383 - Jacob Joseph EECKHOUT (Antwerp, 1793–Paris, 1861)

Jacob Joseph EECKHOUT (Antwerp, 1793–Paris, 1861) A pair of portraits of a Belgian dignitary, an officer of the Order of Leopold, and his wife (1845). Oil on canvas; the portrait of the husband is signed and dated “J.J. Eeckhout 1845.” H. 130 x W. 102 cm. History Jacob Joseph (or Jacobus Josephus) Eeckhout was born in Antwerp on February 6, 1793. Trained at the Academy in his hometown, he first distinguished himself as a sculptor: in 1821, he won the sculpture prize in Brussels with a bas-relief depicting The Death of Cleopatra. He soon turned to painting, however, and as early as 1823 won the gold medal for genre painting at the Ghent Salon with *Checkmate*, now in the collection of the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts. In 1831, he moved to The Hague, where he became director of the Academy in 1839. Returning to Belgium in 1844, he lived first in Mechelen and then in Brussels, before settling in Paris in 1859. A member of the Academies of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Brussels, he pursued an international career. He exhibited regularly in The Hague and Amsterdam between 1827 and 1859, as well as in Ghent (1823, 1838, 1844, 1850), Haarlem (1825), Douai (1828), Brussels (1848, 1850, 1851, 1854, 1857), London (Royal Academy, 1845–1850), Munich (1853), Bremen (1860), and Cologne (1861). His works continued to be exhibited after his death, notably in Antwerp (1864) and St. Petersburg (1886). Although he distinguished himself in history painting—notably with *The Marriage of Jacqueline of Bavaria to John IV of Brabant* (1839, Amsterdam) and *The Death of Van Speyk*, painted in collaboration with Gustave Wappers, it was above all as a portrait painter that he left his mark on posterity. In the Netherlands, he focused on portraying military officers and high-ranking officials, as evidenced by the *Portrait of Jonkheer Theodorus Frederik van Capellen (1762–1824)*, vice admiral and commander of the Dutch squadron off Algiers in 1816 (ill. 1), painted in 1835 and now in the Rijksmuseum, or that of Hendrik Nierstrasz, mayor of Maastricht, completed in 1845 (ill. 2). Building on this reputation, upon his return to Belgium he created a veritable gallery of portraits of prominent figures in the young kingdom: Urbain H. Verbist, mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode from 1832 to 1842 (ill. 3); General Petithan, commander-in-chief of the Brussels Civic Guard; Joseph Vander Smissen, major of the Etterbeek Civic Guard; and Victor Pirson, governor of the province of Namur (ill. 4). When, in 1850, Charles Rogier, then Minister of the Interior, commissioned portraits of all the presidents of the Senate since 1831, he specifically called upon Eeckhout, who painted that of Baron de Stassart, the first president of the Upper House. Our pair of portraits is fully in line with this body of work and serves as a valuable record of the Belgian elite in the early days of the new kingdom. The subject’s uniform, which evokes the civil service, identifies him as a high-ranking official. He proudly wears the Order of Leopold, established in 1832 by the first King of the Belgians, whose rosette indicates the rank of officer. The Legion of Honor at the rank of Knight, worn alongside it, suggests close ties to France. The delicate companion piece depicting his wife follows the same general composition. However, the addition of a few details—the rose, the pearl bracelet, and the crystal vase with its charming bouquet of flowers—lends it a romantic dimension that sets it apart from the decidedly official character of her husband’s portrait. A leading portrait painter who immortalized the Dutch and Belgian dignitaries of his time, Eeckhout’s works are now held in prestigious public collections, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Related Works - Jacob Joseph Eeckhout, Portrait of Jonkheer Theodorus Frederik van Capellen (1762–1824), Vice Admiral and Commander of the Dutch Squadron off Algiers, 1816, 1835, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum (inv. SK-A-4058) (ill. 1). - Jacob Joseph Eeckhout, Full-Length Portrait of Hendrik Nierstrasz, Mayor of Maastricht, 1845, Maastricht, City Hall (ill. 2). - Jacob Joseph Eeckhout, Portrait of Urbain H. Verbist, mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode from 1832 to 1842, 1840, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Charlier Museum (inv. 11040977) (ill. 3). - After Jacob Joseph Eeckhout, Portrait of General Petithan, Commander-in-Chief of the Brussels Civic Guard, after 1848, Brussels, War Heritage Institute – Royal Museum of the Army and Military History (inv. 504988). - Jacob Joseph Eeckhout, Full-length Portrait of Victor Pirson, Governor of the Province of Namur, 1850, Namur, Museum of Decorative Arts (inv. 10141165) (ill. 4). - Jacob Joseph Eeckhout, Port