Saint Martin Dividing His Cloak

Attributed to Jan Boeckhorst

National Gallery of Art

An armored man riding a white horse cuts his scarlet-red cloak in half using his sword in this loosely painted, vertical panel. The horse walks angled to our left, and a kneeling, bare chested person to the right holds both hands up and grips the other end of the cloak. A woman, a bearded, bald man, child, and baby are clustered behind the kneeling man. The baby sleeps in the woman’s arms, but she and the other child look up at the man on horseback, Saint Martin. The end of a staff or crutch and a shallow wooden bowl are by the kneeling person’s feet. Saint Martin’s silver armor gleams with gold decoration. He and all the others have pale, peach-toned skin. Saint Martin has chin-length, curly brown hair and wears a red cap with a white feather. Two more people on horseback are behind Saint Martin, and the trio rides under an arch twined with some brown vines. A church is visible in the distance through the arch.