early life and training govaert flinck, a prominent dutch painter, was born on january 25, 1615, in kleve, the capital of the duchy of cleves. his father, a silk mercer, initially apprenticed him to his own trade, but govaert's passion for etching and drawing led to his reassignment to lambert jacobszoon, a mennonite painter, in leeuwarden. artistic development and influences govaert flinck's artistic style was heavily influenced by th…