Master of the Saint George-guild of Mechelen: Members of the crosbow-guild of Mechelen (1497)

(Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium)

Portraits of a Civic guard (Dutch - a schuttersstuk') are almost exclusively Dutch but this is one of the few exeptions. Depicted are members of the civic-guard of the Belgium town of Mechelen - the crosbow-guild of Saint George. In the middle is the patron saint of the guild Saint George who is fighting the dragon. The face of  Saint George is that of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, with whom the guild had a good relationship. To the left there is Saint Rumbold of Mechelen (patron saint of Mechelen of the city of Mechelen). On the right is perhaps Saint Libertus. On the left in the background you can see the Saint Rumbold's Cathedral of Mechelen. Painting from 1497.