DU BROEUCQ, Jacques
Jacques Du Broeucq (or Dubroeucq), Flemish sculptor and architect. He is considered as one of the most important Renaissance artists in the Southern Netherlands. He is known as the teacher of Giambologna in Antwerp.
He was born about 1505. However, historians do not agree on the exact date or place of birth: some place it in Saint-Omer (today in France in the Pas-de-Calais) and others Mons (now in Belgium). Before 1539 he traveled probably to Italy. In about 1539, he settled in Mons and stayed there until the end of his life.
In 1540, he directed the work at the castle of Boussu. He also participated in the erection of the mausoleum of Eustache de Croy in Saint-Omer. In 1541-1545, he delivered the first sculpture of the rood screen of the collegiate church of Sainte-Waudru (Mons). In 1545-49 he rebuilt the castle of Binche south of Brussels for Queen Mary of Hungary, governess of the Spanish Netherlands. Binche, the centre of Mary’s patronage, was intended to rival Fontainebleau; it was demolished by the soldiers of Henry II of France in 1554. In 1547 the work of the castle of Mariemont began. In 1553, he draws plans for a secondary residence of Charles V in Brussels.
In 1561 he draws plans of the town halls of Ath and Antwerp, and for the fortifications Luxembourg and Thionville. In 1570-1572, he draws the plans of the great portal of the collegiate church of Sainte-Waudru.
