Jacques Vekemans

Jacques De Braekeleer (Antwerp, 30 March 1823 - Borgerhout, 25 October 1906) was a Flemish sculptor. 
The subjects of his works were both religious and historical, occasionally they were even genre pieces. He lived all his life in Antwerp and Borgerhout, with the exception of his trip to Paris.

Most of his public works are in Antwerp. Among others, Jacques De Braekeleer produced Quinten Matsys, which currently stands on Baron Dhanisplein in Antwerp. He also collaborated with Jean-Jacques Winders on the statue Schelde Vrij in 1883 and made several facade decorations such as for the Bourlaschouwburg and the National Bank of Belgium.

The sculpted man, Jacques Vekemans (1815-1888), took over the torch from his uncle Jacques Kets in 1865, making him the zoo's second director. Under his leadership, the live animal collection experienced tremendous growth. He set up breeding programmes for exotic animals, especially tropical birds, to spread them across Europe. Because of this and the annual public sale of animals organised at the Antwerp zoo, the ZOO gained national and international recognition.