Wenceslas Cobergher (1560 – 23 November 1634), sometimes called Wenzel Coebergher, was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. Faded somewhat into the background as a painter, he is chiefly remembered today as the man responsible for the draining of the Moëres on the

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

border. He is also one of the fathers of the Flemish

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style of architecture in the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

Life

Born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, probably in 1560 (1557, according to one source), he was a natural child of Wenceslas Coeberger and Catharina Raems, which was attested by deed in May 1579. His name is also written as Wenceslaus, Wensel or Wenzel; his surname is sometimes recorded as Coberger, Cobergher, Coebergher, and Koeberger.

Painter

Before being known as an engineer, Cobergher began his career as a painter and an architect. In 1573 he started his studies in Antwerp as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to the painter

Marten de Vos Maerten de Vos, Maerten de Vos the Elder or Marten de Vos (1532 – 4 December 1603)Maerten de Vos
at the

. Following the example of his master, Cobergher left for Italy in 1579, trying to fulfil the dream of every artist to study Italian art and culture. On his way there he stayed briefly in Paris, where he learned about his illegitimate birth from seeing the will of his deceased mother. He returned to Antwerp right away to settle some legal matters relating to this discovery. Later in the year, he set forth again to Italy. He settled in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1580 (as attested by a contract) and remained there till 1597. In Naples he worked under contract for eight

ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

s together with the Flemish painter and art dealer

Cornelis de Smet Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

. He returned briefly to Antwerp in 1583, buying goods with borrowed money for his second trip to Italy. He is mentioned again in Naples in 1588. In 1591 he allied himself with another compatriot, the painter

Jacob Franckaert the Elder Jacob Franckaert or Jacob Franquart (the Elder) (1550–51 – 6 September 1601 (buried)) was a Flemish painter and draftsman. 250px, Ecce Homo He moved to Rome in 1597 (as attested in a letter to

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

by Jacques Cools). During that time he had also been preparing a

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

book in the tradition of

Hendrik Goltzius Hendrick Goltzius, or Hendrik, (; ; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter. He was the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, or Northern Mannerism, lauded for his ...

. He must also have built up a reputation as an art connoisseur, since in 1598 he was asked to make an inventory and set a value on the paintings of the deceased cardinal Bonelli. After the death of his first wife Michaela Cerf on 7 July 1599, he married again, four months later and at the age of forty; his second wife was Suzanna Franckaert, 15-year-old daughter of

Jacob Franckaert the Elder Jacob Franckaert or Jacob Franquart (the Elder) (1550–51 – 6 September 1601 (buried)) was a Flemish painter and draftsman.Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

antiquities, antique architecture and statuary. He was also much interested in the way in which Romans represented their gods in paintings, bronze and marble statues, bas-reliefs and on antique coins. He gathered an important collection of coins and medals from the Roman emperors. These drawings and descriptions were gathered in a set of manuscripts, two of which survive (Brussels,

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium (french: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history t ...

). He was also preparing an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

of the Roman Antiquity (according to the French humanist

Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1 December 1580 – 24 June 1637), often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name, Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scientis ...

) that was never published.J. Van den Gheyn, Peiresc et Cobergher; Annales de l'Académie Royale de Belgique, 1905 Sometimes the "''Tractatus de pictura antiqua''" (published in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

, 1591) has been ascribed to Cobergher, but this was based on an erroneous reading of an 18th-century catalogue. At the same time he was witness to the completion of the dome of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

in 1590. The architecture of several Roman churches made also a deep impression on him; among them most influential were the first truly baroque

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

of the

Church of the Gesù , image = Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Giacomo della Porta's façade, precursor of Baroque , mapframe = yes , mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a fulls ...

Santa Maria in Transpontina The Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo in Traspontina (Saint Mary of Carmel Across the Bridge) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, run by the Carmelites. The bridge referred to is the Ponte Sant'Angelo. The church is on the Via della Conci ...

and

Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians, ...

. He would use their design in his later constructions. During his stay in Italy he painted, under the name "''maestro Vincenzo''", a number of

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

s and other works for important churches in Naples and Rome. His style is somewhat mixed, incorporating Classical and

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

elements. His composition is rational and his rendering of the human anatomy is correct. A few of his altarpieces still survive: a ''Resurrection'' (

San Domenico Maggiore San Domenico Maggiore is a Gothic, Roman Catholic church and monastery, founded by the friars of the Dominican Order, and located in the square of the same name in the historic center of Naples. History The square is bordered by a street/alle ...

, Naples), a ''Crucifixion'' (

Santa Maria di Piedigrotta, Naples Santa Maria di Piedigrotta is a Baroque-style church in Naples, Italy; it is located in the neighborhood or quartiere of Piedigrotta. A church at the site was consecrated by 1353, and dedicated to the ''Birth of the Virgin''. It was established a ...

), a ''Birth of Christ'' (S Sebastiana) and a ''Holy Spirit'' (Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome). One of his best known paintings is the ''Martyrdom of

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Dioclet ...

'', originally in the

Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never bee ...

, but now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy. This painting was commissioned by the ''De Jonge Handboog'' (

archers Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

guild) of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in 1598, while Cobergher was still in Rome. His ''Angels Supporting the Dead Lord'', originally in the Sint-Antoniuskerk in Antwerp, can now also be found in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, while his '' Ecce Homo'' is now in the museum of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

Architect

Cobergher began his career as an architect in Italy, designing

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

s and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s (not confirmed by surviving documents). He is reported to have overseen the construction of palaces and fortifications, but it is not exactly known which ones. His renown as an architect even reached the court of the Archduke Albert and Infanta Isabella, governors of the

. In 1601 he was invited to Brussels to present himself at the court, arriving in September of that year. When his in-laws died in 1603, he had to return to Rome to settle family matters. On his return in 1604, he brought along a book from

Cardinal Baronius Cesare Baronio (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiastical Annals"), wh ...

for the printshop of

Christoffel Plantijn Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp. Life Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city o ...

. He settled in Antwerp where he was admitted as a master in the

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 ide ...

. In 1605 he was admitted in the

Guild of Romanists The Guild of Romanists or Confrérie van romanisten was a society which was active in Antwerp from the late 16th to the late 18th century. Its membership was made up of notables and artists from Antwerp who had visited Rome. It offered artists acce ...

. On 12 November 1604 Cobergher was appointed by the archdukes to the post of "architecte et ingeniaire" (architect-engineer). He moved to his final address in the Violetstreet in Brussels, where he would remain till his death. He was obviously more appreciated by the archdukes than were the court painters

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborato ...

, since his salary amounted to 1,500 guilders (increasing to 1,800 guilders in 1610), while Rubens' salary was only 500 guilders. The archdukes rightly considered him as an "uomo universale" (

universal man ''Universal Man'' is a sculpture by Gerald Gladstone located outside the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, since 1994. The bronze figure was originally located in a prominent location at the foot of the CN Tower, ...

) who had received a wide knowledge in Italy. Although from now on he would be mainly active as an architect, he did not abandon painting completely. In 1605 he painted two altarpieces, a ''Deposition'' (Brussels,

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...

) and ''St. Helena with the Holy Cross'' (

Saint James' Church, Antwerp St. James' Church ( nl, Sint-Jacobskerk) is a former Collegiate church in Antwerp, Belgium. The church is built on the site of a hostel for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. The present building is the work of the Waghemakere family and Rombou ...

). As an architect Cobergher promoted the Baroque style in the Southern Netherlands. He started with several alterations at the palace of the archdukes in Brussels and their castle]s in

Tervuren Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total a ...

, and worked on their hunting estate in Mariemont. In 1610 he designed, together with the French engineer

Salomon de Caus Salomon de Caus (1576, Dieppe – 1626, Paris) was a French Huguenot engineer, once (falsely) credited with the development of the steam engine. Biography Caus was the elder brother of Isaac de Caus. Being a Huguenot, Caus spent his life moving a ...

, fountains for the ponds near the archducal palace in Brussels, using the Italian ''tempietto'' style. One of his most important commissions was the construction (1607–1611) of the church and the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

for the Discalced Carmelites in Brussels. The façade of the church was based on the Roman churches of

and

Church of the Gesu Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

. None of the previous works still survive. In 1607, Cobergher was ordered to redo a bastion of the Catholic

Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

: the whole city of

Scherpenheuvel Scherpenheuvel-Zichem (; french: Montaigu-Zichem) is a city and municipality located in the province of Flemish Brabant, Flemish Region, Belgium, encompassing the towns of Averbode, Messelbroek, Okselaar, Scherpenheuvel, Schoonderbuken, Keibe ...

, in Brabant, was to be redesigned as an allegoric homage to the Mother of God, with a layout based on a 7-pointed star. His first designs for the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

date from 1606. This pilgrimage church would become his masterpiece. The construction began in 1609 and lasted until about 1624, with the belfry remaining unfinished. The space under the dome is equally heptagonal. This basilica was the first important church with a central dome in the Southern Netherlands. His later works evolved into his own style, more in harmony with the traditional

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps. From the last years of the 15th century, its Renaissance spread around Europe. Called the Northern Renaissance because it occurred north of the Italian Renais ...

in Flanders, but with additions of early Baroque elements. In 1614 he made the designs for the town hall of

Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houtaing, ...

, Hainaut (1614–1617) and the church of St. Augustine (1615–1618) in Antwerp (now a concert hall). In 1617 he built in the same mixed style the St. Hubertus chapel for the archducal palace at Tervuren. The volute façade of this chapel was later adopted by other architects, as in the Carmelite Church (Antwerp, 1623; destroyed), St. Barbara Church,

Diest Diest () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60 ...

(1665–1667), and the

Averbode Abbey Averbode Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey situated in Averbode, in the municipality Scherpenheuvel-Zichem ( Flemish Brabant), in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels in Belgium. It was founded about 1134, suppressed in 1797, and reestablished ...

(1164–1672).

Economist

In 1618 Cobergher was appointed to the rank of General Superintendent of the public

pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

s. As an economist, he was responsible for introducing this concept of public pawnshops to Flanders, after seeing the ''

Monti di Pietà A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Piedad is still in operation ...

'' in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He is most probably the author of their set of rules with 500 articles. These pawnshops introduced the modern concept of allowing a credit loan against the deposit of a

collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

. Between 1618 and 1633 he built fifteen ''Bergen van Barmhartigheid'' in towns with

usurers Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is ch ...

and

Lombard banking Lombard banking was a mount of piety style of pawn shop in the Middle Ages, a type of banking that originated in prosperous Northern Italy, in a region called Lombardy during the Middle Ages. The term was sometimes used in a derogatory sense, and ...

. Some of them he designed himself in his mixed style of traditional schemes with Baroque features :

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

(1622),

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

(1622, now the ''Musée d’histoire et d'archéologie''),

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

(1624),

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

(1628) and Bergues-Saint-Winock (1633). Two books about the public pawnshops are ascribed to Cobergher : * ''Cort verhaal van de oprechtinghe, ordre ende beleyt van de Bergen van Bermherticheyt'' (Brussels, 1619) (Short narrative of the true order and policy of the Mounts of Piety) * ''Apologia ofte Bescherm-redenen tegen het kekelen van de onredelijcke vyanden, ende oock de tegenraeders, van de Berghen van Bermherticheyt''" (

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

Henry Jaye Henry Jaye (died 1643) was an English Catholic exile in the Southern Netherlands. He became printer to the city of Mechelen. Life The earliest record of Jaye is in 1606, when the English ambassador in Brussels, Sir Thomas Edmondes, had him summ ...

, 1621) (Apology or defence against criticism by the unreasonable enemies and adversaries of the Mounts of Piety)

Engineer

Since 1615 he owned a small company, producing

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

. In 1618 he obtained the

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

for its production in the Spanish Netherlands. This patent was extended in 1627. Cobergher is perhaps best remembered as a

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...

. He planned several drainage works in the western and southern parts of the

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

(Dutch: Kempen), a region which then consisted mainly of moor or

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

and sandy

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. In 1616 he made plans for the canalisation of the river

Zenne The Senne () or Zenne () is a small river that flows through Brussels, left tributary of the Dijle/Dyle. Its source is in the village of Naast near the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dijle ...

between Brussels and Halle. This last project was only realised in the 19th century. In 1612, inspired by his observations of the

Pontine Marshes 250px, Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain The Pontine Marshes (, also ; it, Agro Pontino , formerly also ''Paludi Pontine''; la, Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, ''Pomptina Palus'' (singular) and ''Pomptinae Paludes'' (plu ...

southeast of Rome, he composed a report on the draining of Les Moëres (in Dutch : de Moeren), a marshy region of about 3500 ha. in the area between

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Veurne Veurne (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , , , , Houtem, , , Wulveringem, and . History Origins up ...

in modern-day Belgium. This reclamation would become his most impressive achievement. These impressive works started in 1619 with the digging of a drainage channel with about twenty

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

s, pumping water into the channel, discharging eventually into the sea. This colossal work came finally to end in 1627; so pleased was the archduke that in 1618 he made Cobergher a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

, master of the seignories of Cobergher, Sint-Antheunis and Groenlandt. By this

ennoblement Ennoblement is the conferring of nobility—the induction of an individual into the noble class. Currently only a few kingdoms still grant nobility to people; among them Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Vatican. Depending on time and regi ...

he became master of about half the territory of Les Moëres. This would prove to be a serious disadvantage as these properties drew him into a dire financial situation. Cobergher died in Brussels on 23 November 1634, leaving his family in deep financial trouble. His properties in Les Moëres had to be sold, as well as his house in Brussels. Even his extensive art and coin collection was auctioned off for 10,000

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

Footnotes

References

*''This article was initially translated from articles in the

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and the

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''
Personnages célèbres, Wenceslas Cobergher
(in French) *Benezit E. - ''Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs'' - Librairie Gründ, Paris, 1976; (in French) *Turner, J. -

Grove Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

- Oxford University Press, USA; new edition (2 January 1996); *P. Soetaert, ''Nieuw Biografisch Woordenboek VIII'', pp. 163–174, Brussels, 1979 (in Dutch) * (in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobergher, Wenceslas 1560 births 1634 deaths Engineers of the Spanish Netherlands Flemish Baroque painters Painters from Antwerp Engineers from Antwerp 16th-century painters 17th-century painters Architects from Antwerp