painting

The Members of the Guild of the Old Crossbow of Mechelen

Meester van de Mechelse Sint-Jorisgilde

About this work

Object details

TitleThe Members of the Guild of the Old Crossbow of Mechelen
Datec. 1497
Mediumoil on panel
Measurements104 × 174 cm
Inventory number818

More about this work

St George, in a suit of golden armour and seated on a grey horse, is slaying a dragon in the centre of this painting. This heroic deed saved the lives of the princess and lamb immediately behind him, both otherwise destined to be the dragon’s next meal. Her parents are looking on from their castle. The scene is flanked by two saints dressed as bishops: St Rumbold on the right, the patron saint of Mechelen, and on the left his pupil St Libert. Kneeling beside the saints are 33 ‘ordinary’ mortals. Almost all of them are members of the Guild of the Old Crossbow, also known as the Guild of St George, a civic militia named after its patron saint. The members were wealthy citizens who had the right to bear arms and were responsible for maintaining order in the city. On their cuffs are the insignia of the order: a plant with three crossbows at the bottom, a weapon that was cocked with the feet. The man with the gold chain in the left foreground is the dean of the guild. The men without the insignia are probably nobles or clergymen who were associated with the group. One of them has been identified. The man wearing the gold ring in the right foreground was the priest Jan de Mol, who died in 1498. This panel is one of the earliest known group portraits in the Low Countries. There are no documents related to its commission, but later ones explain the context. In 1589 members of the Mechelen Guild of St George stated that there was a very old painting hanging in their chamber with St George on horseback and portraits of earlier guild brothers on either side, which was very probably this picture. According to their statement it commemorated the guildsmen who had fought with the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold at the siege of Neuss (1474-1475). That was confirmed by an inscription in the guild chamber that was later recorded. The Mechelen armed guilds often served as forces for the Burgundian court, as they did at Neuss. The city sent 60 crossbowmen (the entire guild of the Old Crossbow), 30 archers, their deans and several volunteers. The siege was not a success. Charles suffered severe losses and had to withdraw after five months. Fewer than half the Mechelen crossbowmen survived the operation. The duke richly rewarded the city for its loyalty by exempting every citizen of Mechelen from paying the toll on ducal territory. The inscription in the guild chamber recorded the names of 36 men who died at Neuss, 32 of them civic guardsmen. The portraits included in the painting are probably the survivors. The bald man at top right may be holding the deed announcing the toll exemption. The group portrait was probably painted 20 years after the siege of Neuss, for St George and the princess look very much like portraits of Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile. Philip, the grandson of Charles the Bold, married Joanna in 1496. It is a mystery why the group was not immortalised until later, above all because this kind of commission demanded considerable organisation on the painter’s part. Some of the survivors of the siege, for instance, had been killed in other Burgundian wars. The later date of execution may explain why many of the portraits were relocated or modified during the painting process, as has been shown by infrared an analysis. In addition to portraits of guardsmen and the ducal pair, the portrait also contains a ‘portrait’ of the city of Mechelen, with the Church of St Rumbold, the Vleeshouwerstoren, the Water Gate and the Ghent Gate, the Bethany convent and part of the city walls at top left. It is assumed that other settlements in the background are based on existing villages. An interest in the specific and the individual is a distinctive feature of this painting. The anonymous artist is known as the Master of the Mechelen Guild of St George, and a few other paintings are attributed to him as well. These include the polyptych with the life of St Rumbold in the Church of St Rumbold in the city, and the portrait of Jan de Mol in the Courtauld Gallery in London (inv. no. P.1947.LF.257).