Jan-Christian Hansche or Hanssche was a Flemish

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...

 artist., possibly of German origin, who worked as a stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

ist in the Southern Netherlands

Southern Netherlands

Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...

, and also in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Holland, in the second half of the 17th century.

In 1672 he made the stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

 decoration of the library of Park Abbey

Park Abbey

Park Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey in Belgium, at Heverlee just south of Leuven, in Flemish Brabant.The Annales Parchenses were written here in the 12th century.-History:...

 near Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

 in Belgium

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...

. The stucco relief represents the church fathers and the evangelists as well as scenes from the life of Saint Norbert. In the refectory

Refectory

A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...

 of the same abbey he decorated the ceiling with seven biblical scenes (1679), signing his work "jan christiaen hansche".

He also worked in several houses and monasteries in 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...

, in Beaulieu Castle

Beaulieu Castle

Beaulieu Castle is a castle in the municipality of Lausanne of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...

 in Machelen

Machelen

Machelen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Diegem and Machelen proper. On January 1, 2006 Machelen had a total population of 12,500...

 and in Horst Castle.

A magnificent example of his work are the decorations for Modave Castle. The grand vestibule of this castle is decorated with a genealogical tree of the house of the Counts of Marchin

Marchin

Marchin is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Marchin had a total population of 5,114. The total area is 30.00 km² which gives a population density of 170 inhabitants per km²....

, including the coats of arms of the members of the family but also reliefs depicting some ancestors as knights in full armour on their horses. A series of rooms on the ground floor is decorated with scenes from the life of Hercules

Hercules

Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...

, while the apartment on the first floor follows the theme of the four seasons.

Sources

• Anon. Hansche (Hanssche), Jan Christiaen in: Thieme-Becker.Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, vol. XV, Leipzig, 1922: 599.
• Vrancken, Michel, 1971: De stucplafonds van Jan Christiaan Hansche (1655–1685) (master's thesis), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
  Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
  The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
  
  
• Van Vaeck, M., 1997: Beelden van omhoog, Hansches 17de-eeuwse plafonddecoraties in stucwerk in de kastelen van Horst, Modave en Beaulieu en in het Gentse Brouwershuis in: Monumenten en Landschappen, XVI, 1997, 5: 21-53.