Jan van den Hoecke (1611 - 1651). Jan van den Hoecke was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of wall tapestries. He was one of the principal assistants in Rubens' studio in the 1630s. He later traveled to Italy where he resided for a decade in Rome. He subsequently worked as a court painter in Vienna and Brussels. Jan van den Hoecke was a versatile artist who created portraits as well as history and allegorical paintings. Jan van den Hoecke was born c. in Antwerp as the son of the painter Gaspar van den Hoecke and Margaretha van Leemput. It is believed that, like his half-brother Robert van den Hoecke, he first apprenticed with his father. 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 and The Battle of Nordlingen, 1634. It is known that the latter work, which celebrates the Cardinal-Infant's victory over a Swedish army at the Battle of Nordlingen 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. Jan van den Hoecke travelled to Italy where he resided likely from 1635 to 1644 although some extend the period of his stay to 1646. In Italy he seems to have become familiar with the paintings of Guido Reni and studied the antique. These influences explain the classicizing trends in his later work. In 1644, the artist was accepted in Rome as a member of a select club, the Virtuosi al Pantheon. Van den Hoecke moved to Austria and entered the service of Emperor Ferdinand III in 1644. He also painted for Ferdinand's brother, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, including a Madonna and Child and a number of allegorical pieces. Van den Hoecke returned to his home country with Archduke Leopold Wilhelm when the latter became the governor of the Southern Netherlands in 1647. He was at the same time a court painter and the conservator of the art collection of the Archduke, which was reported to be one of the largest in Northern Europe and comprised about 1,400 paintings and other artworks. He died in Antwerp or Brussels. Van den Hoecke was a versatile artist producing historical paintings as well as portraits and designs for tapestries. His work combined the achievements of the art of Rubens with 17th-century Italian Classicism. The artist and his work have only started to attract renewed attention from art historians since the 1970s. A better understanding of the characteristics of his style have led to the re-attribution to van den Hoecke of works earlier given to other collaborators of Rubens such as Erasmus Quellinus II and Jan Boeckhorst and tentative attributions of work earlier given to Theodoor van Thulden. Conversely, the increased knowledge of his unique style has also led to the attribution to other painters of works earlier given to van den Hoecke. His early style with its precise draughtsmanship and closeness to Rubens can be found in his oil sketch of The Triumph of David that was for a long time regarded as a work by Rubens. His Hercules between Vice and Virtue shows the influence from both Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. The closeness of his style to that of Rubens may have led to the attribution in 1780 to van den Hoecke of the Massacre of the Innocents when it was in the Liechtenstein Collection. Van den Hoecke painted a series of Sibyls which have been attributed to his earlier period from 1630 to 1637. The influence of Reni's idealized figure types as well as of Domenichino and Poussin are visible in the allegorical paintings he produced in Vienna. An example is the Virtue Overcoming Avarice in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. His familiarity with the work of Andrea Sacchi is reflected in his portraits of Emperor Ferdinand III and Archduke Leopold William.