Object data
oak
height 27 cm × width 13 cm × depth 5 cm
Borman workshop (circle of)
Brussels, c. 1500 - c. 1510
oak
height 27 cm × width 13 cm × depth 5 cm
Carved and originally polychromed.
The angel’s wings and the object in the hands (probably a chalice) are missing. Also missing are a section of the hairband and possibly two curls of hair on the forehead.
...; purchased in Haarlem by L.A. van Meerten, Delft, before 1902;1 from whom purchased by C. Willebeek Le Mair van IJsselstein, Rotterdam, date unknown;2 by descent to Henriëtte, Baroness van Tuyll van Serooskerken-Willebeek Le Mair (1889-1966), The Hague;3 from whom, fl. 7,500, to the museum, 1960
Object number: BK-1960-31-A
Copyright: Public domain
Jan Borman II (? Neerlinter c. 1460 - Brussels c. 1520) and the Borman workshop
The prominent Brussels sculptor Jan Borman - or Borreman(s) - was rediscovered by the Leuven city archivist Van Even in 1876. The sculptor, described in a Brussels’ document drawn up in 1513 as the beste meester beeldsnijdere (best master sculptor) is part of an influential sculptors-dynasty, two members of which (his father and son) confusingly are likewise named ‘Jan’. In the 1930’s and 80’s the biographical and archival knowledge on the Borman-dynasty was greatly enhanced through efforts by De Borchgrave d’Altena and D’Hainaut-Zveny, and again updated in 2019 by Debaene and Dumortier.4
In 1479, the name of Jan Borman II – also referred to as ‘the Great’ in distinguishing him from his father, Jan I (c. 1440-1502/3) – appears for the first time in the city register of Brussels in connection with his citizenship and entry into the sculptor’s guild. He therefore originated from elsewhere, with some strong indications pointing to Leuven, where his father – who lived in the nearby town of Neerlinter – is considered to have been active from about 1460 until his death.
While few details are known about his life, certain is that Jan II had a brother, Willem I, who might also have worked as a sculptor, and at least two sons, Pasquier (c. 1470-1537?) and Jan III (c. 1480-?), who both assisted in their father’s workshop and later entered the same guild, respectively in the years 1492 and 1499. Other Borman-family members who were probably active in the workshop are Maria Borman (d. 1545, Jan III’s wife or sister?) and Willem II (c. 1518?-before 1599, Pasquier’s son). Jan II was highly active in the cultural and social life of Brussels, serving as an administrator of the rhetorical chamber, a member of the Seven Sorrows Confraternity.5 Jan II was active until around 1516 and is likely to have died in or around 1520, as his name no longer appears in archival documents after this time.
Jan Borman II’s most important work is the St George Altar, completed in 1493 for the Great Guild of the Crossbow for their chapel of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Ginderbuiten in Leuven. Although he produced at least two other altarpieces for the cities of Leuven and Turnhout, only the St George Altar has survived, since 1813 preserved at the Art and History Museum in Brussels.6 Remarkably, the altar has been signed, thus clearly conveying a self-awareness of his ability and status as an artist. In fact, the Borman family placed their signature on a number of their carved altarpieces – also those in Herentals (signed by Pasquier) and in Güstrow (signed by Jan III) – a practice that was highly exceptional for Netherlandish sculptors at this time. The Borman workshop created several altarpieces for the German, Scandinavian and Spanish export markets and at least one altarpiece is known to have found its way to Italy (Mondovi).7
In 1511, Jan Borman II was asked to provide the wooden models for life-size bronze statues, to be cast by Renier I van Thienen (active c. 1465-d. 1498), that were destined for the balustrade enclosing the forecourt (Baliënhof) of the Coudenberg Ducal Palace in Brussels after designs by the court painter Jan van Roome (active 1498-1521). Jan II had previously collaborated with Van Thienen on the tomb of Mary of Burgundy in Bruges in circa 1490-98. On stylistic grounds, Borman likely also carved the wooden models for Isabella of Burgundy’s tomb in Antwerp, of which ten surviving bronze weepers are today preserved in the Rijksmuseum (BK-AM-33). The Borman style was highly influential in the first decades of the sixteenth century and the family workshop was continued until the late 1540’s.
In 2019, the Museum M in Leuven organized an exhibition on the Borman dynasty. In the accompanying catalogue, Lefftz and Debaene attempted to define the creative identity and artistic development of individual family members, resulting in a fundamental reordering and major expansion of the oeuvre.8 In many cases based on presumption and stylistic arguments, their findings led to substantial shifts. Sculptures previously linked to the most renowned member of the Borman family, Jan II, as well as other anonymous Leuven masters, including the Master of the Arenberg Lamentation, the Master of Piétrebais and the Master of Christ on the Cold Stone, were now reassigned to an oeuvre of approximately sixty pieces ascribed to father Jan I, a sculptor to whom in fact no surviving sculptures can be attributed unequivocally. In Lefftz and Debaene’s vision, the Borman style originated in Jan I’s workshop in Leuven, where Jan II first acquired his skills before moving on to Brussels. Grandson Pasquier was linked to works such as the alabaster statuettes on the tomb monuments of Margaret of Bourbon, her husband and mother-in-law in the Monastère royale de Brou at Bourg-en-Bresse, while Jan III and Maria were chiefly typecast as conservative and inferior sculptors, merely capable of repeating previously devised formulas. In light of the stylistic cohesion of a majority of the works, however, attributions to individual artistic personalities within the Borman workshop prove perilous when founded solely on stylistic criteria. Moreover, a close collaboration between family members, apprentices and assistants undoubtedly existed in the workshop, with larger commissions even involving working associations with other studios, as was common practice at this time. On the other hand, a number of the attributed sculptures display only a minimal stylistic agreement with the Borman family’s core works, suggesting little more than an origin in the same artistic circle.
Marie Mundigler and Bieke van der Mark, 2024
References
J. de Borchgrave d’Altena, Le retable de Saint Georges de Jan Borman, Brussels 1947; M. Debaene (ed.), Borman: A Family of Northern Renaissance Sculptors, exh. cat. Leuven (Museum M) 2019; E. van Even, ‘L’auteur du retable de 1493 du Musée de la Porte de Hal à Bruxelles’, Bulletin des Commissions Royales d’Art et d’Archéologie 16 (1877), pp. 581-98; E. van Even, ‘Maître Jean Borman, le grand sculpteur belge de la fin du XVe siècle’, Bulletin des Commissions Royales d’Art et d’Archéologie 23 (1884), pp. 397-426; B. D’Hainault-Zveny, ‘La dynastie Borreman (XVe-XVIe s.). Crayon généalogique et analyse comparative des personnalités artistiques’, Annales d’histoire de l’art et d’archeologie V (1983), pp. 47-66; J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, pp. 40-45; H. Nieuwdorp, ‘Einige Bemerkungen zu den Bormanns, ihren Werkstätten und der Zusammenarbeit’, in C. Périer-D’Ieteren et al., Der Passions-Altar der Pfarrkirche St. Marien zu Güstrow. Historische und Technologische Studie, Brussels 2014, pp. 169-73; E. Pegues, ‘Jan Borreman’s Wooden Models for Bronze Sculpture: A Documentary Reconstruction’, Artibus et Historiae 76 (2017), pp. 181-204; F. Scholten, Isabella’s Weepers: Ten Statues from a Burgundian Tomb, Amsterdam 2007, pp. 46-48; U. Thieme and F. Becker (eds.), Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, vol. 4, Leipzig 1910, pp. 364-65
These two meticulously wood-carved, hovering angels (their wings now lost) once belonged to the Calvary scene of a large retable (for the other angel, see BK-1960-31-B). The arms of both angels extend forward to capture the blood of the crucified Christ with some kind of vessel (now missing, probably a chalice) clasped in their hands. The style of these figures recalls what is likely a somewhat later statuette of the archangel Michael preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose robes are rendered with even greater vigour. Williamson offers sound arguments confirming this superbly executed oak statuette as an example of Brussels production, circa 1510-20.9 An even greater similarity can be discerned when comparing the Amsterdam angels to four hovering angels and the Angel of the Annunciation from the Saluzzo Altarpiece, dated 1500-10 and bearing Brussels guild marks.10 All share the round charming faces with almond-shaped eyes, heavy upper eyelids and framed by outspread hair, consisting of three layered rows of curls emerging from a hairband and crowned by a forelock with two upright curls (in the case of angel BK-1960-31-A, these upright curls have probably broken off). Also very similar are the figures’ slender corporeal forms and the lively folds of their upsweeping robes.
The marked agreement between the Amsterdam angels – which bear no quality marks – and those of the Saluzzo Altarpiece and the London St Michael leaves little doubt that all were produced in the same artistic milieu. One possibility is the Borman family workshop, which, under the direction of Jan II (c. 1460-c. 1520), evolved to become the most important woodcarver’s atelier in Brussels. Jan II is best known for works such as the signed St George Altarpiece of 1493, today preserved in the Art and History Museum (Brussels).11 Also attributed to the Borman workshop – often more specifically to one of his sons, Jan III (c. 1480-?) or Pasquier (c. 1470-c. 1537?) – is the aforementioned Saluzzo Altarpiece;12 Jan III is the probable maker of the retable in Güstrow (Germany), signed JAN BORMAN, from circa 1520-22;13 the Altarpiece of Sts Crispin and Crispinian in the Sint-Waltrudiskerk at Herentals (Belgium) of around 1520 bears the Pasquier’s signature, PASSIER BORRE[MAN].14 Williamson also observed a connection between the London St Michael and the Saluzzo Altarpiece, along with several other works attributed to the Borman workshop. These include two Marian altarpieces: one preserved in the church of Saint Géry in Boussu-lez-Mons of circa 1515-2015 and the other at the Victoria and Albert Museum, dated circa 1520.16 Nevertheless, caution is advised when formulating attributions to the Borman family workshop for unsigned and undocumented works, as insight into its scope and organization remains limited. The same uncertainty applies to the Amsterdam angels (see also a Brussels Madonna, BK-2011-2). These works could also very well exemplify the production of one or more Brussels workshops emulating the same style under the influence of the successful Borman workshop.
Bieke van der Mark, 2024
J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 128, with earlier literature; P. van Dael et al., Hout- en steensculptuur: Beeldhouwkunst 1200-1800 in de collectie van het Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, coll. cat. Rotterdam 1994, p. 60
B. van der Mark, 2024, 'circle of Borman werkplaats, Hovering Angel, from a Calvary, Brussels, c. 1500 - c. 1510', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.24403
(accessed 13 November 2024 20:08:47).