4 - Samuel van den HECK (Antwerp? ca. 1595 – Amsterdam? after 1637)

Samuel van den HECK (Antwerp? ca. 1595 – Amsterdam? after 1637) View of Egmont aan den Hoef Castle Oak panel, single plank, unparqueted. Dated 1639 in the lower right corner. Historic restorations. 31.6 x 73.4 cm Egmond Castle served as the residence of the Counts of Egmond. In 1573, on the orders of William the Silent, both the abbey and the castle were destroyed by the troops of Diederik Sonoy, governor of the northern district of Holland, in order to prevent invading Spanish forces from establishing themselves there. Both buildings were therefore already in ruins by Van den Heck’s time, suggesting that the painter relied on depictions predating their destruction to recreate their appearance. A painting by Aegidius van Saen (1580–1610), now housed in Zottegem City Hall, may thus have served as a model for Van den Heck’s view of Egmond Castle, while a woodcut dated 1630 appears to have been the primary source of inspiration for his depiction of the abbey. The depictions of Egmond-Binnen Abbey, Egmond aan den Hoef Castle, and the village of Egmonda an Zee attributed to Van den Heck are known from at least seventeen copies, the quality of which varies. These variations suggest that the production of these works cannot be attributed solely to the painter, but that it also drew on the resources of his studio. His son, Maerten Heemskerck Van den Heck, likely participated in this endeavor, particularly after taking over his father’s studio following his father’s death in 1652. A version dated around 1638 is housed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.