Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen

Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen[a] (19 March 1728 in Aarschot – 3 April 1811 in Leuven)[1] was a Flemish painter of large-scale religious and mythological scenes.

He was appointed first court painter to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria who also provided him a stipend to travel abroad to further his artistic studies.

Van den Kerckhoven immediately recognized the boy's artistic talent and convinced father Willem Verhaghen to let his son study the principles of painting.

The young Verhaghen stayed with Van den Kerckhoven and travelled with him to other cities nearby working on decorations and restorations.

When van den Kerckhoven was called to some job further away, Verhaghen was not allowed by his father to travel with him due to his young age.

Beschey was an upcoming painter who worked in the style of Rubens and even made direct copies after the famous Antwerp master.

Not long after his move to Leuven, Verhaghen met and fell in love with Johanna Hensmans, the daughter of a brandy distiller.

The couple settled in Leuven where Verhaghen opened a small workshop while his wife ran a yarn and linen shop.

[4] The Brussels banker and art lover Daniel Danoot introduced Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen to Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands.

At the time Verhaghen had been working on a commission for the duke Karl von Koblenz depicting the Hungarian king St Stephen receiving the Pope's envoys bringing him the crown.

While in Rome, Pope Clement XIV granted the artist an audience and he offered plenary indulgence to him, his family in the third degree, and thirty other people of his choice.

The Leuven painter and poet Martin van Dorne composed a short didactic poem, in which he evoked all the works executed by the prolific Verhaghen.

[3] His success were supported by his ability to paint quickly and his efficient workshop organization in which he followed the example of his teacher Balthasar Beschey.

[5] Religious institutions were his most important customers, so his career suffered from the Austrian government's efforts to curb the influence of the Catholic Church.

Two of his sons, Willem, parish priest in Schaerbeek, and Joris-Jozef, canon of the Park Abbey had to shelter in the artist's home to escape persecution of the French administrators.

After the Concordat of 1801 entered into between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII in 1801, the religious tensions decreased and Pieter-Jozef was able to get some new orders, especially from private individuals.