COBERGHER, WENCESLAS

also called Wensel Coeberger born 1557/61, Antwerp died Nov. 24, 1634, Brussels Flemish architect, painter, and engraver who was a leader in the development of the Flemish Baroque style of architecture, based on the early Italian Baroque buildings of the Roman school. Cobergher received his education as a painter in the workshop of Maarten de Vos and by studying works of art in Paris, Rome, and Naples (15831604). From 1605 until his death, he was painter, architect, and engineer to the governors of the Spanish Netherlands. He painted altarpieces for churches in Italy and in Flanders, but his pictures are far less important than his few surviving buildings. Of these the most famous are St. Augustin in Antwerp (begun 1615) and the church of Notre Dame (1609) in Montaigu, which show the influence of the design of St. Peter's in Rome. He also wrote on archaeology.