Gorinchem

The painter/inventor Jan van der Heyden was born in 1637 in Gorinchem and died in 1712 in Amsterdam.

As a painter, Van der Heyden left an important body of work: several meticulously painted realistic views of Amsterdam, including multiple views of the Dam (to visit at the Louvre in Paris and the Amsterdam Historical Museum), the Haarlemmerpoort (in Berlin, at the Staatliche Museen), and the Westerkerk (in London at the Wallace Collection) but also fantasy views, composed of existing buildings and houses (countryside) in a fictitious setting.

He was not only a painter but also an inventor. He gained fame with his improved street lamp and his advancements in fire hose design. The new techniques and standardization of street lamps certainly contributed to the greater prestige of the metropolis of Amsterdam. His inventions made it the most illuminated city of the time. The discoveries he made with his brother in the fields of water pumps and fire hoses saved many homes in Amsterdam from total destruction by fire.

He began his professional life as a framer and mirror manufacturer.

Dromos