A Life of Lines and Landscapes Born in the quiet air of Aarau, Switzerland, Jan de Beijer moved as a child to Emmerich on the border of the Netherlands and Germany. His father, a Dutch officer tasked with hiring mercenaries, brought the family to a land that would eventually become the heart of the artist's focus. As a young man, he sought the light of Amsterdam around 1722, where he entered the studios of masters like Cornelis Pronk. This training shaped his hand, teaching him the precision required to capture the bones of a city. His life followed a seasonal rhythm that dictated the very na…