Brief Biography-Jan van der Heyden was born in Gorcum, known today as Gorinchem. His direct knowledge of painting came from a painter of glass. However, Heyden was one of the first Dutch artists to paint buildings and townscapes with such precision that he was established more as a draughtsman and printmaker. He painted the Royal Exchange and Monument in London and views of Cologne, Rome, Delft and Amsterdam. The invention of the fire hose became accredited to him, which Heyden wrote about in his Fire Engine Book, which he illustrated. From 1669, His primary income was as head of street lighting in Amsterdam and overseeing the city's fire department with his brother Nicolaes.