Heyden, Jan van der (1637–1712)

Dutch artist and inventor. He made his name in the 1660s with a series of town views based on his travels in Holland, Flanders, and the Rhineland. He developed ideas for street lighting and fire fighting, and may have been the inventor of the fire hose.

Born in Gorkum, he was apprenticed to a glass painter and later worked mostly in Amsterdam. His town views, noted for their accuracy and fine detail, rank with those of Saenredam. He also painted still lifes, interiors, and architectural fantasies (capricci). His artistic and scientific interests coincided in the engravings he executed to illustrate the descriptions of his inventions.