black and white marble altar made for the Chapel Church in Brussels based on a design by Rubens. This structure (now in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode) was the first stone altar in the shape of a porch in the Southern Netherlands. Rubens also commissioned van Mildert to make the famous separation wall with arches in Rubens’ residence in Antwerp. He further executed Rubens' design for the Waterpoort, a gate that was originally part of the Antwerp defence walls. Despite the baroque nature of his architectural work, his figure sculpture did follow the non-dynamic forms of the Renaissance style. His image of Saint Gummarus for the baroque altar erected in 1620 in the St. Gummarus Church in Lier is heavy in proportions, unrealistic in detail and static in its pose. Later works such as the marble statue of the apostle Simon in 1638 in the St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen are, however, livelier and realistic. This is also true for sculptures made after designs by Rubens such as the image of St. Michael fighting with the devil, made for the church of the abbey of St. Michael in Antwerp and now in the St. Trudo Church in Zundert. Van Mildert played an important role in the development of the design of Flemish Baroque religious furniture. In this area of Baroque sculpture in the Southern Netherlands he made his most important contribution since the quality of his figure sculptures lagged behind his Flemish contemporaries Artus Quellinus and François Duquesnoy. Because of his reputation in this field, he got in 1616 the commission for the design and execution of the main altar of the St. John's Cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch. A drawing and painting of this altar by Pieter Saenredam have been preserved and parts of the altar are now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. References External links Flemish Baroque sculptors 1588 births 1638 deaths Artists from Antwerp Painters from Antwerp Ivory carvers