Six artworks seized following complaint

At the municipal museum M Leuven, six 16th-century wood sculptures that are currently on show in the exhibition ‘Borman and Sons’ have been seized by the police. This occurred following a complaint from the Church of Saint Gaugericus in Boussu-lez-Mons.

M had borrowed the six altarpiece fragments from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam for the exhibition about the master sculptor Jan Borman and his sons. The little statues are fragments from the Mary Altarpiece, which can still be seen in the Church of Saint Gaugericus in Hainault to this day. 

“We are surprised by the complaint. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Church Fabric Committee of Boussu have been negotiating about these altarpiece fragments for years,” Chair of M and City Councillor for Culture and Tourism Denise Vandevoort says. Dr Peter Carpreau, Head of the Department of Old Masters adds: “We complied with all the international regulations for the loan. M has been involved in hundreds of exhibition loans over the past decade and this is the first time that anything like this has happened. Moreover, at the end of the exhibition ‘Borman and Sons’ on 26 January, the fragments were due to be taken to the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK) to be restored, before being reunited with the original altarpiece.” This is a case of ‘soft’ property seizure, meaning that the statues will remain on show at M until the end of the exhibition ‘Borman and Sons’ on 26 January 2020.

Research

Thanks to the research of a team of experts from various institutions, including M, the University of Namur, the University of Toronto, KU Leuven and KIK-IRPA, it was possible to make a definitive attribution of the six altarpiece fragments to Pasquier Borman, the son of the renowned woodcutter Jan II Borman. The very first retrospective exhibition with a parallel publication concerning this medieval sculptor and his family is currently running at M, featuring more than 120 sculptures as well as paintings, tapestries and works on paper, displayed across five museum rooms.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Church of Saint Gaugericus have been negotiating for several years about a long-term loan of the 16^th-century altarpiece fragments, pending compliance with certain conditions such as strict climatological conditions and security systems. It is unclear where and when the altarpiece fragments will on display to the general public after the exhibition ‘Borman and Sons’ at M and the restoration by the KIK.