(c1670 - c1733)
Little is known about the Dutch painter Richard van Bleeck (c.1670-c.1733). He was born at The Hague and died in London. Bleeck was in London by 1715, when he painted a portrait of the playwright and poet William Congreve (1670-1729), which shows the sitter in quiet contemplation, holding a manuscript copy of two plays by his friend Vanbrugh. The painting is now in the Stedelijk Museum Vanderkelen-Mertens, Leuven, in Belgium.
