Gaspar van den Hoecke (c. 1585–after 1648) was a Flemish Baroque painter of small devotional cabinet pieces in the manner of Frans Francken II. His sons Robert and Jan van den Hoecke were also painters.
Van den Hoecke, who studied under Juliaan Teniers, became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1603. His early works continue Mannerist tendencies that were still popular at the beginning of the seventeenth century, but later the influences of Peter Paul Rubens and Caravaggism are noticeable in his paintings.
Gaspar van den Hoecke was best known for his small religious cabinet pieces but during his early period around 1610 his work focused on still life floral paintings.

This painting is one of the few floral pieces in the oeuvre of the history painter Gaspar van den Hoecke – in bright, bold colors, Hoecke shows Mary with the boy Jesus and John in a wide landscape, surrounded by a garland made of numerous different flowers. The richness of detail, the vividly moving picture protagonists and the intensity of color make this work appear in baroque pathos and prove Hoecke’s connection to the Mannerists and their enthusiasm for ornamentation. The fact that works by Gaspar van den Hoecke were in Archduke Leopold Wilhelm’s collection (e.g. Esther vor Ahasuerus, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Painting Collection, inv. no. 9867) testifies to the artist’s reputation already during his lifetime and its artistic quality. Dr Fred G. Meijer confirms the attribution of this painting by means of a photograph.