Christ and the Samaritan Woman Workshop in Mechelen

The town of Mechelen in Belgium was a major centre of alabaster sculpture from the mid-sixteenth century onwards. The reliefs from Mechelen have a decorative effect, owing to their elaborate frames and the gilding. Another version of the relief of Christ and the Samaritan woman can be found in Brussels. The existence of this second variant, which is in a poorer condition, demonstrates how the Mechelen alabaster sculptors liked to repeat subject matters and compositions. The relief exhibits the characteristic features of mannerism, albeit the forms of the early baroque are also present.