WORKSHOP OF JAN II BORMAN, CIRCA 1480-1500

Jan Borman (or Borreman, Borremans) was from a family of wood-carvers active in Brussels in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Among the several generations known, at least three were named Jan, but it was Jan II Borman who gained the greatest notoriety. His most important extant work is the seven scene altarpiece dedicated to the life and passion of St George, originally commissioned by the Guild of Crossbowmen for a chapel in Leuven, but now in the Musée du cinquantenaire, Brussels (illustrated in Huysmans, op. cit., p. 47). The present relief displays numerous close stylistic parallels with that altarpiece, not least the facial type and wavy beard of the figure of Longinus. The attention to decorative detail, such as the trim of Longinus' tunic or the elaborate horse's harness are also typical of Borman.