Robert van den Hoecke (1622 – 1668) - Besieged city

Oil on oak panel - Mark of Antwerp's hand on the back. Signed lower right R. van Hoecke.

Robert van den Hoecke (Antwerp 30.11.1622 - Bergues 1668) is a Flemish painter and architect of the Golden Age who succeed with his battles or landscapes paintings. Son of the painter Gaspar van den Hoecke and brother of the famous Jan van den Hoecke, he began painting in his hometown where he was admitted master of the Guild of Saint-Luc in 1644. Around 1649, he went to Brussels, where he entered the service of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, youngest son of Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg, and governor general of the Spanish Netherlands. He is entrusted with the mission of Controller of the fortifications of Flanders and, through this work, he paints military camps, battles and besieged cities. As a painter of the Archduke's court, he also produces propaganda compositions featuring his patron in the daily life of the territories he governs.