Approach to the Town of Veere

landscape

Jan van der Heyden, who specialized in the painting of townscapes, was born in Gorinchem but moved as a child to Amsterdam. He is said to have been trained by a glass-painter, an apprenticeship which taught him to paint with the extraordinary degree of precision evident in his topographical views. He lived and worked in Amsterdam throughout his life but travelled widely in Holland, Flanders and the Rhineland.

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About the Artist

Jan van der Heyden

1637 – 1712

Dutch painter, active in Amsterdam. He painted some landscapes and still-lifes, but is celebrated as one of the greatest of all townscape painters. His views of towns are done with loving attention to detail, but the harmonious colours and sunny light of his elegantly composed pictures prevent the precise way he rendered foliage, bricks, and architectural detail from appearing dull or dry. In spite of the seemingly objective nature of his work, van der Heyden often took liberties with topographical accuracy and he also painted 'capricci'. Painting was only a part of his activity. for he was also involved in civic administration in Amsterdam. The fire hose is said to have been his invention and it is included in his Brandspuiten-boek ('Fire Engine Book'), a volume about fire-fighting equipment, illustrated with his own engravings, that he published in 1690.

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