Biography

According to Houbraken he painted landscapes, which he populated with animals and other figures himself. He also made flower and fruit still lifes and could paint gold, silver, crystal, and porcelain quite well. He spent a long period travelling and working in Italy, which is noticeable in his landscapes.

According to the RKD he was registered in the Antwerp 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...

 as an apprentice in 1636 and learned to paint from Abraham Hack, who also taught his contemporary, the flower painter Hieronymus Galle

Hieronymus Galle

Hieronymus Galle was a Flemish Baroque still-life painter, specializing in fruit and flowers.-Biography:According to the RKD he learned to paint from Abraham Hack, who also taught his contemporary, Jan van den Hecke. He joined the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1636, and became master in 1645-46...

. In 1641 Van den Hecke was registered as a master of the guild. From 1653-1658 he was in Italy, but somewhere in the mid-50's he went back and forth to Belgium, since he is also registered in Brussels during that period. He died the same year as his wife Maria Adriana Heijens; when they died they left three children; Jan (II), aged 24, Maria, aged 21, and Peeter, aged 20. Van den Hecke's pupil Peeter de Clerc eventually became a master painter in the guild. Van den Hecke's son Jan van den Hecke II became a popular flower painter, but like his father, skilled in other types of still life.

External links

• Biografie Jan van den Hecke.
• Dictionnaire des Peintres belges.