The Antwerp Apprentice Antwerp, 1642. A child is born into a German family in the heart of the Habsburg Netherlands. By 1656, the boy is an apprentice, beginning his formal training under the battle painter Nicolaas van Eyck. The studio is a place of discipline and observation. He learns the mechanics of movement, the way a horse shifts its weight, and the chaotic geometry of conflict. This early education forms the foundation of a car…