This is one of only three surviving paintings by Willem van Haecht depicting the interior of a kunstkamer (picture gallery) and shows the visit of Alexander the Great to the studio of Apelles who is busy painting Campaspe’s portrait. This room is filled with paintings that are all existing Flemish, German and Italian works of art. The statues, too, are well-known classics.

Flemish Baroque painter, Willem van Haecht, was born in Antwerp as the son of the landscape painter Tobias Verhaecht. He worked in Paris from 1615 to 1619, and then travelled to Italy for about seven years. Van Haecht became a master in Antwerp’s guild of St. Luke in 1626 and from 1628 onwards was the curator of the art collection owned by Cornelis van der Geest, a spice merchant from Antwerp.

    Featured Image: Willem van Haecht (1593 – 1637), Apelles Painting Campaspe, c. 1630 / Oil on panel – height: 104.9 cm, width: 148.7 cm

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