page_title: Robert van den Hoecke
section_title: Work
hierarchical_section_title: Robert van den Hoecke / Work
context_page_description: Robert van den Hoecke was a Flemish painter, engraver and architect. He is principally known for his panoramic battle scenes as well as his landscape paintings. A single still life by his hand is known.
  After training and starting his career in Antwerp, the artist moved to Brussels where he entered into the service of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, the governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. Following his appointment by the Archduke to the position of Côntroleur des fortifications pour le service de sa Maj. en Flandre he lived from 1661 until his death in 1668 in Bergues-Saint-Winoc.
context_section_description: Some thirty paintings by Robert van den Hoecke are conserved in public museums of which only two are dated – Skating on the moat in Brussels in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (1649) and Military camp in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dunkerque. As controller of the fortifications of Flanders, he painted many views of camps, battles and cities.  As the court painter of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, the governor of the Southern Netherlands, Robert van den Hoecke created various compositions showing the participation of the Archduke in the daily life of the territory in his charge.  These works with an obvious propagandistic intent include paintings such as the Skating on the moat in Brussels with Archduke Leopold Wilhelm watching and the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm at a nocturnal fire.
  Many of his works depict battles as well as scenes from military life such as camps.  These were painted on small canvases, often set at night and including a great many figures. Robert van den Hoecke was a gifted staffage and still life painter and this may be the reason why he collaborated with the court battle painter Peter Snayers on a Military scene presumably depicting the siege by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Armentières in 1647 (Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest).  The large figures and the elaborate still life are the work of van den Hoecke, while the smaller figures in the second plane depicting the siege of the city are by the hand of Snayers.
  Van den Hoecke is also known for his landscapes, many of which are winter landscapes. His small landscapes typically feature a multitude of small figures with a view of a low horizon.  In these works he displayed his style which stood out through its meticulous draftsmanship, fine brushwork and bright tonalities.
  Examples of the religious compositions in his oeuvre are the series of twelve paintings on copper depicting the Twelve Apostles, in the collection of the Musée du Mont-de-Piété in Bergues, which is attributed to Robert van den Hoecke. These works were formerly housed in the Saint-Victor church in Bergues.  As shown in the St. Matthias from this series, the landscapes in the religious compositions and their figures are painted with the same attention to detail as in his winter landscapes.
  That Robert van den Hoecke was also interested in still life painting is evidenced by a stand-alone Still life of household utensils (Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna).  Various of his paintings also incorporate extensive still life elements as demonstrated in his contribution to the collaborative effort with Peter Snayers on the Military scene (Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest), to which he added a still life of pottery, vegetables, food and dead game.
  He engraved about 21 etchings. His etchings represent mainly military subjects as well as some religious scenes. They are characterized by a great correctness, a fine touch and a quick point.
  A comprehensive florilegium (at Sotheby’s London on 30 April 2015, lot 30), containing detailed studies of European flora such as narcissi, irises and capsicums, was attributed by a previous owner to Robert van den Hoecke. The spine label of the book is contemporary with the work and indicates the artist as "van den Hoecke".  It is therefore possible that the artist responsible for the work was not Robert but his father Gaspar or his brother Jan.
  The largest collection of his paintings is located in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
caption: Storming of a fortress
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