(1611 - 1651)
Jan van den Hoecke was born in Antwerp and probably taught by his father, painter Caspar van den Hoecke. His half-brother, Robert, was also a painter. Jan became a pupil of Sir Peter Paul Rubens. Together with his father, he contributed to the decorations for the Joyous Entry of the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand into Antwerp in 1635; a project overseen by Rubens. Other early works from van den Hoecke’s Antwerp period include an oil sketch of the ‘Triumph of David’ (Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas). Hoecke later visited Italy and Germany, receiving important commissions in both countries. He was briefly Painter in Ordinary to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. He returned to the Netherlands in 1647 and died in Antwerp, aged about 40.
