02 Works, The Art of War, Jan van den Hecke's The Aftermath of the Battle, with footnotes

After Jan van den Hecke

The Aftermath of the Battle

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The artwork depicts Alma, a stunning and fair Bedouin warrior woman with flowing dark red hair. She is shown seated on the ground, surrounded by the aftermath of a battle. Clad in ornate Arab armor that reveals a hint of her battle weariness, Alma gazes solemnly at the scene before her. Her presence is accompanied by a fellow women warrior soldier, representing the strength and resilience of the Bedouin women.

After Jan van den Hecke

The Aftermath of the Battle

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As Alma and her companion observe the undertakers meticulously removing the fallen soldiers' bodies, the viewer is invited to reflect on the devastating consequences of war and the emotional toll it takes on those involved. The contrast between Alma's beauty and the grim reality of the scene serves to highlight the melancholy and somber mood of the artwork.

Alma was by far the most distinguished of women because of her many superior qualities, especially because of the bravery she demonstrated in defense of her people.

Islam elevated the status of women, treating them on an equal footing with a man. Women had a newfound independent identity, in the physical and spiritual spheres.

Islamic history is full of warrior women who fiercely fought for what they believed in, defended what they cherished, and defied all expectations and became legends.

The Warrior Woman is an ancient archetype that is not well known because the stories have been both forgotten and suppressed. Mythology is full of warrior goddesses.

Traditionally, the Bedouin were among the most dangerous of desert tribes, fighting among themselves when outsiders weren’t available. Constantly on the move to find new pastures for their livestock, they learned to live with the minimum of possessions and little external support in the harshest of lands. Loyalty to tribe and family was all that helped a warrior survive. More on Desert Warriors

Jan van den Hecke was a Flemish painter and etcher. He was born in Kwaremont near Oudenaarde, Flanders, moved to Antwerp at an early age, where he worked as an apprentice in the workshop of the little-known painter Abraham Hack for two years. In 1642 he became a member of the guild of St Luke. After spending some time in Italy and Brussels in the 1650's, in 1659 van den Hecke settled definitively in Antwerp.

Although he painted a couple of Roman cityscapes, some cavalry battles and several landscapes in an Italianate style, van den Hecke mostly specialized in still-life paintings. Among these are a number of pronkstillevens and a number of still-lifes with game in the style of Jan Fyt; it were his flower pieces, however, that were most sought after. Several of them found their way into the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, governor of the Spanish Netherlands, whose art collection went on to form the nucleus of the picture collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. More on Jan van den Hecke

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