Background
His father was Willem van den Blocke, a Flemish sculptor and architect who had trained with Cornelis Floris in Antwerp.
His father was Willem van den Blocke, a Flemish sculptor and architect who had trained with Cornelis Floris in Antwerp.
The details about his early life are scarce. Sources identify his place of birth either as Mechelen in the Southern Netherlands or Königsberg (then in Prussia and today Kaliningrad in Russia). In 1584 the family moved to Danzig (modern Gdańsk, Poland).
Here he likely received training by or worked in the workshop of Paul Vredeman de Vries and his father Hans Vredeman de Vries.