Wenceslas Cobergher
Encyclopedia
Wenceslas Cobergher sometimes called Wenzel Coebergher, was a Flemish
Renaissance architect
, engineer
, painter
, antiquarian
, numismatist and economist
. Faded somewhat into the background as a painter, he is chiefly remembered today as the man responsible for the draining of the Moëres
on the Franco
-Belgian
border. He is also one of the fathers of the Flemish Baroque
style of architecture in the Southern Netherlands
.
. Following the example of his master, Cobergher left for Italy in 1579, trying to fulfil the dream of every artist to study Italian art and culture. On his way there he stayed briefly in Paris, where he learned about his illegitimate birth from seeing the will of his deceased mother. He returned to Antwerp right away to settle some legal matters relating to this discovery. Later in the year, he set forth again to Italy. He settled in Naples
in 1580 (as attested by a contract) and remained there till 1597.
In Naples he worked under contract for eight ducat
s together with the Flemish painter and art dealer Cornelis de Smet. He returned briefly to Antwerp in 1583, buying goods with borrowed money for his second trip to Italy. He is mentioned again in Naples in 1588. In 1591 he allied himself with another compatriot, the painter Jacob Franckaert the elder (before 1551 - 1601).
He moved to Rome in 1597 (as attested in a letter to Peter Paul Rubens by Jacques Cools). During that time he had also been preparing a numismatic
book in the tradition of Hendrik Goltzius
. He must also have built up a reputation as an art connoisseur, since in 1598 he was asked to make an inventory and set a value on the paintings of the deceased cardinal Bonelli.
After the death of his first wife Michaela Cerf on 7 July 1599, he married again, four months later and at the age of forty; his second wife was Suzanna Franckaert, 15-year old daughter of Jacob Franckaert the younger
, who was also active in Rome. He would have nine children with his second wife, while his first marriage had remained childless.
During his stay in Rome Cobergher became much interested in the study of Roman
antiquities, antique architecture and statuary. He was also much interested in the way in which Romans represented their gods in paintings, bronze and marble statues, bas-reliefs and on antique coins. He gathered an important collection of coins and medals from the Roman emperors. These drawings and descriptions were gathered in a set of manuscripts, two of which survive (Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium
). He was also preparing an anthology
of the Roman Antiquity (according to the French humanist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc
) that was never published. Sometimes the "Tractatus de pictura antiqua" (published in Mantua
, 1591) has been ascribed to Cobergher, but this was based on an erroneous reading of an 18th-century catalogue.
At the same time he was witness to the completion of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica
in 1590. The architecture of several Roman churches made also a deep impression on him; among them most influential were the first truly baroque façade
of the Church of the Gesu
, Santa Maria in Transpontina and Santa Maria in Vallicella
. He would use their design in his later constructions.
During his stay in Italy he painted, under the name "maestro Vincenzo", a number of altarpiece
s and other works for important churches in Naples and Rome. His style is somewhat mixed, incorporating Classical and Mannerist
elements. His composition is rational and his rendering of the human anatomy is correct. A few of his altarpieces still survive: a Resurrection (San Domenico Maggiore
, Naples), a Crucifixion (S Maria di Piedigrotta, Naples), a Birth of Christ (S Sebastiana) and a Holy Spirit (Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome). One of his best known paintings is the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian , originally in the Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp), but now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy. This painting was commissioned by the De Jonge Handboog (archers
guild) of Antwerp in 1598, while Cobergher was still in Rome. His Angels Supporting the Dead Lord, originally in the Sint-Antoniuskerk in Antwerp, can now also be found in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, while his Ecce Homo
is now in the museum of Toulouse
.
s and canal
s (not confirmed by surviving documents). He is reported to have overseen the construction of palaces and fortifications, but it is not exactly known which ones.
His renown as an architect even reached the court of the Archduke Albert
and Infanta Isabella
, governors of the Southern Netherlands
. In 1601 he was invited to Brussels to present himself at the court, arriving in September of that year. When his in-laws died in 1603, he had to return to Rome to settle family matters. On his return in 1604, he brought along a book from cardinal Baronius for the printshop of Christoffel Plantijn. He settled in Antwerp where he was admitted as a master in the Guild of Saint Luke
. In 1605 he was admitted in the Guild of Romanists
.
On 12 November 1604 Cobergher was appointed by the archdukes to the post of "architecte et ingeniaire" (architect-engineer). He moved to his final address in the Violetstreet in Brussels, where he would remain till his death. He was obviously more appreciated by the archdukes than were the court painters Peter Paul Rubens or Jan Brueghel the Elder
, since his salary amounted to 1500 guilders (increasing to 1800 guilders in 1610), while Rubens' salary was only 500 guilders. The archdukes rightly considered him as an "uomo universale" (universal man
) who had received a wide knowledge in Italy.
Although from now on he would be mainly active as an architect, he did not abandon painting completely. In 1605 he painted two altarpieces, a Deposition(Brussels, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
) and St. Helena with the Holy Cross (Saint James' Church, Antwerp
).
As an architect Cobergher promoted the Baroque style in the Southern Netherlands. He started with several alterations at the palace
of the archdukes in Brussels and their castle
s in Tervuren
, and worked on their hunting estate in Mariemont
. In 1610 he designed, together with the French engineer Salomon de Caus
, fountains for the ponds near the archducal palace in Brussels, using the Italian tempietto
style. One of his most important commissions was the construction (1607–1611) of the church and the cloister
fof the Discalced Carmelites
in Brussels. The façade of the church was based on the Roman churches of Santa Maria in Transpontina and Church of the Gesu
. None of the previous works still survive.
In 1607, Cobergher was ordered to redo a bastion of the Catholic Counter Reformation: the whole city of Scherpenheuvel
, in Brabant, was to be redesigned as an allegoric homage to the Mother of God, with a layout based on a 7-pointed star. His first designs for the basilica
date from 1606. This pilgrimage church would become his masterpiece. The construction began in 1609 and lasted until about 1624, with the belfry
remaining unfinished. The space under the dome is equally heptagonal. This basilica is the first important church with a central dome in the Southern Netherlands.
His later works evolvied into his own style, more in harmony with the traditional Northern Renaissance
in Flanders, but with additions of early Baroque elements. In 1614 he made the designs for the town hall of Ath
, Hainaut (1614–1617) and the church of St. Augustine (1615–1618) in Antwerp (now a concert hall). In 1617 he built in the same mixed style the St. Hubertus chapel for the archducal palace at Tervuren . The volute façade of this chapel was later adopted by other architects, as in the Carmelite Church (Antwerp, 1623; destroyed), St. Barbara Church, Diest
(1665–1667) and the Averbode Abbey
(1164-1672).
in Italy
. He is most probably the author of their set of rules with 500 articles. These pawnshops introduced the modern concept of allowing a credit loan against the deposition of a collateral
.
He built, between 1618 and 1633, fifteen "Bergen van Barmhartigheid" in towns with usurers
and Lombard banking
. Some of them he designed himself in his mixed style of traditional schemes with Baroque features : Ghent
(1622), Tournai
(1622, now turned into the Musée d’histoire et d'archéologie) Arras
(1624), Lille
(1628) and Bergues-Saint-Winock
(1633).
Two books about the public pawnshops are ascribed to Cobergher :
. In 1618 he obtained the monopoly
for its production in the Spanish Netherlands. This patent was extended in 1627.
Cobergher is perhaps best remembered as a hydraulic engineer. He planned several drainage works in the western and southern parts of the Campine
(Dutch: Kempen), a region which then consisted mainly of moor or swamp
, heath
and sandy peat
. In 1616 he made plans for the canalisation of the river Zenne
between Brussels and Halle
. This last project was only realised in the 19th century.
In 1612, inspired by his observations of the Pontine Marshes
southeast of Rome, he composed a report on the draining of Les Moëres
(in Dutch : de Moeren), a marshy region of about 3500 ha.
in the area of Dunkirk in France. This reclamation would become his most impressive achievement. These impressive works started in 1619 with the digging of a drainage channel with about twenty windmill
s, pumping water into the channel, discharging eventually into the sea. This colossal work came finally to end in 1627; so pleased was the archduke that in 1618 he made Cobergher a baron
, master of the seignories
of Cobergher, Sint-Antheunis and Groenlandt. By this ennoblement he became master of about half the territory of Les Moëres. This would prove to be a serious disadvantage as these properties drew him into a dire financial situation.
Cobergher died in Brussels on 23 November 1634, leaving his family in deep financial trouble. His properties in Les Moëres had to be sold, as well as his house in Brussels. Even his extensive art and coin collection was auctioned off for 10,000 guilder
s.
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...
Renaissance architect
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
, numismatist and economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
. Faded somewhat into the background as a painter, he is chiefly remembered today as the man responsible for the draining of the Moëres
Les Moëres
De Moeren or Les Moëres are a marshy region in the Westhoek, politically divided between the French-Belgian border. At one time the area was inhabited by the Gallic people known as the Morini; they are believed to have lent their name to the territory.For many centuries, beginning around 800,...
on the Franco
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
border. He is also one of the fathers of the Flemish Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style of architecture in the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
.
Life
Born in Antwerp, probably in 1560 (1557, according to one source), he was a natural child of Wenceslas Coeberger and Catharina Raems, which was attested by deed in May 1579. His name is also written as Wenceslaus or Wenzel; his surname is sometimes recorded as Coberger, Cobergher, Coebergher, and Koeberger.Painter
Before being known as an engineer, Cobergher began his career as a painter and an architect. In 1573 he started his studies in Antwerp as an apprentice to the painter Marten de VosMarten de Vos
Marten de Vos , also Maarten, was a leading Antwerp painter and draughtsman in the late sixteenth century.-Biography:Like Frans Floris, he travelled to Italy and adopted the mannerist style popular at the time. De Vos was also highly influenced by the colors of Venetian painting, and might have...
. Following the example of his master, Cobergher left for Italy in 1579, trying to fulfil the dream of every artist to study Italian art and culture. On his way there he stayed briefly in Paris, where he learned about his illegitimate birth from seeing the will of his deceased mother. He returned to Antwerp right away to settle some legal matters relating to this discovery. Later in the year, he set forth again to Italy. He settled in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in 1580 (as attested by a contract) and remained there till 1597.
In Naples he worked under contract for eight ducat
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
s together with the Flemish painter and art dealer Cornelis de Smet. He returned briefly to Antwerp in 1583, buying goods with borrowed money for his second trip to Italy. He is mentioned again in Naples in 1588. In 1591 he allied himself with another compatriot, the painter Jacob Franckaert the elder (before 1551 - 1601).
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
book in the tradition of Hendrik Goltzius
Hendrik Goltzius
Hendrik Goltzius , was a Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter. He was the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, or Northern Mannerism, noted for his sophisticated technique and the "exuberance" of his compositions. According to A...
. He must also have built up a reputation as an art connoisseur, since in 1598 he was asked to make an inventory and set a value on the paintings of the deceased cardinal Bonelli.
After the death of his first wife Michaela Cerf on 7 July 1599, he married again, four months later and at the age of forty; his second wife was Suzanna Franckaert, 15-year old daughter of Jacob Franckaert the younger
Jacob Franquart
Jacob Franquart was a Flemish painter, court architect, and an outstanding copper plate engraver...
, who was also active in Rome. He would have nine children with his second wife, while his first marriage had remained childless.
During his stay in Rome Cobergher became much interested in the study of Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
antiquities, antique architecture and statuary. He was also much interested in the way in which Romans represented their gods in paintings, bronze and marble statues, bas-reliefs and on antique coins. He gathered an important collection of coins and medals from the Roman emperors. These drawings and descriptions were gathered in a set of manuscripts, two of which survive (Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium
Royal Library of Belgium
The Royal Library of Belgium is one of the most important cultural institutions in Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Dukes of Burgundy...
). He was also preparing an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of the Roman Antiquity (according to the French humanist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry...
) that was never published. Sometimes the "Tractatus de pictura antiqua" (published in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, 1591) has been ascribed to Cobergher, but this was based on an erroneous reading of an 18th-century catalogue.
At the same time he was witness to the completion of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in 1590. The architecture of several Roman churches made also a deep impression on him; among them most influential were the first truly baroque façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of the Church of the Gesu
Church of the Gesu
The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named , its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture ,. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit...
, Santa Maria in Transpontina and Santa Maria in Vallicella
Santa Maria in Vallicella
Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele...
. He would use their design in his later constructions.
During his stay in Italy he painted, under the name "maestro Vincenzo", a number of altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
s and other works for important churches in Naples and Rome. His style is somewhat mixed, incorporating Classical and Mannerist
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
elements. His composition is rational and his rendering of the human anatomy is correct. A few of his altarpieces still survive: a Resurrection (San Domenico Maggiore
San Domenico Maggiore
San Domenico Maggiore is a church in Naples, southern Italy, located in the square with the same name. The square is one of the most interesting in Naples and is on the street popularly called "Spaccanapoli" in the historic center of Naples...
, Naples), a Crucifixion (S Maria di Piedigrotta, Naples), a Birth of Christ (S Sebastiana) and a Holy Spirit (Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome). One of his best known paintings is the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian , originally in the Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp), but now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy. This painting was commissioned by the De Jonge Handboog (archers
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
guild) of Antwerp in 1598, while Cobergher was still in Rome. His Angels Supporting the Dead Lord, originally in the Sint-Antoniuskerk in Antwerp, can now also be found in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, while his Ecce Homo
Ecce Homo
Ecce Homo are the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate in the Vulgate translation of the , when he presents a scourged Jesus Christ, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd shortly before his Crucifixion. The original Greek is Ἰδοὺ ὁ ἄνθρωπος . The King James Version translates the phrase...
is now in the museum of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Architect
Cobergher began his career as an architect in Italy, designing fountainFountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
s and canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s (not confirmed by surviving documents). He is reported to have overseen the construction of palaces and fortifications, but it is not exactly known which ones.
His renown as an architect even reached the court of the Archduke Albert
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria
Archduke Albert VII of Austria was, jointly with his wife, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621, ruling the Habsburg territories in the southern Low Countries and the north of modern France...
and Infanta Isabella
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. In some sources, she is referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia...
, governors of the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
. In 1601 he was invited to Brussels to present himself at the court, arriving in September of that year. When his in-laws died in 1603, he had to return to Rome to settle family matters. On his return in 1604, he brought along a book from cardinal Baronius for the printshop of Christoffel Plantijn. He settled in Antwerp where he was admitted as a master in the Guild of Saint Luke
Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identified by John of Damascus as having painted the...
. In 1605 he was admitted in the Guild of Romanists
Guild of Romanists
The Guild of Romanists was a 16th and 17th century society in Antwerp for humanist and artists; it was a condition of membership that the member had visited Rome. Deans were appointed annually. It was "where 'art-pilgrims' met to keep themselves up to date on news from Rome, whether it be new...
.
On 12 November 1604 Cobergher was appointed by the archdukes to the post of "architecte et ingeniaire" (architect-engineer). He moved to his final address in the Violetstreet in Brussels, where he would remain till his death. He was obviously more appreciated by the archdukes than were the court painters Peter Paul Rubens or Jan Brueghel the Elder
Jan Brueghel the Elder
Jan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter, son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and father of Jan Brueghel the Younger. Nicknamed "Velvet" Brueghel, "Flower" Brueghel, and "Paradise" Brueghel, of which the latter two were derived from his floral still lifes which were his favored subjects, while the...
, since his salary amounted to 1500 guilders (increasing to 1800 guilders in 1610), while Rubens' salary was only 500 guilders. The archdukes rightly considered him as an "uomo universale" (universal man
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
) who had received a wide knowledge in Italy.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium , is one of the most famous museums in Belgium.-The museum:...
) and St. Helena with the Holy Cross (Saint James' Church, Antwerp
Saint James' church, Antwerp
St. James' Church in Antwerp, Belgium, is built on the site of a hostel for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. The present building is the work of the Waghemakere family and Rombout Keldermans, in Brabantine Gothic style...
).
As an architect Cobergher promoted the Baroque style in the Southern Netherlands. He started with several alterations at the palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
of the archdukes in Brussels and their castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
s in Tervuren
Tervuren
Tervuren is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636...
, and worked on their hunting estate in Mariemont
Mariemont
Mariemont may refer to:* Mariemont, California, in El Dorado County* Mariemont, Ohio, planned community in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States* Mariemont, Belgium, former hunting estate created in 1546 by Queen Mary of Hungary...
. In 1610 he designed, together with the French engineer Salomon de Caus
Salomon de Caus
Salomon de Caus was a French engineer and once credited with the development of the steam engine.Salomon was the elder brother of Isaac de Caus. Being a Huguenot, he spent his life moving across Europe....
, fountains for the ponds near the archducal palace in Brussels, using the Italian tempietto
San Pietro in Montorio
San Pietro in Montorio is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard The Tempietto built by Donato Bramante.-History:...
style. One of his most important commissions was the construction (1607–1611) of the church and the cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
fof the Discalced Carmelites
Discalced Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites, or Barefoot Carmelites, is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers and Mothers...
in Brussels. The façade of the church was based on the Roman churches of Santa Maria in Transpontina and Church of the Gesu
Church of the Gesu
The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named , its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture ,. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit...
. None of the previous works still survive.
Scherpenheuvel-Zichem
Scherpenheuvel-Zichem is a municipality located in the province of Flemish Brabant, Flemish Region, Belgium, encompassing the towns of Averbode, Messelbroek, Okselaar, Scherpenheuvel, Schoonderbuken, Keiberg, Kaggevinne, Testelt and Zichem . On January 1, 2006 Scherpenheuvel-Zichem had a total...
, in Brabant, was to be redesigned as an allegoric homage to the Mother of God, with a layout based on a 7-pointed star. His first designs for the basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
date from 1606. This pilgrimage church would become his masterpiece. The construction began in 1609 and lasted until about 1624, with the belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
remaining unfinished. The space under the dome is equally heptagonal. This basilica is the first important church with a central dome in the Southern Netherlands.
His later works evolvied into his own style, more in harmony with the traditional Northern Renaissance
Northern Renaissance
The Northern Renaissance is the term used to describe the Renaissance in northern Europe, or more broadly in Europe outside Italy. Before 1450 Italian Renaissance humanism had little influence outside Italy. From the late 15th century the ideas spread around Europe...
in Flanders, but with additions of early Baroque elements. In 1614 he made the designs for the town hall of Ath
Ath
Ath is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Hainaut. The Ath municipality includes the old communes of Lanquesaint, Irchonwelz, Ormeignies, Bouvignies, Ostiches, Rebaix, Maffle, Arbre, Houtaing, Ligne, Mainvault, Moulbaix, Villers-Notre-Dame, Villers-Saint-Amand, Ghislenghien...
, Hainaut (1614–1617) and the church of St. Augustine (1615–1618) in Antwerp (now a concert hall). In 1617 he built in the same mixed style the St. Hubertus chapel for the archducal palace at Tervuren . The volute façade of this chapel was later adopted by other architects, as in the Carmelite Church (Antwerp, 1623; destroyed), St. Barbara Church, Diest
Diest
Diest is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60km from Brussels. The municipality comprises the city of...
(1665–1667) and the Averbode Abbey
Averbode Abbey
Averbode Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery situated near Diest , in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels in Belgium.-1134-1800:Averbode Abbey was founded about 1134-1135 by Count Arnold II of Loon...
(1164-1672).
Economist
In 1618 Cobergher was appointed to the rank of General Superintendent of the public pawn shops. As an economist, he was responsible for introducing this concept of public pawnshops to Flanders, after seeing the "Monti di Pietà"Mont de Piété
A mount of piety was an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from the later Middle Ages times to the 20th century, more often referred to in English by the relevant local term , such as monte di pietà , mont de piété , or monte de piedad...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He is most probably the author of their set of rules with 500 articles. These pawnshops introduced the modern concept of allowing a credit loan against the deposition of a collateral
Collateral (finance)
In lending agreements, collateral is a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan.The collateral serves as protection for a lender against a borrower's default - that is, any borrower failing to pay the principal and interest under the terms of a loan obligation...
.
He built, between 1618 and 1633, fifteen "Bergen van Barmhartigheid" in towns with usurers
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
and Lombard banking
Lombard banking
Lombard banking refers to the historical use of the term 'Lombard' for a pawn shop in the Middle Ages, a type of banking that originated with the prosperous northern Italian region of Lombardy. The term was sometimes used in a derogatory sense and some were accused of usury.-History:A Christian...
. Some of them he designed himself in his mixed style of traditional schemes with Baroque features : Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
(1622), Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
(1622, now turned into the Musée d’histoire et d'archéologie) Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
(1624), Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
(1628) and Bergues-Saint-Winock
Bergues
Bergues is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgian border. Locally it is referred to as "the other Bruges in Flanders"...
(1633).
Two books about the public pawnshops are ascribed to Cobergher :
- "Cort verhaal van de oprechtinghe, ordre ende beleyt van de Bergen van Bermherticheyt" (Brussels, 1619) (Short story of the true order and policy of the ...)
- "Apologia ofte Bescherm-reden tegen het hekelen van de onredelycke vyanden en tegenraeders van de Berghen van Bermhertigheyt" (MechelenMechelenMechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...
, 1621) (Apology or defence against criticism by the unreasonable enemies and adversaries of the ...)
Engineer
Since 1615 he owned a small company, producing potashPotash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
. In 1618 he obtained the monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
for its production in the Spanish Netherlands. This patent was extended in 1627.
Cobergher is perhaps best remembered as a hydraulic engineer. He planned several drainage works in the western and southern parts of the Campine
Campine
The Campine is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-western Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands...
(Dutch: Kempen), a region which then consisted mainly of moor or swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
, heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
and sandy peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
. In 1616 he made plans for the canalisation of the river Zenne
Zenne
The Zenne or Senne is a small river that flows through Brussels, left tributary of the Dijle/Dyle. Its source is in the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dijle and the Rupel...
between Brussels and Halle
Halle, Belgium
Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia...
. This last project was only realised in the 19th century.
In 1612, inspired by his observations of the Pontine Marshes
Pontine Marshes
thumb|250px|Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain.The Pontine Marshes, termed in Latin Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, Pomptina Palus and Pomptinae Paludes by Pliny the Elder, today the Agro Pontino in Italian, is an approximately quadrangular area of former marshland in the Lazio...
southeast of Rome, he composed a report on the draining of Les Moëres
Les Moëres
De Moeren or Les Moëres are a marshy region in the Westhoek, politically divided between the French-Belgian border. At one time the area was inhabited by the Gallic people known as the Morini; they are believed to have lent their name to the territory.For many centuries, beginning around 800,...
(in Dutch : de Moeren), a marshy region of about 3500 ha.
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
in the area of Dunkirk in France. This reclamation would become his most impressive achievement. These impressive works started in 1619 with the digging of a drainage channel with about twenty windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
s, pumping water into the channel, discharging eventually into the sea. This colossal work came finally to end in 1627; so pleased was the archduke that in 1618 he made Cobergher a baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
, master of the seignories
Seignory
In English law, Seignory or seigniory , the lordship remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple....
of Cobergher, Sint-Antheunis and Groenlandt. By this ennoblement he became master of about half the territory of Les Moëres. This would prove to be a serious disadvantage as these properties drew him into a dire financial situation.
Cobergher died in Brussels on 23 November 1634, leaving his family in deep financial trouble. His properties in Les Moëres had to be sold, as well as his house in Brussels. Even his extensive art and coin collection was auctioned off for 10,000 guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
s.