Jan Van Beers, Willem van Saeftinghe, lay brother of Ter Doest, 1879

by Atelier Liesjes

A heavily built man sits in a wooden chair with turned legs and looks at the viewer suspiciously. He is wearing a black habit with a hood over his head, beneath which is a cream-coloured underskirt that falls to his bare feet; he is wearing sandals. In his right hand, he holds a large, broad sword with an iron hilt upright in front of him, the tip pointing upwards, as if it were a staff. His left arm hangs over the armrest, his hand relaxed. The hood casts a deep shadow over his forehead, but his eyes remain visible. The tip of the sword reaches the top edge of the canvas. Behind him, a church interior is visible: a stained-glass window with bright colours, a pillar, a pulpit with a statue on top, and, on the right, a wooden panelling. The colours of the stained-glass window glow in red and blue. At the bottom is a coat of arms featuring a blue lion on red and white stripes, and a long parchment band bearing the words ‘Sceilt’ and ‘Vrint’ (Shield and Friend). Van Beers paints the cowl with broad, fluid strokes and the skin of the face with fine, almost portrait-like attention to detail; the contrast between the peaceful robe and the coat of arms held in the hand is the essence of the image. The colours remain subdued: black, ivory white, grey-green and the variegated glass of the window. Willem van Saeftinghe was a lay brother at Ter Doest Abbey near Bruges and, according to tradition, fought in the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. Jan Van Beers (Lier 1852 – Paris 1927) painted this figure in 1879, as part of the same series as his ‘Jan Borluut’. He studied in Antwerp and later made a name for himself in Paris with portraits of high society. Here he reveals himself to be a storyteller who dares to unite a saint and a warrior in a single figure.