Pieter van Hanselaere

In 1814 he was back in Ghent and competed for the prize in historical painting; winning it gave him the funds to travel to Italy.

Due to the Napoleonic wars he was not able to leave for Italy until 1816; when he did, he first stayed in Rome and painted portraits of some high-ranking officials, before moving to Naples and achieving success there as well, becoming the painter for the royal court.

Van Hanselaere exhibited in many cities and had amassed a considerable fortune, allowing him to buy three houses in the Rue Courte du Marais.

By 1844 he had finished his pièce capitale, a 24 by 16 foot painting depicting Philip van Artevelde and his army leaving Ghent to fight Louis II, Count of Flanders (1381).

Critical response of the large and confused piece was negative, and van Hanselaere never fully recuperated from the disappointment.