Early Life and Training in Amersfoort Jacob van Staverden was born in Amersfoort in 1656. His early years in the Netherlands provided the technical foundation for a career that would eventually shift toward the Italianate style. He remained active in Amersfoort until 1674, a period defined by rigorous instruction under Matthias Withoos. This training was not merely local; Withoos was a specialist in still life and cityscape painting who had previously lived and worked in Rome, providing a direct link to the Mediterranean influences that would later define the region's genre painting. The ap…