Robert van den Hoecke also known as Robrecht van den Hoecke, was a Flemish Baroque painter of battle scenes in the manner of Pieter Snayers

Pieter Snayers

Pieter Snayers was a Flemish Baroque painter known for representations of historical battle scenes.Born in Antwerp, he studied under Sebastiaen Vrancx before joining Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke in 1612...

.

Biography

He was the son of Gaspar van den Hoecke

Gaspar van den Hoecke

Gaspar van den Hoecke was a Flemish Baroque painter of small devotional cabinet pieces in the manner of Frans Francken II. His sons Robert and Jan van den Hoecke were also painters....

 and the brother of Jan van den Hoecke

Jan van den Hoecke

Jan van den Hoecke , also known as Johannes or Giovanni and van Hoek, van Hoeck, or Vanhoek, was a Flemish Baroque painter and draughtsman. He was born and died in Antwerp.-Biography:...

. Born in Antwerp, he was a pupil of his father. He became a master in the city's Guild of St. Luke in 1644–45, and after 1649 Van den Hoecke was active in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 at the court of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria was an Austrian military commander, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1647 to 1656, and a patron of the arts.-Biography:...

. Gonzales Coques painted his portrait

Portrait

thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

 — also an allegory

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

 of sight for a series of the five senses—which shows him as "Controleur des fortifications". He was also an architect of note. As controller of the fortifications of Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

, he painted many views of camps, battles, and cities. His work is well represented in the Vienna Gallery.