Jan Hendrik Verheijen was born in the Dutch town of Utrect on December 22, to a family of merchants. Around 1820 he turned his attention to painting the street scenes of Utrect, the works that would become synonymous with his name. Painting with a high attention to detail, but also keeping his paintings affordable, he was able to corner the market that was previously dominated by masters like Gerrit Adriaensz and Jan Van der Heyden.