Jan van den Hoecke

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Still Life.

Jan van den Hoecke (August 4, 1611–1651), also known as Johannes or Giovanni and van Hoek, van Hoeck, or Vanhoek, was a Flemish Baroque painter and draughtsman. He was born and died in Antwerp.

He first apprenticed with his father, the painter Gaspar van den Hoecke (1595–1648); then worked in the studio of Peter Paul Rubens. Jan’s brother Robert van den Hoecke (1622–1668) was also a painter.

The artist and his father were well known for their 1635 execution of decorations for the Arch dedicated to the Emperor Ferdinand III in Antwerp. In this collaboration, Jan painted monumental representations, as seen in his piece, Triumphal Entrance of Cardinal Prince Ferdinand of Spain, (Uffizi Gallery). Hoecke then traveled to Austria under the commission of the Emperor Ferdinand III after 1637, staying for about ten years. He also painted for Ferdinand’s brother, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1614–1662), including a Madonna and Child and a number of allegorical pieces. Before this he traveled to Italy and worked in Rome, which may have influenced his style some.

Another piece by Hoecke is his, Hercules between Vice and Virtue, (Uffizi Gallery), which shows an influence from both Rubens, and another pupil of the master Baroque painter, Anthony van Dyck. An oil sketch long known as a work by Rubens, The Triumph of David, (Kimbell Art Museum) (1635), is also attributed to the painter. Hoecke also painted still-life works of flowers, as seen in the image on the right.