Brussels (AFP)

In Belgium, museums are open and masterpieces await the public.

A 15th century altarpiece, presented as one of the beautiful wooden sculptures of Western history, finds its place of exhibition in Brussels on Saturday, after an exceptional restoration.

The piece known as "the altarpiece of St. George" was sculpted and signed by the Brussels master Jan Borman in 1493. It originally adorned a chapel in Leuven, Flanders, which was demolished at the end of the 18th century .

A sign of an eventful history, the altarpiece underwent a restoration in the 19th century which resulted in an inverted presentation of the seven stages of the martyrdom of this famous Christian saint, a great figure in the Orthodox tradition.

The discovery of this gross error pushes the Royal Museums of Art and History (MRAH), the institution that has owned the work for decades, to initiate a new in-depth restoration in 2018, the result of which is finally unveiled in public.

"We knew that the altarpiece had been restored in the 19th century but without really knowing the circumstances," said Emmanuelle Mercier, restorer at the Royal Institute for Artistic Heritage (Irpa), during a presentation to the media.

"By dismantling all the sculpted blocks, we realized that the restorer had reversed the direction of reading, starting with the end, namely the beheading of Saint-Georges. We decided to restore the original sequence", she adds.

5m wide and 1.60m high, carved from a single piece of wood, the set shows more than 80 meticulously detailed figures.

Knights in arms, executioners bringing wood to burn, Georges is surrounded by many characters at each stage of his ordeal.

In the center of the panel, the viewer's eye is particularly drawn to the scene where he is suspended by his feet from a gallows, his hair caught in the flames.

"The altarpiece of Saint-Georges is the key to understanding all the creative genius of Borman", one argues at the Royal Museums of Belgium.

Saturday, the day after St. George's Day, the work will again be visible in the Gothic-Renaissance-Baroque section of the Art and History Museum, in the Belgian capital.

© 2021 AFP