Jan van den Hoecke

Jan van den Hoecke (4 August 1611 – 1651) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of wall tapestries. He was one of the principal assistants in Rubens’ studio in the 1630s, later traveled to Italy where he resided for a decade and subsequently worked as a court painter in Vienna and Brussels.

He was born in Antwerp in an artistic family. It is believed that, like his brother Robert van den Hoecke (1622–1668), he first apprenticed with his father, the painter Gaspar van den Hoecke (1595–1648). He then worked in the studio of Peter Paul Rubens in the 1630s.

While he was at Rubens’ studio he was a frequent collaborator on various major projects of Rubens. He is believed to have collaborated with Rubens on the ceiling decorations for the Banqueting Hall. Together with his father, Jan contributed to the decorations for the Joyous Entry of Cardinal-infant Ferdinand in Antwerp on 17 April 1635, the overall artistic design of which was under the direction of Rubens. Jan painted monumental representations for this occasion after designs by Rubens. Of these large-scale works some have been preserved such as the Triumphal Entrance of Cardinal Prince Ferdinand of Spain (Uffizi Gallery) and The Battle of Nördlingen, 1634 (Royal Collection). It is known that the latter work, which celebrates the Cardinal-Infant’s victory over a Swedish army at the Battle of Nördlingen of 1634 was painted by van den Hoecke after an oil sketch by Rubens. It was placed at a central position in the centre of the front of the Arch of Ferdinand during the Joyous Entry. It remained outside for a few months after the event during which it was exposed to the natural elements. As van der Hoecke was in Italy by this time, Jacob Jordaens carried out some re-touching of the canvas in 1636 before it was offered to Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand in 1637.

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