to have revived Danish portrait painting. Portraits of king Frederick II, the queen Sophie, the queen's father, the Duke Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and the crown prince Christian have been attributed to him. Knieper's portrait painting and in particular the portrait of Frederick II represent a break with the domestic portrait tradition. It is the oldest known full-length profane portrait that is furthermore set into a three-dimensional pictorial space. Painting for Tycho Brahe The famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe invited Knieper in 1587 to come to the island Hven that he had received as a gift from king Frederick II. In Uraniborg observatory on the island Brahe had built an astronomical instrument called the mural quadrant that consisted of an arch attached to a wall. Brahe commissioned three artists to make a mural painting above the arch. Hans Knieper painted the landscape at the top, Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder painted the three arches representing the three areas of Uraniborg and Tobias Gemperle painted the portrait of Brahe. Knieper married Marine Johansen who survived him. References Flemish Renaissance painters Flemish tapestry artists 16th-century births 1587 deaths Belgian expatriates in Denmark