page_title: Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen
section_title: Work
hierarchical_section_title: Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen / Work
context_page_description: Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen was a Flemish painter of large-scale religious and mythological scenes. He is regarded as the last representative of the so-called Flemish School of painting. In particular, he is seen as continuing the artistic tradition of Flemish Baroque painting as exemplified by Rubens in the late 18th century and into the 19th century. He was highly regarded during his lifetime and enjoyed the patronage of eminent patrons and religious institutions. He was appointed first court painter to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria who also provided him a stipend to travel abroad to further his artistic studies.
context_section_description: Verhaghen was a very prolific painter who created religious and mythological compositions as well as some portraits. He painted over 300 works during his lifetime and was thus one of the most productive painters of the Austrian Netherlands. The master excelled mainly in his large history paintings for which he was in demand throughout Flanders.  He was less successful as a portrait painter since his creations were deemed not to produce good likenesses to the sitters. The portraits of abbot Simon Wouters van the Park Abbey and Adriaan Trudo Salé of Averbode Abbey are rare examples of Verhaghen's portrait work. Both portraits date from 1779 and show the abbots in their study room or library. The abbots are depicted with the symbols of their religious status. He was appreciated in his time as a great colorist and one of the most important painters working in the Southern Netherlands.
  Stylistically he is regarded as one of the last members of the Flemish Baroque and his style is indebted to the works of the great Flemish masters of the 17th century such as Rubens, van Dyck, Jordaens and Caspar de Crayer.  He thus sided with other artists of his time such as Willem Jacob Herreyns who continued the Flemish tradition of the Antwerp school against artists such as Cornelis Cels who sought inspiration in new artistic currents such as the Academic style popularized in France.
  Many of his works are still on display at many churches and religious institutions throughout Belgium including the Saint Quentin's Church in Leuven, Averbode Abbey and Park Abbey in Heverlee.
caption: The magnanimity of Scipio Africanus
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