Donator with Saint James

Donator with Saint James, at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, shows a male donor—identified as a devotee of the apostle James—kneeling in prayer beside his patron saint. James the Greater, patron of pilgrims and intercessor for safe travel, was one of the most practically important saints of late medieval piety, venerated at his shrine in Santiago de Compostela by pilgrims from across Europe. The donor's choice of James as his patron saint suggests either a personal name, a vow associated with pilgrimage, or a professional interest in travel.

The male donor is rendered as an individualized portrait in three-quarter view, his prayer posture and expression of concentrated devotion contrasting with the more idealized features of the standing Saint James beside him. James's pilgrim attributes—staff, shell, scrip—are rendered with the material precision Aelbrecht brought to his best work, each object tactile in its painted specificity.