces, organised in the Antwerp Cathedral and led by Hans Nieuwdorp. This exhibition remains one of the most important milestones in the research on Netherlandish carved altarpieces. At this time, the artworks were first addressed from a social, cultural and economic historical perspective, which is the focus of the third part, (3) The rise of other perspectives.