![Jäders kyrka altarskåp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/J%C3%A4ders_kyrka_altarsk%C3%A5p.jpg)
Jan Borman (sometimes Borreman or Borremans, fl. c. 1479-1520) was a
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
Northern renaissance
The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps. From the last years of the 15th century, its Renaissance spread around Europe. Called the Northern Renaissance because it occurred north of the Italian Renais ...
sculptor.
Life
![Grafmarg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Grafmarg.JPG)
Borman belonged to a family of sculptors. His father was also a sculptor and the two seem to have worked together on at least one occasion. Jan Borman is mentioned for the first time in 1479, when he joined the guild of sculptors in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. In 1484-86, he received a commission to supply statues for one of the side-altars in
Antwerp Cathedral
The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been ...
. In 1491, in connection with a commission to restore and create new sculptures for Sint-Jacobskerk (Church of St. James) in
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
, Borman is reported to have entered the joiner's guild of Leuven. In the same year, he was probably responsible for making the wooden model for the bronze tomb of
Mary of Burgundy
Mary (french: Marie; nl, Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled a collection of states that included the duchies of Limburg, Brabant, Luxembourg, the counties of ...
in the
Church of Our Lady in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
. A few years later, he is recorded having received payment for a crucifix for the Church of St. Sulpitius in
Diest
Diest () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60 ...
.
Borman made a large, signed and dated altarpiece dedicated to St. George for the Guild of Crossbowmen in Leuven in 1493, today housed in the
Art & History Museum
The Art & History Museum (french: Musée Art & Histoire, nl, Museum Kunst & Geschiedenis) is a public museum of antiquities and ethnographic and decorative arts located at the Cinquantenaire, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, Bel ...
, Brussels.
It has been described as Jan Borman's most famous work.
With time, Borman became a highly regarded artist. In 1511 he was commissioned to make wooden models and other sculptures for the tombs of the
Duke and Duchess of Brabant. In the same year, he is described in royal accounts as "the best sculptor". He received further prestigious commissions and official accounts imply that he may have been at some stage employed by the city of Brussels.
Jan Borman had two sons, named Jan and Passchier, who also were sculptors and who occasionally collaborated with their father.
Works
Borman's style has been described, in connection with his famous 1493 altarpiece, as characterised by
Several altarpieces have been attributed to Jan Borman, apart from the ones already mentioned. The large number and the uneven quality of the work imply that his name indicates a whole workshop rather than an individual master. A large number of altarpieces by Borman can be found in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, where
Strängnäs
Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...
,
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
and
Västerås
Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049.
Västerås ...
cathedrals all have altarpieces attributed to his workshop. In addition, there are altarpieces in
Vadstena Abbey
The Abbey Pax Mariae ( la, Monasterium sanctarum Mariæ Virgìnis et Brigidæ in Vatzstena), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Orde ...
and a number of smaller Swedish churches, e.g.
Jäder,
Skepptuna,
Bro and
Ytterselö. Other works are found in the Church of St. Nicholas in
Orsoy
Orsoy, till 1974 an independent town in the district of Moers, is today a municipal district of the Lower Rhine town of Rheinberg on the Rhine. The word Orsoy, pronounced ''Oschau'' means "horse pasture" (Rossaue). Orsoy itself was in the Middle A ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and in the church in
Boendael,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
as well as in the
Art Museum of Estonia
The Art Museum of Estonia ( et, Eesti Kunstimuuseum) was established in 1919. Originally based in Kadriorg Palace, the museum has expanded across several sites and today exhibits both international and local art works. At the end of the 1970s, in t ...
(
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borman, Jan
Early Netherlandish sculptors
Netherlandish Gothic art
16th-century Flemish sculptors
Artists from Brussels